Jung leaves the court.
The Korean Women’s Basketball League (WKBL) announced the results of the third round of negotiations for the 2024 free agency (FA) season on Wednesday. Four players who were unable to sign a contract after the first two rounds of negotiations renegotiated with their original teams.
Kim Han-byul chose to retire from active play. Born to a Korean mother and American father, Kim has been playing in the WKBL since the 2009-2010 season. She was initially known as Kimberly Roberson, but in 2011, she became a South Korean citizen and played under the name Kim Han-Byul. She was nicknamed “Star Bron” (Kim Han-Byul + LeBron James) 먹튀검증 because of her aggressive play.
As a naturalized player, she was called up to the national team. In the final qualifying round for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (to be held in 2021), she played a big role in helping women’s basketball qualify for the Olympic Games for the first time in 12 years.
After 11 seasons with Samsung Life, Kim was traded to BNK after leading the team to a championship in the 2020-2021 season. In her three seasons with BNK, the veteran took on a leadership role on the team. In the 2022-2023 season, she led BNK to its first-ever championship game appearance.
In her career, Kim has played 372 games in the WKBL, averaging 9.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game. Along with Kim, Kim Han-bi and Lee Hye-mi also chose to retire.
Lee, whose third free agency period also ended, will continue negotiations from the 23rd to the 31st of next month.