The 2022-2023 women’s professional basketball, which ended last month, ended with the’Woori Bank World’, which Asan Woori Bank decorated the beginning and end. After winning the regular league championship with overwhelming results, in the playoffs, they beat Incheon Shinhan Bank and Busan BNK with a complete victory and won their 10th combined championship.
It was the world of Woori Bank, but on the other hand, it was also the world of Kim Dan-bi (33). Kim Dan-bi, who established herself as the team’s ace in the first season of the transfer and led Woori Bank to the combined championship, won the first regular league MVP after 16 years of debut, followed by the championship MVP, becoming a ‘star among stars’ in women’s basketball.
Kim Dan-bi, who met with a reporter on the 4th, said, “I thought that a day like this would come to me too. In the meantime, I was a bit embarrassed whenever many people asked if I had ever received an MVP, but now I can confidently say that I received an MVP,” he smiled brightly.
Except for the first few years after becoming a pro at Ansan Shinhan Bank (now Incheon Shinhan Bank) in 2007, Danbi Kim has always been a star representing women’s professional basketball. She performed evenly this season as well, ranking second in points (17.17) and assists (6.10), second in steals (1.53) and fifth in rebounds (8.77). Her contribution, which is calculated by scoring each record, was an overwhelming first place with 1057.35 points. Even though she is in her mid-30s, Danbi Kim’s ability to maintain her skills in the prime of her 20s is enough to be an example.
Contrary to public opinion, Kim Dan-bi herself throws her hands on the fact that her skills are steady. “There are times when I fall too. I also feel that my jumps are getting lower every year.” What makes Danbi Kim support is the pride of her own name. Danbi Kim said, “While playing basketball, the three letters of my name written on the back of my uniform are my pride. I put a lot of effort into keeping that name. Even though he had a season where he didn’t do well, he endured with that pride.”
Danbi Kim was an icon of Shinhan Bank, having only played for Shinhan Bank from his debut until last season. He also won his first championship at Shinhan Bank and played an active role as an ace. His pride in Shinhan Bank was enormous. The reason why he chose to transfer to Woori Bank with difficulty was because he felt that it was time for a change. 안전놀이터
Danbi Kim said, “I won the championship at Shinhan Bank when I was young. But at that time, his older sisters were the main players, and I didn’t win because I became the main player. I had the goal of wanting to win because I was the center, and I also had the desire to win the MVP once,” he said after taking luck. He honestly said, ‘I’m just comfortable now’ when people ask if I want to be MVP. But as I got older, I started to feel anxious that I would just retire. If you stay in one place too long, you don’t know how you are changing and you lose your goals. Seeing myself getting used to something comfortable, I needed stimulation,” he explained.
The relationship with Woori Bank manager Sung-Woo Lee, whom he had formed as a coach at Shinhan Bank during his debut days, also served as an opportunity for him to decide to transfer. Danbi Kim said, “At Shinhan Bank, I really did a lot of exercise. However, after I went to coach Woori Bank, I only heard rumors that I trained a lot, so I didn’t know how much,” he said.
However, he expressed his own beliefs about training. This is advice and advice for young players. He said, “I think that if you are a player, you have to take some amount of exercise. Basketball is a sport that requires good physical strength and support. The reason I did well at Woori Bank from the first season was because I worked out consistently,” he emphasized.
Danbi Kim had an unrivaled season this season than any other player. Still, if Woori Bank did not win the championship, it is highly likely that a player from another team would have been awarded the MVP. The portion of the ‘winning premium’ in women’s basketball MVP is enormous.
Danbi Kim also admits this. At the same time, he emphasized that winning the team is more important than MVP. Kim Dan-bi said, “If I were to receive the MVP only for my individual performance, I would have already received it when I was playing for Shinhan Bank. But basketball is a team sport played by five people. It is natural for a team with poor performance to have a player with good individual performance. If there is an exceptional player, of course the play will revolve around that player, and the record will inevitably improve.” Along with this, “I can speak with confidence because I have experienced all the rankings from first place to last place. If you are only greedy for your grades, everyone will do it selfishly. This is only for individual events. It is unimaginable in basketball, a team sport,” he pointed out.
Now, the name Danbi Kim has become an indispensable name when talking about women’s basketball. The fact that he ranked first in the All-Star fan vote for six consecutive years until last season is a testament to how high his name is in women’s basketball. Nevertheless, Danbi Kim looks to a higher place. Danbi Kim said, “Honestly, there is nothing I can do to rank first in women’s basketball history. I don’t think I will be able to break the record for the oldest player who retired (Han) Chae-jin,” she said. In the distant future, when I retire, if the same question is asked, I hope my name will come up first.”