"The Coach Suggests Tactics, the Players Decide"... Lee Sang-min, the 'Communicative Leadership' Hidden Behind the Championship After 9 Years

Coach Lee Sang-min, who led the professional basketball team Busan KCC Egis to a championship, revealed his sincere feelings about the weight he experiences as a coach and his way of communicating with players.

"A heavier responsibility than when I was a player"... The reality faced as a coach

Appearing on the recent tvN entertainment program 'You Quiz on the Block', Coach Lee Sang-min shared his thoughts on leading Busan KCC Egis to the championship finals victory despite the unfavorable condition of finishing 6th in the regular league this past May. A regular league 6th-place team won the championship finals for the first time in KBL history, writing a '0% miracle.' Regarding his first championship in 9 years of coaching, Coach Lee Sang-min said, "Actually, it was a championship I wanted to achieve so badly," and "I was more desperate as a coach than when I was a player. I fulfilled my wish to win at least once as a coach in the final stage of my basketball life."

Coach Lee Sang-min cited the 'weight of responsibility' as the decisive difference between his time as a player and his time as a coach. He added, "As players go up, the tension and the parts they must be responsible for increase, but I think I was happiest when I was a player," and "As a coach, the weight is different because you have to train the team, set schedules, prepare for the next game, and lead everything. It really feels like an extreme profession."

"2 out of the 3 minutes of a timeout are spent communicating with players"... The transformation of a coach who was a star player

In the video, a scene where players interrupted the coach's words and offered opposing opinions during a timeout became a hot topic. Regarding this, Coach Lee Sang-min said, "I was flustered at first," but "about 2 out of the 3 minutes of a timeout can pass just by listening to the players' stories." He explained that this method ultimately became the 'communicative leadership' that created the championship. However, he expressed the difficulties of the coaching position, saying, "If we hadn't won, I would have heard that I was being dragged around by the players."

Additionally, he drew laughter by revealing an anecdote from his time at Seoul Samsung Thunders when he let players take naps. He said, "Since my college days, I worried a lot about 'how long I have to live this life,'" and "One thing I couldn't do when I was a player was taking a nap during the break after lunch following morning training. So, when I was at Seoul Samsung Thunders, I let the players sleep." He added, "This year, because the results were not good, I couldn't (let them sleep)."

Regarding the superstition that former star players find it difficult to become good coaches, he mentioned the changes in modern basketball. Coach Lee Sang-min stated, "Modern basketball is led by overall offensive basketball rather than positional roles," and "Rather than matching the standards of the past, I tried to communicate in accordance with the style of today's players. Since it is not easy to unite players with strong personalities, I tried to resolve things through communication while maintaining an autonomous atmosphere."

44 years on the single path of basketball, a leader's life rising above wounds

Coach Lee Sang-min also recalled the memories of being traded and his retirement during his playing days. When he was traded to Seoul Samsung Thunders in 2007, he said, "It was a difficult time to the point where I wondered if I really had to exercise this much," and "But because I am a professional, I had to accept it, and I started again with the mindset of doing my best wherever I am." He confessed, "I shed tears for the first time in front of fans" at the retirement ceremony prepared by fans in 2010.

He also spoke candidly about the trials he experienced as a coach. Mentioning a 54-point loss he experienced in his first year as the Seoul Samsung Thunders coach in 2014, he said, "It was so hard that I thought, 'Am I incompetent?' as a leader." He said that to overcome the difficulties at that time, he constantly reflected on himself, stating, "I realized that a coach's philosophy is not always right."

Entering his 44th year on the single path of basketball, Coach Lee Sang-min said in a message to himself, "You worked hard and suffered for 44 years. I want to applaud myself for overcoming the difficult times well." He expressed his unchanging affection for basketball, saying, "Basketball is like a first love that came to me by chance."