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Ham Ji-hoon receives historic sendoff after final game, retirement tour

Published: 09 Apr. 2026, 16:16 Updated: 09 Apr. 2026, 18:12

Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus hoists Ham Ji-hoon in the air at the player's final game of his career on April 8 [YONHAP]

Ham Ji-hoon, the legendary forward for the Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus, played the final game of his career on Wednesday.

The Phoebus played its final regular-season game of the 2025-26 season at Ulsan Dongcheon Gymnasium on Wednesday.

Wednesday's game was the team’s last game of the season, as Hyundai Mobis Phoebus finished eighth in the regular season and failed to qualify for the six-team playoffs.

It was also Ham’s final game as an active player. Ham, who announced in January that he would retire at the end of this season, wrapped up a retirement tour in which he visited the courts of all 10 clubs to say goodbye.

Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus legend Ham Ji-hoon thanks the fans during the final game of his career on April 8. [YONHAP]

Ham became only the second player in the Korean basketball league history to be granted a retirement tour, an honor reserved for players who left a major mark on the league, following Kim Ju-sung, the former Wonju DB Promy one-club man who is now Promy's head coach.

Born in 1984, Ham was the oldest registered player in the league this season.

After joining the Hyundai Mobis Phoebus as the 10th overall pick in the first round of the 2007 rookie draft, he spent all 18 of his seasons with his home club.

During that time, he helped build the Hyundai Mobis Phoebus "dynasty" alongside former coach Yoo Jae-hak and star guard Yang Dong-geun, now the team’s head coach. Dynasty is a moniker given to sports teams that have dominated the league for a number of seasons, with the Phoebus lifting the championship trophy five times during Ham's career.

In the 2009-10 season, he swept both the regular-season MVP and playoff MVP awards to establish himself as the league’s top big man.

Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus legend Ham Ji-hoon shoots during the game of his career on April 8. [YONHAP]

But above all, diligent play was his trademark.

Ham played the same quiet and diligent game in his finale. He attacked aggressively and was the first to hustle back on defense.

He finished with 19 points, four rebounds and nine assists during his last game on Wednesday. He also became the seventh player in league history to reach 3,000 career assists. He added one steal and one block as well. With 2 minutes 22 seconds left in the game, Ham checked out and returned to the bench. Fans sent off the legend with a standing ovation. His former mentor Yoo Jae-hak was also at the arena to watch his pupil leave the floor for the last time.

Asked what kind of presence Ham had been in his life, coach Yang Dong-geun answered without hesitation, “He’s No. 1.5 in my basketball life.” Placing the late Chris Williams, whom he had previously named as his best-ever teammate, at No. 1, Yang smiled and added, “He’s much closer to No. 1 than No. 2. That’s the highest praise.”

Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus legend Ham Ji-hoon at the final game of his career on April 8. [YONHAP]

Seoul Samsung Thunders, meanwhile, suffered the humiliation of finishing last in the regular season for a fifth straight year. Samsung lost 80-73 to the Daegu Korea Gas Corporation Pegasus and ended the season in 10th place with a 16-38 record.

With the defeat, Samsung finished at the bottom of the league for five consecutive seasons, from 2021-22 through this season. It is not only the longest streak of last-place finishes in KBL history but also an unprecedented record across Korea’s four major professional sports leagues — basketball, baseball, football and volleyball.

In the Women’s Korean Basketball League playoffs, regular-season champion Cheongju KB Stars seized the early advantage against fourth-place Asan Woori Bank Woori Won. KB Stars cruised to a 73-46 win in Game 1 of the playoff series, which is played in a best-of-five format, at Cheongju Gymnasium.

The two teams will play Game 2 at the same venue at 7 p.m. on Friday. In past league playoffs, teams that won Game 1 advanced to the championship series 45 times out of 54, or 83.3 percent. In playoff series played in a best-of-five format, the figure is 13 out of 14, or 92.9 percent.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY PIH JU-YONG [[email protected]]