DB manager Kim Joo-sung was behind the evolution. "When we started pre-season training, the coach said, 'I hope you take good care of your weight and body fat. It's to prevent injury,'" Kang said over the phone. "I had an off-season without a national team call-up for the first time in a while. So I was able to concentrate on making my body systematic."

According to the coach's advice, Kang Sang-jae reduced his weight from 106kg before the season to 97kg and lost 7-8kg of body fat to around 11%. Naturally, he felt lighter. As the tall man has a relatively fast speed, his role on the court has also changed. "I played a lot in the role of No. 3, not No. 4. As the weight of the outside area increased, the number of attempts to shoot three points increased, and the balance of shots seems to have increased, leading to a higher success rate," he explained.

You can focus on the outside because Kim Jong-kyu, the national team center, is holding out on the inside. Until last season, the roles of the two overlapped. Both players were resources with height and shooting since college, and they went back and forth between inside and outside in the professional league. The roles overlapped, so it couldn't be efficient.

Kang Sang-jae said, "Until last season, Jong-kyu and I had a little overlapping movement. This season, I and Didrick Lawson threw more shots from the outside, and Jong-kyu increased the portion of the inside. As the movement problem has been resolved to some extent, the team play has also changed organically."

Kang also cited delicate guidance as a strength of coach Kim Joo-sung. "Coach always says thank you to the players. However, thanks to your kind and detailed guidance, the team has maintained the No. 1 spot in the first half of the year. He always demonstrates himself in every training session. That's why I was able to learn and do better."

On the 11th, it was also decided to join the All-Star Game. Guard Huh Hoon is a substitute for missing a calf injury. He is a substitute, but Kang Sang-jae's performance and team contribution this season are not short of any All-Star.

If he wins his first season as captain, he would never have been better. Kang has never won a championship game since his debut at Incheon Electronic Land in 2016. He will become a free agent after the season, but his priority is to win his team's championship. "I want to finish the remaining regular league games without any injury," Kang said. "My goal is to win wire-to-wire to keep the No. 1 ranking from the opening game to the final game combined with last season's Anyang Chung Kwan-jang. I will lead the team well so that I can achieve that goal."