Hyun Joo-yup (; born 27 July 1975) is a South Korean former professional basketball player and head coach. He is regarded as one of the greatest power forwards of all time in the Korean Basketball League (KBL). Hyun was given the moniker "Magic Hippo", "The Lord of the Military", "Point Forward" and "Korean Charles Barkley" for his size, versatility, and dominance. He is known for being the only player who broke the backboard in Korean basketball history.
Hyun's career coincided with the founding of the professional league, having been drafted at the first ever KBL draft. The former number one draft pick battled an injury-ravaged career which led to his retirement in 2009. In 2012, Hyun earned the KBL Legend All-Star selection. He was named into the KBL All-Time Legend 12 in 2017.
As a member of the senior national team for more than a decade, Hyun competed in two FIBA World Cups (1994, 1998), three Asian Games (1994, 1998, 2002), four FIBA Asia Cups (1995, 1997, 1999, 2005), one Summer Olympics Games (1996), and one East Asian Games (1997). Hyun is noted for leading the South Korean squad in winning its first Asian Games gold medal after 20 years during the 2002 Asian Games despite being injured.
After his retirement, Hyun had a broadcasting stint as a basketball commentator for MBC Sports Plus from 2014 until 2017 and was named 2017 Jumpball Commentator of the Year. He also served as the head coach of the Changwon LG Sakers for three seasons from 2017 before stepping down in 2020, leading them to a playoffs berth in 2019 after four years of being at the bottom.
Since 2015, Hyun has been appearing in Korean entertainment and variety shows.
Early life Hyun was born in Seoul, South Korea, the youngest of three sons. His father, Hyun Jin-gu (; 1944 – 2 April 2009) ran a garment manufacturing business. Hong Sung-hwa (), his mother, is a former national basketball player, which Hyun was unaware of until his second year in middle school, when she came to watch his game and his coach recognized her.
Hyun and basketball player Seo Jang-hoon attended the same school from elementary, middle school to high school. The two are childhood friends, the latter who is a year senior of the former was present in his elementary graduation in 1988.
Middle school and high school career Hyun, who was a sixth grade student in Seoul Dosung Elementary School, applied for Whimoon Middle School and went to a tryout for the school’s basketball team. He was accepted to Whimoon but was rejected to be a part of the basketball squad since he failed to meet the required physique and skills. Hyun, who was a freshman at Whimoon, walked into the basketball tryout again, and in his second attempt, he was accepted. He started playing basketball at the age of 14.
Hyun’s friend, Seo Jang-hoon, whose first sport was baseball, picked up his interest in basketball around the same time as him. The inexperienced duo practiced together at the corners of the court. Hyun, who only stepped inside the court in his second year, was mostly benched during his first year together with Seo due to the lack of skills. The two benchwarmers would end up going to the swimming pool to watch the game from outside the court. Later on, the pair led their high school team to winning basketball matches.
In Hyun’s high school playing career, he is noted for setting the record for most points scored in a high school basketball game, a record that still stands to this day, scoring 63 points without playing full-time.
In an episode of the SBS TV show Finding Genius which aired on February 3, 2016, Hyun revealed that basketball player Seok Joo-il (), a teammate in middle school and high school, called him and Seo and he told the two of them to quit basketball since they don’t have any talent in playing. After hearing Seok’s words, Hyun said that it became his motivation to improve.
Determined to become good at basketball, Hyun taught himself by watching videos of his favorite basketball figure, NBA star Magic Johnson, who inspired him to play. In admiration for Johnson, he wore number 32.
Hyun garnered the attention of college scouts and was sought by prestigious universities in South Korea because of his promising ability. Billed as a high valued asset for his advantage to leap and shoot the ball as a big man, including his untapped potential in other aspects of the game, Hyun’s recruitment received a wide media coverage. The nation’s top two basketball colleges, Korea University and Yonsei University, were out in a fierce competition to land Hyun, who was a high school senior, on their teams. In a press conference on March 31, 1993, Hyun’s advancement to Korea University was made public.
In an interview, Hyun shared that he initially wanted to join Yonsei University, the leading college basketball team at that time, because he can win a championship ring easily without putting a lot of effort. However, his father, a graduate of Korea University, advised him that looking for an easy path in his basketball career will not help him progress, but instead it will lead to his decline because he will be staying inside his comfort zone and will not be seeing any growth. After much thought, Hyun decided to join the Anamgol Tigers to challenge himself to grow and develop as a player and help the runner-up Korea University beat the winning Yonsei University.
College career Hyun played for Korea University from 1994 to 1998 and led its success in the 1990s. Together with Chun Hee-chul, Yang Hee-seung, Kim Byung-chul () and Shin Ki-sung, they were dubbed as Korea University's "Best Five". Due to Hyun's ability to dunk, he became a famous crowd-pleaser making the stadium roar. His size and strength earned him the nickname "Magic Hippo".
Injury On September 20, 1996, Hyun underwent surgery at Kyung Hee University Hospital for the left ankle injury he incurred.
Due to excessive training and strenuous athletic movements to the knees which started during Hyun’s college career, he suffers from a condition called knee effusion, which occurs when too much fluid accumulates in the knee. Since then Hyun has been experiencing pain on his left knee.
Professional career
Cheongju SK Knights (1998–1999) Hyun was selected as the first overall pick in the 1998 KBL draft by the Cheongju SK Knights. He signed a five-year rookie contract totaling ₩1 billion KRW.
1998–99: Rookie season and All-Star debut In his debut on November 14, 1998, Hyun posted 26 points, six rebounds, eight assists and two steals, leading SK Knights to a 95–94 season-opening win over the Daegu Tongyang Orions.
In Hyun’s first season, he scored double-digits in 24 consecutive games which is the KBL’s longest streak of double-digit scoring as a rookie. He became the first ever rookie in the league to record a triple-double. Hyun made history for being the first rookie named to the KBL All-Star. In his first All-Star Game, Hyun scored six points, grabbed six rebounds, dished out two assists and tacked on two steals. Since Hyun made it to the All-Star list, he was shortlisted as South Korea’s delegate to the first Asian Basketball Super League (ABSL) held from June 5 to July 16 in eight different cities of the participating countries, which includes Korea, China and Japan.
Hyun played in 34 games, averaging 23.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game.
1999–00: Sophomore season During his second season, Hyun played 15 games for the SK Knights and he recorded an average of 19.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game.
Gwangju Goldbank Clickers (1999–2000) On the evening of December 24, 1999, the day before the season trade deadline, Cheongju SK Knights traded Hyun to the Gwangju Goldbank Clickers in exchange for Cho Sang-hyun and ₩4 million KRW. Hyun found out that he was traded from a reporter and was caught off-guard with the news. In an interview following his trade, Hyun expressed his disappointment towards the team’s coach for not giving him a heads up that a deal will be made.
1999–00: Sophomore season Hyun, who was traded in the middle of the season, was named Player of the Month for January, receiving 38 out of 66 votes. During this month, he logged two triple-doubles and was ranked sixth in scoring (23.33 points per game), sixteenth in rebounds (7.5 rebounds per game) and second in assists (8.42 assists per game).
Hyun was named to the All-Star list for the second year in a row. He was also voted to the All-Star Best 5 by basketball commentators and reporters.
For the remainder of the season, Hyun played 27 games with his new team, averaging 23.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game.
Yeosu Goldbank Clickers (2000–2001) Following Hyun’s debut with the Goldbank Clickers, the team relocated from Gwangju to Yeosu, becoming the Yeosu Goldbank Clickers.
2000–01: Injury On February 14, 2001, Hyun, injured his right ankle and knee in a game against Daejeon Hyundai Gullivers. On February 21, he was diagnosed with two broken right ankle ligaments, inflamed and torn right ankle tendons, myositis and a knee joint damage. Hyun ended his season early with only 27 games played, averaging 16.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game.
Hyun, who was supposed to make his third consecutive All-Star Game appearance, failed to participate in the event due to the right ankle injury he incurred.
Hyun underwent surgery at Samsung Medical Center before joining the military.
Sangmu or Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps (2001–2003) In June 2001, Hyun began his mandatory military service together with basketball players Shin Ki-sung, a teammate from college and the national team, and Kang Hyuk (), who was also a national team member. While in the military, Hyun was selected to play for the Sangmu or Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps.
2001–02: Finals MVP and injury Hyun, who was still rehabbing the injuries he incurred in the previous year, led the past year’s tournament runner-up to victory during the 2001–02 Basketball Festival (officially known as the Sewon Telecom Basketball Festival for sponsorship reasons). During the final game on January 16, 2002, he logged a double-double with 25 points and 17 rebounds in an 87–84 win over Chung-Ang University, ending their third championship winning streak. Hyun, who only scored eight points in the first half, succeeded in a reverse layup at the end of the third quarter making the score 63–61. In the fourth quarter, Hyun scored 17 points helping Sangmu claim the championship title. This led to people calling him "The Lord of the Military". Hyun was eventually named the Finals MVP and he received the Rebound Award.
After his Sangmu championship, Hyun injured his left knee cartilage twice and received two surgeries in 2002. His first operation was on February 19 at Samsung Medical Center, Hyun underwent arthroscopic surgery on the left knee femur for his injured cartilage. Hyun, who was still experiencing pain on his left knee and rehabilitating at that time, was highly discouraged by his doctor to take part in the 2002 Asian Games. Despite the doctor’s advice, Hyun still played and led South Korea to win its first gold medal in 20 years. After his participation in the continental games in October, Hyun suffered from the same injury once more. On December 20, Hyun underwent his second left knee cartilage surgery at Samsung Medical Center.
2002–03: Injury