Ha Seung-jin

Ha Seung-Jin (born August 4, 1985) is a retired South Korean professional basketball player who has played in the NBA and the NBA D-League. He was a second round draft pick (46th overall) of the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2004 NBA draft. At 7 ft 3 in, 305 lb, he was among the largest players in the NBA. He is also the first (and as of September 2023), only South Korean to play in the NBA.

Ha Seung-Jin
Personal information
Born (1985-08-04) August 4, 1985
Seoul, South Korea
NationalitySouth Korean
Listed height7 ft 3 in (2.21 m)
Listed weight305 lb (138 kg)
Career information
High schoolSamil Commercial
(Suwon, Gyeonggi Province)
CollegeYonsei (2003–2004)
NBA draft2004: 2nd round, 46th overall pick
Selected by the Portland Trail Blazers
Playing career2004–2019
PositionCenter
Career history
2004Portland Reign
2004–2006Portland Trail Blazers
2006→Fort Worth Flyers
2006–2007Anaheim Arsenal
2008–2012,
2014–2019		Jeonju KCC Egis
Career highlights and awards
  • KBL Championship (2009, 2011)
  • KBL Rookie of the Year (2009)
  • 3× KBL Best 5 (2010, 2011, 2016)
  • KBL Playoffs MVP (2011)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men’s basketball
Representing  South Korea
Asian Games
Silver medal – second place2010 GuangzhouMen's basketball
FIBA Asia Championship
Bronze medal – third place2011 WuhanMen's basketball
Ha Seung-jin
Hangul
하승진
Hanja
河昇鎮
Revised RomanizationHa Seung-jin
McCune–ReischauerHa Sŭngjin
In this Korean name, the family name is Ha.

Early life and college career

Ha Seung-jin attended his father's alma mater Samil Commercial High School in Suwon with his childhood friend Yang Hee-jong, who was a year older. The duo led Samil's basketball team to its first ever national championship title. He initially planned on entering the 2003 NBA draft held in June but decided on playing college basketball first and accepted an early offer from Yonsei University.[1] It meant that he would be allowed to join the Yonsei team for the 2003 fall semester despite still being a high school senior.[2] His contemporaries at Yonsei included Yang and future Jeonju KCC Egis teammate Kim Tae-sul. After playing only seven games for Yonsei, he left for the United States to join the 2004 NBA draft.[3][4]

Professional career

NBA career (2004–2007)

Ha arrived in Los Angeles, California in 2004 to prepare himself for the 2004 NBA draft. Ha was drafted with the 46th overall selection by the Portland Trail Blazers.

He played briefly with the Portland Reign of the ABA.[5] Ha joined the Portland Trail Blazers in the middle of the 2004-05 season. Ha played in only 19 games that season, averaging 5.5 minutes per game; however, on April 20 against the Los Angeles Lakers, he scored a career high 13 points to help the Trail Blazers win the game. During the 2005-06 season Ha was assigned to the NBA D-League's Fort Worth Flyers on March 28, 2006,[6] where he played for five games but did not make an impact. When fellow Blazer centers Theo Ratliff and Joel Przybilla were unable to play due to injury, Ha started four games, averaging 11 minutes playing time.

On July 31, 2006, Ha was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in a four-player deal.[7] On October 28, 2006 (prior to the start of the 2006-07 season[8]), he was waived by the Bucks.[9] He was acquired by the Anaheim Arsenal of the NBA Development League on December 31, 2006,[10] whom he spent time with.[8]

Jeonju KCC Egis (2008–2019)

Ha returned to South Korea and joined the 2008 Korean Basketball League draft, signing with Jeonju KCC Egis. He won the 2009 and 2011 KBL Championships, winning the play-offs MVP in the latter. After the 2018-19 season ended, he became a free agent and chose to retire rather than re-sign or join another team.[11]

National team

Ha has represented the South Korea national basketball team in the 2009 FIBA Asia Championship,[12] 2010 Asian Games,[13] and 2011 FIBA Asia Championship.[14]

NBA career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2004–05 Portland 1905.5.435.000.545.9.1.1.31.4
2005–06 Portland 2747.9.581.000.4711.8.0.1.31.6
Career 4646.9.519.000.5001.5.1.1.31.5

Post-retirement

In 2020, Ha became a commentator for the Korean Broadcasting System's sports channel KBS N Sports and mainly commentates for Women's Korean Basketball League (WKBL) games.[15] He was a guest commentator for basketball events at the 2020 Summer Olympics.[16]

Personal life

Ha is the younger of two children. His older sister, Ha Eun-joo, is also a professional basketball player. A 6'8" center, she signed with Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA on February 6, 2006,[17] and was later waived on May 19, for failing to arrive in Los Angeles due to a conflicting contract with Chanson V-Magic of the WJBL.[18] In July 2006, she signed with Incheon Shinhan Bank S-Birds of the WKBL.

Their father Ha Dong-gi is a former basketball player-turned-coach who played for Myongji University and gave up the sport due to chronic injury problems. Ha Dong-gi had been a member of the team which won silver at the 1978 Asian Games.[4]

Ha married Kim Hwa-yeong in 2012.[19][20] They have a son (born in 2012) and a daughter (born in 2017).[21]

Filmography

Television show
Year Title Role Ref.
2022 Over the Top Contestant [22]

See also

Notes
  1. "하승진 "연대냐 고대냐"… 28일 진로 대학 결정". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 27 April 2003.
  2. "농구대잔치-최장신 하승진, 5경기만에 `이름값`" (in Korean). KBS. 25 November 2003.
  3. The academic year in South Korea begins in February.
  4. "하승진, 한국인 최초 NBA 입성". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). 25 June 2004.
  5. "Ha Seung-Jin info page". NBA.com. 1985-08-04. Archived from the original on 2012-06-16. Retrieved 2012-08-03.
  6. "2005-06 Transactions". Nba.com. Archived from the original on 2007-01-12. Retrieved 2012-08-03.
  7. "BLAZERS: Trail Blazers Acquire All-Star Center Jamaal Magloire". Nba.com. Retrieved 2012-08-03.
  8. "Bucks, D-League Building Productive Pipeline". Nba.com. 2007-02-07. Archived from the original on 2008-03-16. Retrieved 2012-08-03.
  9. "Bucks waive Korean Ha Seung-Jin". Sports.yahoo.com. 2006-10-28. Retrieved 2012-08-03.
  10. "2006-07 Transactions". Nba.com. Archived from the original on 2015-06-18. Retrieved 2012-08-03.
  11. "하승진, 은퇴 선언 글에 시선집중…"말도 잘하는데 글도 명필"". The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). 14 May 2019.
  12. "Seung Jin Ha profile, FIBA Asia Championship for Men 2009".
  13. "Seung-Jin Ha". asia-basket. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  14. "Seung Jin Ha profile, FIBA Asia Championship 2011".
  15. "[영상] 초대형 해설이 온다! 221cm 하승진 KBS에서 해설 데뷔" (in Korean). KBS. 9 October 2020.
  16. "박찬호·조원희→여홍철·하승진, 金 쏘아 올릴 KBS 도쿄올림픽 해설진". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 21 July 2021.
  17. "Sparks Sign Korean Center Ha Eun-Joo". Wnba.com. Retrieved 2012-08-03.
  18. Contact rickchand: Comment (2006-10-04). "Five Tiny Tidbits On: The Milwaukee Bucks". Deadspin.com. Retrieved 2012-08-03.
  19. "'아내의 맛' 하승진♥ 아내, 자다 깬 얼굴도_결혼 8년차 주부의 미모". The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). 6 November 2019.
  20. "하승진 "권나라는 비주얼 1티어다"…아내 등장에 그가 취한 행동은?". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 5 May 2021.
  21. "하승진, "딸에게 좌절과 실패 알려주려고.." 딸 손잡고 태권도장 등록!" (in Korean). JTBC. 25 April 2021.
  22. Oh Ji-won (September 29, 2022). "팔씨름 예능 '오버더톱' 10월 첫 방송…전현무→하승진 출연" [Arm wrestling entertainment 'Over the Top' premieres in October... Jeon Hyun-moo → Ha Seung-jin] (in Korean). YTN. Retrieved September 29, 2022 – via Naver.
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