Five straight last-place seasons, then 9–0: the joke behind Seoul Samsung's turnaround

A standings table worth checking twice: Seoul Samsung, last in the league for five seasons, have won all nine opening games. The results are historic; reactions to them are personal.

Samsung won 95–87 away to Goyang Sono on October 30. Yonhap identified the result as the first 9–0 opening in KBL history and an unbeaten first round. Kim Sang-sik said he wanted players to work through their own mistakes during the game.

The twist comes from the preceding five seasons: the team that finished last since 2021–22 completed the first round undefeated without a wholesale overhaul of its Korean roster. The sudden change in expectations makes the story compelling.

At 12:38 p.m. KST on October 31, a Theqoo poster joked that a 'mighty Samsung' exists in basketball. They imagined how unbelievable an unbeaten opening round would have sounded a year earlier and coined a play on Kim Sang-sik's name. The page showed 970 views and nine comments, but we did not read those comments.

Kim emphasized team movement, teamwork and creating better shots. The forum's 'just one coaching change' line is a compact fan interpretation, not proof that one person caused the entire turnaround.

The October 30 score was Samsung 95, Sono 87. Yonhap confirmed the league-first 9–0 start, five straight last-place seasons and 19 Samsung turnovers. A third-party site embedded a YouTube video labeled as TVING's game highlights, but we could not independently verify its uploader or watch the full video.

Samsung's next scheduled opponent is Seoul SK on November 1. The team will try to extend its run and cut down on the 19 turnovers noted in the last game. Check updated KBL schedules.