Kiana Smith (178cm, G) of Yongin Samsung Life Insurance has entered the process to wear the national flag.
The Korea Basketball Association (hereinafter referred to as the association) deliberated on the recommendation of Kiana’s special naturalization on the 15th and decided to apply for Kiana’s special naturalization to the Sports Fair Committee of the Korean Sports Council.
The special naturalization system is a system that recognizes multiple nationalities after deliberation by the Nationality Review Committee for those who possess specific skills such as specialized knowledge and skills in each field of society, such as science, economy, and culture, and are recognized to contribute to the national interest of the Republic of Korea.
First, you must pass the deliberation of the Sports Fair Committee of the Korean Sports Council to apply for special naturalization to the Ministry of Justice. After that, the final approval is lowered after deliberation, resolution, and interviews by the Nationality Review Committee of the Ministry of Justice.
Currently, it is in the process of preparing a recommendation letter to be submitted to the Sports Fair Committee of the Korean Sports Council. As the process is tricky, it is expected that Kiana will join the national team in 2025 at the earliest. The association aims to play before the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
Born in 1999, Kiana was born to an American father and a Korean mother. After graduating from Louisville University, she participated in the WNBA Rookie Draft 2022. She was drafted by the Los Angeles Sparks as the fourth player in the second round and averaged 31.4 percent (11/35) of field goals scored by scoring 2.6 points, 0.8 rebounds, and 0.5 assists for about 10 minutes.
Later, he joined Samsung Life Insurance as the first overall pick in the 2022-2023 WKBL New Player Selection Contest. The Korean Women’s Basketball Federation (WKBL) allows one of its parents to participate in the rookie draft for players with Korean nationality in the past or present, and Kiana was satisfied with this and was able to step on the WKBL stage.
However, his debut season ended early due to injuries. In 17 games, he averaged 13.2 points, 4.4 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.0 steals in 30 minutes and 20 seconds.
During the 2023-2024 season, he averaged 9.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.1 assists and 0.8 steals for an average of 22 minutes in 21 games. In particular, he showed off his explosive power from the fourth round after recovering from injury and took the lead in ranking third in the regular league. The 3-point shooting success rate went up from 29.6% (24/81) in the previous season to 38.5% (35/91). As a result, he swept the Rookie of the Year award, as well as the Six Woman Award and the 3-point fieldwork award.
The Korean women’s basketball team finished fifth in the Asian Cup in 2023, the lowest ever performance ever. In the meantime, the team failed to advance to the finals of the 2024 Paris Olympics. The addition of Kiana will definitely help the Korean team. 고수익알바
“When I first talked about drafting with Kiana, she said she wanted to play in the Paris Olympics as a member of the Korean national team,” a Samsung Life Insurance source said. Unfortunately, she has a strong will to play for the national team in her mother’s country. When Kiana was offered a three-on-three national team two years ago, she asked us, “Can you join the Korean national team even if you join the U.S.? She firmly refused because she said no. Now, her goal is to participate in the 2028 Olympics in her hometown of LA.”
When asked if she had any thoughts on her Korean name, she said, “Should I use her last name, Key (laughs). Her mother’s last name is Choi. I heard that her grandmother in the U.S. jokingly said, ‘Eunju.’ She told me after hearing that, and when it is finally decided, I will make a careful decision.”
