Heo Ung

Heo declared for the 2014 KBL rookie draft and it was widely predicted that he would be picked by Jeonju KCC Egis, which was coached by his father Hur Jae. Jeonju KCC Egis had been assigned the fourth pick but Hur Jae chose Kim Ji-hoo from Korea University instead to prevent his son's career from being overshadowed. Heo was instead picked by Wonju DB Promy at fifth. He made his debut in October against Goyang Orions, contributing 5 points, 3 assists and 2 interceptions.[9] He won the All-Star fan vote at the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 KBL seasons.[10]

In May 2017, Heo enlisted for mandatory military service and was assigned to the Sangmu team after completing basic training.[11] He was discharged in January 2019 and immediately returned to DB Promy's roster for the last few rounds of the 2018-19 season.[12] By then his younger brother turned professional and DB Promy's match-up with his brother's team Busan KT Sonicboom in February drew much attention as it was the first time they had played against one another in the KBL.[13]

Heo was plagued by persistent back and ankle problems during the 2019-20 season but averaged a career-high of 13.7 points in 14 games and ranked second for 3-point shots among domestic-born players.[14] With the signing of free agent Kim Jong-kyu, he formed an offensive triumvirate together with Kim and long-time DB teammate Doo Kyung-min as DB finished the season at the top of the league table; due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the play-offs were canceled and the season's results were forfeited.[15] He underwent surgery on his ankle at the end of the season, which had been cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[16] After spending the off-season in rehabilitation, he returned in time for the 2020-21 season.[17]

Several games into the 2020-21 season, Heo suffered a knee injury. Due to injury problems ravaging the team throughout the season, the players had little time to gel and Heo occasionally had to play despite not being in peak physical condition. DB finished the season at 9th place, second from the bottom of the league table.[18]

The 2021-22 season began well for Heo as he put up 26 points and 5 rebounds against Suwon KT Sonicboom in the season opening game.[19] With the departure of Doo, who was traded to Daegu KOGAS Pegasus, he was forced to fill Doo's void as the team's main three-pointer specialist.[20] However, in October against Goyang Orion Orions, he failed to score ten three-point shots in a row, leading commentators to humorously draw parallels with his father setting the same unwanted personal record during the 2000-01 season.[21] In December, Heo reached two personal career benchmarks: the most points scored in a single game and reaching 3,000 points. He scored 39 points in DB's narrow loss to Changwon LG Sakers on December 1.[22] Two weeks later, against Daegu KOGAS Pegasus, he became the 97th player in KBL history to reach 3,000 career points.[23]

Heo was selected for the youth national teams as a high school student and participated in the 2011 U-19 World Championship.[24] He participated in the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup and the 2018 Asian Games.[25][26] Early on, during his father's tenure as the national team coach, Heo's selection was constantly a source of criticism and accusations of favouritism, which came to a head after South Korea failed to defend their gold medal at the Asian Games. His and his younger brother's selections were particularly criticized by the press and other league team coaches. Both brothers were also excluded from the squad list for the next several games after the Asian Games.[27] He was recalled for the qualifiers for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup and named in the World Cup preliminary squad but did not make the final 12-man squad.[28][29]