series 4–2 to lift the Championship trophy. During the 2018-19 season, Yang reached a career milestone of 500 steals in December, becoming the 30th player in KBL history to reach the milestone. His contracted ended that season. He decided to remain at Anyang KGC and signed a three-year contract. With the emergence of Moon Seong-gon, it was expected that Yang's starting position would be under threat. Instead he formed a defensive partnership with Moon, his experience complementing Moon's shooting skills and pace. The duo have won three KBL Defensive Player of the Year awards between them and voted into the KBL Defensive Best 5 multiple times. During the quarterfinals in the 2020-21 playoffs, they were dubbed "Defense Kings" after holding back a Busan KT Sonicboom team which had some of the league's most prolific offensive players. Anyang KGC went on to win the KBL Championship that season. During the playoffs, Yang was diagnosed with a ruptured plantar fascia but refused treatment until the final ended. Yang was only able to return to the court in the second round of the 2021–22 season, having spent the off-season and the first round in rehabilitation for the injury he sustained during the playoffs. He was mostly used as a substitute player or started in important games. Living up to his reputation as a "man of the playoffs", Yang scored 15 points in Game 1 of the quarter-final series against Daegu KOGAS Pegasus. Anyang were ultimately unable to defend their Championship, losing to Seoul SK Knights in the final after a bitterly-fought series. His three-year contract ended that season but Yang chose to remain at Anyang and signed a three-year contract on May 23. The renewed contract would effectively keep him at the club for the remainder of his professional career. National team career Yang was called up to the youth national teams and participated in the 2003 FIBA Under-19 World Championship. He made his senior national team debut at the 2007 FIBA Asia Championship. At the 2009 FIBA Asia Championship, he had his best individual tournament to date and helped the Koreans to a seventh-place finish while averaging a 12 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. Despite his efforts, Korea failed to qualify for the semifinals of the tournament for the first time in their 25 tournament appearances. Yang has participated in the 2010 and 2014 Asian Games. Personal life Yang married dentist