Tony Akins

Chon Tae-poong (Also transcribed as Jeon Tae-poong and Jeon Tae-pung He was influenced by his father to begin playing basketball at a young age as his father had played through college.) His nephew is Jaden Akins, a basketball player who played with the Michigan State Spartans and signed with the Motor City Cruise in 2025. He lived with his maternal grandmother in Los Angeles while his parents worked and did not speak English, and at age six he was enrolled in a special school. As a multiracial child he faced social challenges and discrimination because of his skin color.

Akins tried out for his middle school boys' basketball team but was initially rejected and told to play with the girls. After proving himself to the girls' coach, he was invited to join the boys a week later. During a state final, an opposing fan shouted racial slurs at him. He graduated from Berkmar High School in Lilburn, Georgia, in 1998 being named Georgia Player of the Year. Although his father preferred that he attend a college in Michigan, he enrolled at the Georgia Institute of Technology and joined the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball program. Following a teammate's injury, he took a leading role but struggled with the team's low scoring and frustration against them. He contacted the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and University of California, Los Angeles about transferring, but ultimately remained at Georgia Tech after being persuaded to stay by the Jackets' new coach, Paul Hewitt.

He held American nationality until 2009, when he relinquished it when he became a naturalized South Korean citizen. After his naturalization was approved, his name was legally changed from Anthony Jewell Akins to Chon Tae-poong. The surname Chon derives from his mother's family name, while Tae-poong , meaning "typhoon" in Korean, was suggested by a cousin who told him he would be able to "sweep the game like a typhoon."

Basketball career

After leaving Georgia Tech, he did not qualify for the National Basketball Association and instead played professionally in Europe, where he was selected as an All‑Star in both the Polish and Croatian leagues.

After moving to South Korea, he attempted to join the Korean Basketball League as a foreign player but was not selected due to his height. Following his naturalization, the league established an ethnic draft, and in 2009, he was chosen first overall in that draft and added to the Jeonju KCC Egis roster. In his 2009–10 season with Jeonju KCC Egis, the team finished as runners-up to the champions. They went on to win the 2010–11 championship over Wonju DB Promy. Chon was recognized as the team's on‑court commander and was credited with reinvigorating the Egis' offense during the 2011–12 season, being regarded alongside Ha Seung-jin as one of the core players. In 2012, due to league regulations requiring naturalized players to change teams every three years, he was transferred to the Goyang Orions. A year later, he was traded to Busan KT Sonicboom, later stating that he wanted the move due to reduced playing time and expressed dissatisfaction with coach Il Seung‑choo's coaching style.

In 2015, he returned to Jeonju KCC Egis as a free agent, helping improve the team as a player‑coach. In 2019, free‑agent talks collapsed after he raised the possibility of a coaching role as team leaders said staff would be uncomfortable with it. Chon posted an SNS screenshot accusing the club of lying about negotiations and a false money‑demand rumor, saying the club claimed it offered ₩60 million while accusing him of asking ₩120 million, claims the team denied. Although he was on the verge of retirement by season's end, he signed with the Seoul SK Knights for the 2019–2020 season.

Entertainment career After retiring from professional basketball, he began a career in broadcasting and as a YouTuber. He appeared on several Korean variety shows and online channels, including My Golden Kids, Buddy Into the Wild, and Liberation Town. In March 2021, he appeared as a contestant on King of Mask Singer, performing "Train Heading for South" by Kim Soo-hee and "To the Fool ... From the Fool" by Park Myung-soo. On May 31, 2024, he appeared alongside Australian comedian Sam Hammington on the Korean variety show XYOB, with the episode accumulating 1.8 million views by July 2024. He returned to the program, retitled BYOB, on October 31, 2024, again appearing with Hammington.

Personal life

Chon met Jane Mina Turner, also known as Jimina at age eight at a Korean church in Los Angeles and the two became friends. Although they drifted apart when Chon moved to Atlanta, they reconnected after Turner went to South Korea to teach English. Chon asked Turner out after he was drafted in 2009. They married in 2010 and have three children, two sons and a daughter.

In a 2026 episode of the Korean variety show Same Bed, Different Dreams 2: You Are My Destiny, Chon confessed that he had spent his entire 150 million won signing bonus within two months of debuting. He said he used the money to buy a Luxury SUV in cash, spend at clubs, and cover friends' drinks, and claimed he had purchased a car in part to attract women. During the episode, he also admitted to having spoken of divorce with Turner in a fit of anger, a remark he later said he reflected on over the following month.

Career statistics

KBL Regular season

50 30.2 .475 .395 .791 2.7 4.7 1.5 0.1 14.4

38 29.0 .449 .408 .860 2.3 4.9 1.5 0.1 12.2

50 30.5 .501 .412 .814 2.8 5.0 1.3 0.1 15.0

52 32.1 .448 .325 .758 2.3 6.1 1.4 0.1 12.3

23 22.6 .461 .368 .804 1.7 2.8 1.0 0.0 10.7

29 27.3 .396 .261 .697 2.9 4.6 0.9 0.1 8.1

38 26.1 .438 .371 .807 2.8 3.9 1.0 0.0 11.1

53 28.6 .418 .371 .883 2.6 2.7 0.8 0.1 11.0

5 19.6 .351 .308 .800 3.8 2.4 0.8 0.0 6.8

35 20.8 .466 .397 .889 2.0 3.5 1.0 0.1 7.7

22 12.8 .342 .241 .826 1.6 1.8 0.8 0.0 3.5

30 11.0 .385 .262 .818 1.6 2.1 0.4 0.0 3.8

425 26:21 .449 .367 .813 2.4 4.0 1.1 0.1 10.7

Awards and honors International 2008 Croatian League Assists 2007 Poland-DBL Assists

KBL 2009–10 KBL Best 5 2011 KBL Finals 2013 KBL Playoff Champion

College 2001 All-ACC Honorable Mention 2002 All-ACC Second Team

High school 1998 Mr. Georgia Basketball award

Filmography Television YearTitleRoleNotes Radio StarHimselfEpisode 667 My Golden KidsHimselfEpisode 17 Sporty SistersHimselfEpisodes 17 and 18 CashbackHimselfEpisode 2, pilot episode King of Mask SingerContestant (as Oh, My!)Episode: "150th Generation Mask King" –2022 Sporty BrothersHost/HimselfRegular cast Sporty SistersHimselfEpisode 45 Buddy Into The WildHimselfEpisodes 50 and 51 No Pain No DelishHimselfEpisode 9 The King of SsireumHimselfRegular cast Super DNA – Blood Can't CheatHimselfEpisode 8 Rice Planting ClubHimselfEpisode 7 United FeathersHimselfEpisode 33 Saturday Night Live KoreaNeymarEpisode 4 Mr. House HusbandHimselfEpisode 317 Radio StarHimselfEpisode 840 Knowing BrosHimselfEpisode 433 The Burning RosesHimselfEpisode 57 XYOBHimselfEpisode 10 XYOBCo-hostEpisode 15, substituting for Joon Park The InfluencerHimselfRegular cast BYOBHimselfEpisode 5 Knowing BrosHimselfEpisode 508 –2026Rising EaglesHimselfRegular cast Same Bed, Different Dreams 2: You Are My DestinyHimself