Sydney Kings

The Sydney Kings are an Australian men's professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League (NBL). The team is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The Kings were formed from a merger between the West Sydney Westars and the Sydney Supersonics in October 1987. They were the first team to win three consecutive championships in the NBL and currently sit fifth behind the Adelaide 36ers and New Zealand Breakers (four each), Melbourne United (five) and Perth Wildcats (nine) for championships won. The Kings play their home games at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney Olympic Park, New South Wales.

Sydney Kings
2020–21 Sydney Kings season
LeagueNBL
Founded14 October 1987 (14 October 1987)
HistorySydney Kings
1988–2008; 2010–present
ArenaQudos Bank Arena
Capacity18,200
LocationSydney, New South Wales
Team coloursPurple, gold, white, black
       
Main sponsorBrydens Lawyers
CEOChris Pongrass
PresidentPaul Smith
Head coachAdam Forde
Team captainDaniel Kickert
OwnershipTotal Sport & Entertainment
Championships3 (2003, 2004, 2005)
WebsiteSydney Kings

History

1988–2002: First 15 years

The Kings were formed from a merger between the West Sydney Westars and the Sydney Supersonics in October 1987.[1] The team adopted the purple-and-gold colours traditionally linked with the most winning team in the NBA during the 1980s, the Los Angeles Lakers.

Before the merger, no Sydney-based teams had ever made the final four in NBL competition. That changed in 1989, when the Kings finished fifth with a 15–9 record and advanced to the semi-finals with a 2–1 win over the Melbourne Tigers. After splitting their first two games in the semi-finals, the Kings were humiliated by the Canberra Cannons 142–82 in the series-deciding third game.

Sydney made the playoffs in 1990, losing in the first round to the Brisbane Bullets. In 1992, led by imports Dwayne McClain (who was named to the All-NBL First Team) and Ken McClary (ranked 5th in the league in rebounds), the Kings finished second on the ladder. This time they advanced to the semi-finals and were beaten by the Tigers, who would eventually lose to the South-East Melbourne Magic in the championship series.

Over the next few years the Kings, despite the rich pockets of private owner Mike Wrublewski, earned a reputation for being chronic under-achievers. The team featured high-profile players like Leon Trimmingham,[2] Mario Donaldson, Dean Uthoff and Phil Smyth during the mid-90s but they failed to make the playoffs in 1993 or 1995, and were eliminated in the first round in 1994 and 1996. The team soon received the nickname of 'The Violet Crumbles', a popular chocolate sold in purple wrapper; the joke being that the team was wrapped in purple and shattered under pressure. 'The Cardiac Kids' was another tag, for the team's frequency in getting involved in close, thrilling games.

After their 1996 elimination, the Kings would not make the NBL playoffs again until 2001, when they made it to the first round before being eliminated by the Townsville Crocodiles. Australian Olympic team guard Shane Heal was recruited to lead the team, and he finished second in the league in scoring average, behind Olympic teammate Andrew Gaze. Heal finished third in scoring average in the 2001–02 season, but the Kings again failed to make the playoffs.

2003–2008: Championships era

For the 2002–03 season, Heal was joined by talented imports Chris Williams and Kavossy Franklin. The team also welcomed the NBL's all-time leader in coaching victories, Brian Goorjian. The Kings finished on top of the ladder with a 22–8 record, and swept the Perth Wildcats 2–0 in the grand final series to claim their first-ever championship.

With Goorjian able to implement his defensive tactics which were so successful with the Spectres, Magic and Titans in Melbourne, there seemed to be no stopping the Kings, who were able to recruit quality imports like 2002–03 league MVP Chris Williams. In addition, many Victorian groomed players who had previously played for Goorijan such as Jason Smith and Bradley Sheridan followed him north to Sydney.

Heal retired after the 2002–03 season, and C. J. Bruton was recruited to take his place, Jason Smith was signed after returning to the NBL after playing in Europe but unfortunately was injured 13 games into the season and was replaced by import Chris Carrawell. The Kings started the 2003–04 season with 10 successive wins, and would eventually win their second championship after their best-of-five grand final series with crosstown rivals West Sydney Razorbacks went down to the deciding fifth game. Kings player Matt Nielsen would win the regular season and finals MVP in 2003–04 before leaving to play overseas.

The Kings again performed strongly in the 2004–05 season despite a disastrous early game against Townsville which saw C. J. Bruton out for weeks with an elbow injury, and a season ending torn ACL for rookie of the year candidate Luke Kendall. The Kings managed without their starting backcourt until Bruton came back and they signed import big man Rolan Roberts. Arguably stronger than before the Kings finished on top of the ladder and crushed the Wollongong Hawks in three straight games to become the first team in Australian league history to win three consecutive championships. Jason Smith was named the NBL Finals Most Valuable Player.

In the 2005–06 season, the Kings again finished atop the ladder and made it to the grand final. Import centre Rolan Roberts suffered a torn pectoral muscle imitating a Vince Carter dunk during the All Star dunk competition and was replaced by Sedric Webber. In the finals they were swept 3–0 by the Chris Anstey led Melbourne Tigers.

The club was then purchased in 2006 for $2 million by the chairman of fuel technology company Firepower International, Tim Johnston. Johnston later sold a part share in 2007 to 31-year-old Dorry Kordahi, CEO and owner of DKM.

2008–2010: Club demise

On 24 March 2008, coach Brian Goorjian quit the club after a mutual agreement,[3] and on 12 June 2008, the NBL terminated the Sydney team's licence as Firepower collapsed and the Kings were unable to pay player salaries.[4]

2010–2012: Kings relaunch

Under a revised management structure and ownership, the Sydney Kings relaunched for the 2010–11 NBL season, returning to the league after a two-year absence.[5] However, despite big-named additions such as Julian Khazzouh, Ben Madgen and Luke Martin, the Kings in their first season back finished in last place on the ladder with an 8–20 record.

Due to the 2011 NBA Lockout, Australia's highest profile basketballer, former Milwaukee Bucks centre Andrew Bogut, was looking to play in the NBL during the 2011–12 season. He was linked with the Adelaide 36ers, the Gold Coast Blaze and the Kings, whom Bogut had supported when growing up in Australia. Sydney was favored to secure his services and Bogut ultimately chose to make his NBL debut with the Kings. However, the insurance to cover his remaining US$39 million contract with the Bucks couldn't be resolved, leaving the Kings and the NBL without the services of Australia's highest profile player. It was expected that Bogut's signing would see an increase in Kings membership and league attendances.[6] Despite not being able to play, Bogut later expressed interest in joining the Kings' coaching staff during the lockout to help the club.[7] This ultimately did not happen either.

The Kings fared better in 2011–12, finishing the season in seventh spot with an 11–17 record.

2012–2018: Continued struggles

The Kings continued to struggle over the ensuing six years, qualifying just once (2012–13) for the playoffs in their eight seasons since returning to the league, and finishing with a losing record in the regular season in each of their eight seasons. In November 2015, the club played their 800th game in franchise history.[8] Australian basketball icon Andrew Gaze was named head coach of the team on a three-year deal starting with the 2016–17 season. The team recruited big names Kevin Lisch, Brad Newley and Aleks Marić plus imports Greg Whittington and Michael Bryson for the 2016–17 season; however after starting the season with five wins in their opening six games, the Kings won just eight of their remaining 22 games and missed the playoffs.

Before the 2017–18 season, the team recruited imports Perry Ellis and Travis Leslie plus small forward Todd Blanchfield; however fared no better, losing 16 of their first 21 games as Lisch suffered a calf injury that would force him to miss most of the regular season. Late in the campaign the club brought in 2016–17 NBL MVP Jerome Randle and big man Jeremy Tyler. Randle led the team to six wins in their final seven games and was named to the All-NBL Second Team, but the Kings missed the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.

2018–present: Return to the finals

The 2018–19 season was the Kings' 30th anniversary season in the NBL. On 24 April 2018, the Kings announced the signing of Australian basketball icon, Andrew Bogut. In that same offseason, the Kings became the first beneficiary of the NBL's new Next Stars program, which offers a professional option immediately out of secondary school to Americans (who are currently barred from the NBA draft until one year after graduation), as well as Australians and New Zealanders considering U.S. college basketball. Under the program, the team signed American Brian Bowen.[9] After a 18–10 record across the 2018–19 season, the club recorded their first finals appearance since 2013 however lost 2–0 to Melbourne United in the semi-finals.

After Andrew Gaze left the club under a mutual agreement, Will Weaver was signed as the new head coach.[10][11] In Weaver's first season with the club, the Kings were minor champions for the first time in over a decade and made it through to the grand final series, however after three games the Kings indicated they did not wish to proceed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lost the series to the Perth Wildcats.[12][13]

Home arena

The Sydney Kings' first home venue was the State Sports Centre located at Homebush. After playing at the 5,006-seat venue in 1988 and 1989, the Kings then moved into Sydney's largest indoor venue, the 12,500-seat Sydney Entertainment Centre in 1990. The SEC, known for Kings games as "The Kingdome", would be the Kings' home until the team moved back to Homebush in 1999 and into the new, 18,200-capacity Sydney Super Dome which had been built as the main basketball and gymnastics venue for the 2000 Summer Olympics held in Sydney.

Despite attracting an NBL record 17,143 crowd for their opening-round game in the 1999/2000 season against the Canberra Cannons (played as a double header with the West Sydney Razorbacks playing the Brisbane Bullets), the Kings' time at the Super Dome only lasted three years. After the club went into voluntary administration following the 2001/2002 season and was then purchased by a new investment group, the franchise decided to move back to the Entertainment Centre in 2002, citing falling attendances and the high cost of playing their games at the NBA-size venue. It was also speculated at the time that the core of the Kings fan base came from the eastern and northern suburbs of Sydney and that fans were not enthused about having to travel to Homebush for games.

The Kings moved back to the Entertainment Centre in 2002, where they remained until 2015, though they were forced to move one game in the 2012–13 NBL season to the State Sports Centre due to a pre-booked event taking priority at the Entertainment Centre. At its closing in 2015, the SEC had a basketball capacity of 10,517 (with curtains blocking off seats behind the basket to reduce capacity) giving the Kings the second-largest capacity venue in the NBL behind the 14,846-seat Perth Arena, though as the SEC was opened in 1983 it also gave the Kings the league's oldest venue.

The Kings moved back to Homebush midway through the 2015–16 season due to the SEC being demolished to make way for an apartment complex and convention centre. On 13 March 2016, the Kings came under new management and were subsequently moved back to the Superdome (Qudos Bank Arena) for the 2016–17 season. During the regular season, the Kings curtained off the upper deck of the Qudos Bank Arena (depending on ticket demand), leaving capacity at approximately 9,000.[14] In the final home game of the 2016–17 season, the Kings drew 11,005 fans to their game against Melbourne United – at the time, the second largest home crowd in franchise history.

In a game against the Illawarra Hawks on 17 November 2019, the Kings set the all-time NBL single game attendance record with 17,514 at Qudos Bank Arena.

In the 2019/2020 season alone, six of the top ten home crowds in franchise history attended games at Qudos Bank Arena.

The Kings averaged 10,012 fans per home game in the 2019/2020 NBL season – the largest per-game average at home in franchise history and the first Sydney Kings team to ever average more than 10,000 fans per home game. The total home fan attendance for the season was 140,168 – the largest in franchise history and nearly 20,000 fans more than the previous record set in 1994.

Honour and awards

NBL champions
  • 2003, 2004, 2005
NBL Most Valuable Player
NBL Grand Final MVP
All-NBL First Team
All-NBL Second Team
All-NBL Third Team
NBL Coach of the Year
NBL Rookie of the Year
NBL Best Defensive Player
NBL Best Sixth Man
NBL Most Improved Player

Season by season

Season Division League Regular season Post-season Head Coach Captain Club MVP
FinishPlayedWinsLossesWin %
Sydney Kings
1988 1 NBL 10th 24 10 14 .417 Did not qualify Claude Williams Steve Carfino Steve Carfino
1989 1 NBL 5th 24 15 9 .625 Lost in Semi-finals to Canberra Cannons, 2–1 (series) Bob Turner Brad Dalton
Damian Keogh
Marc Ridlen
1990 1 NBL 6th 26 16 10 .615 Lost in Elimination-Finals to Brisbane Bullets, 2–1 (series) Bob Turner Brad Dalton
Damian Keogh
Steve Carfino
1991 1 NBL 7th 26 14 12 .538 Did not qualify Bob Turner Damian Keogh Dwayne McClain
1992 1 NBL 2nd 24 17 7 .708 Lost in Semi-finals to Melbourne Tigers, 2–1 (series) Bob Turner Damian Keogh Dwayne McClain
1993 1 NBL 11th 26 11 15 .423 Did not qualify Bob Turner Damian Keogh
Dwayne McClain
Dwayne McClain
1994 1 NBL 7th 26 16 10 .615 Lost in Quarter-Finals to North Melbourne Giants, 2–1 (series) Bob Turner Mark Dalton
Damian Keogh
Leon Trimmingham
1995 1 NBL 10th 26 10 16 .385 Did not qualify Bob Turner Damian Keogh Leon Trimmingham
1996 1 NBL 5th 26 16 10 .615 Lost in Quarter-Finals to Canberra Cannons, 2–1 (series) Alan Black Shane Heal Isaac Burton
1997 1 NBL 10th 30 12 18 .400 Did not qualify Alan Black Bruce Bolden Melvin Thomas
1998 1 NBL 8th 30 13 17 .433 Did not qualify Bill Tomlinson Bruce Bolden Shane Heal
1998–99 1 NBL 9th 26 9 17 .346 Did not qualify Bill Tomlinson Brad Rosen Matthew Nielsen
1999–2000 1 NBL 9th 28 11 17 .393 Did not qualify Brett Brown Matthew Nielsen Matthew Nielsen
2000–01 1 NBL 5th 28 17 11 .607 Lost in Quarter-Finals to Townsville Crocodiles, 2–1 (series) Brett Brown Shane Heal Shane Heal
2001–02 1 NBL 8th 30 14 16 .467 Did not qualify Brett Brown Shane Heal Shane Heal
2002–03 1 NBL 1st 30 22 8 .733 Champions in Final against Perth Wildcats, 2–0 (series) Brian Goorjian Shane Heal Chris Williams
2003–04 1 NBL 1st 33 26 7 .788 Champions in Final against West Sydney Razorbacks, 3–2 (series) Brian Goorjian Matthew Nielsen Matthew Nielsen
2004–05 1 NBL 1st 32 21 11 .656 Champions in Final against Wollongong Hawks, 3–0 (series) Brian Goorjian Jason Smith Jason Smith
2005–06 1 NBL 1st 32 26 6 .813 Runners-up in Final against Melbourne Tigers, 3–0 (series) Brian Goorjian Jason Smith C.J. Bruton
2006–07 1 NBL 4th 33 20 13 .606 Lost in Semi-finals to Brisbane Bullets, 2–0 (series) Brian Goorjian Jason Smith Jason Smith
2007–08 1 NBL 1st 30 27 3 .900 Runners-up in Final against Melbourne Tigers, 3–2 (series) Brian Goorjian Jason Smith Mark Worthington
2010–11 1 NBL 9th 28 8 20 .286 Did not qualify Ian Robilliard Julian Khazzouh Julian Khazzouh
2011–12 1 NBL 7th 28 11 17 .393 Did not qualify Ian Robilliard
Tim Hudson
Shane Heal
Julian Khazzouh Julian Khazzouh
2012–13 1 NBL 4th 28 12 16 .429 Lost in Semi-finals to New Zealand Breakers, 2–0 (series) Shane Heal Ben Madgen Ben Madgen
2013–14 1 NBL 6th 28 12 16 .429 Did not qualify Shane Heal Ben Madgen Ben Madgen
2014–15 1 NBL 7th 28 9 19 .321 Did not qualify Damian Cotter Ben Madgen Josh Childress
2015–16 1 NBL 8th 28 6 22 .214 Did not qualify Damian Cotter
Joe Connelly
Tom Garlepp Tom Garlepp
2016–17 1 NBL 7th 28 13 15 .464 Did not qualify Andrew Gaze Kevin Lisch Kevin Lisch
2017–18 1 NBL 7th 28 11 17 .393 Did not qualify Andrew Gaze Kevin Lisch Jerome Randle
2018–19 1 NBL 3rd 28 18 10 .643 Lost in Semi-finals to Melbourne United, 2–0 (series) Andrew Gaze Kevin Lisch Andrew Bogut
2019–20 1 NBL 1st 28 20 8 .714 Runners-up in Final against Perth Wildcats, 2–1 (series) Will Weaver Kevin Lisch Jae'Sean Tate
2020–21 1 NBL TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD Adam Forde Daniel Kickert TBD
Regular season record???
Playoff record???

As of the end of the 2019–20 season

Source: Sydney Kings Year by Year

Current roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

Sydney Kings roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHt.Wt.
G/F 0 Louzada Silva, Marcos (NS) 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 84 kg (185 lb)
C 1 Hunter, Jordan 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 104 kg (229 lb)
G 2 Hutchison, Lochlan (DP) 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 85 kg (187 lb)
G 3 Vasiljevic, Dejan 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 86 kg (190 lb)
G 5 Glover, Angus  1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 87 kg (192 lb)
G 7 Bruce, Shaun 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 82 kg (181 lb)
G/F 8 Newley, Brad 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 94 kg (207 lb)
F 9 Moller, Craig 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 93 kg (205 lb)
F 10 Cooks, Xavier  2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 84 kg (185 lb)
F 12 Martin, Jarell (I) 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 108 kg (238 lb)
F 13 Vodanovich, Tom 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 104 kg (229 lb)
F/C 14 Kickert, Daniel (C) 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 109 kg (240 lb)
F/C 15 Woodhill, Archie (DP) 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 95 kg (209 lb)
G 22 Ware, Casper (I) 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) 79 kg (174 lb)
F 25 Galloway, Yalin (DP) 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 82 kg (181 lb)
G 30 Kernich-Drew, Dexter 1.99 m (6 ft 6 in) 83 kg (183 lb)
Head coach
  • Adam Forde
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Development player
  • (I) Import player
  • (NS) Next Star player
  • Injured

Updated: 5 February 2021

Notable players

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

25th Anniversary Team

On 10 October 2013, the Sydney Kings announced their best team from the first 25 years of the club at their 2013–14 Season Launch at the Australian Museum. Three-time championship winner with the Kings Brian Goorjian was named head coach of the 25th Anniversary Team, while Jason Smith was bestowed the honour as captain of the team.[15]

Depth chart

Coaches

Pos. Starter Bench Bench Reserve
C Matthew NielsenLeon Trimmingham
PF Chris WilliamsMark DaltonMark Worthington
SF Dwayne McClainDamian Keogh
SG Jason SmithC. J. BrutonBen Madgen
PG Shane HealSteve Carfino

Wall of Legends

Wall of Legends banners, hung in the rafters of Qudos Bank Arena as of 13 January 2018

The club honours players, coaches and administrators who have made a significant contribution to the club during its existence in the competition. These are signified with banners that are hung at the stage end of Qudos Bank Arena.

Currently the Wall of Legends stands at 13, with the most recent inductions being made at halftime of the Kings vs Melbourne United match on 28 January 2018.

Preseason games against NBA teams

2 October 2017
19:00
Sydney Kings 83108 Utah Jazz
Scoring by quarter: 16–35, 31–23, 13–19, 23–31
Pts: Ellis 19
Rebs: Blanchfield 9
Asts: Leslie 3
Pts: Hood 18
Rebs: Gobert 10
Asts: Ingles 5
Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, United States
Attendance: 15,692
Referees: Marc Davis, Kevin Scott, Randy Richardson
30 September 2018
15:30
Sydney Kings 91110 Los Angeles Clippers
Scoring by quarter: 17–28, 37–31, 18–23, 19–28
Pts: Randle 25
Rebs: Lisch 9
Asts: Lisch 6
Pts: Harris 20
Rebs: Harris 11
Asts: three players 5
Stan Sheriff Center, Honolulu, United States
Attendance: 6,911
Referees: James Capers, Gary Zielinski, Karl Lane

References

  1. Cockerill, Michael (15 October 1987). "One-team saviour for basketball". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 47 (48). Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  2. "Leon Trimmingham (Sydney Kings Legend) Podcast #23". Aussie Hoopla. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  3. Morrissey, Tim (27 March 2008). "Goorjian aide next in line for Kings job". The Daily Telegraph. Australia. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
  4. "NBL terminates Kings licence" (Press release). NBL. 2008. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2008.
  5. Otto, Tyson (25 March 2010). "New Sydney Kings owners right old wrongs". The Daily Telegraph. Australia. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
  6. "Agent: Bogut's deal with Australian team is off". ESPN.go.com. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  7. Hand, Guy (16 March 2012). "Bogut's future hinges on ankle scans". The Sydney Morning Herald. AAP. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
  8. "800 up for Kings – Official Website of the Sydney Kings". SydneyKings.com. 6 November 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  9. "Sydney Kings unveil Next Star Brian Bowen" (Press release). Sydney Kings. 7 August 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  10. Ward, Roy (19 February 2019). "Gaze, Kings to part ways at season's end as NBL coaching reshuffle looms". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  11. "NBL news: Sydney Kings head coach, Will Weaver, NBA G-League, Aussie Boomers". Fox Sports. 22 March 2019.
  12. "Remaining NBL Grand Final Series Games Cancelled | NBL". nbl.com.au. NBL. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  13. "Perth Wildcats Crowned NBL20 Champions | NBL". nbl.com.au.
  14. "New ownership for Sydney Kings – NBL – The National Basketball League". NBL.com.au. 13 March 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  15. "Official Website of the Sydney Kings -". SydneyKings.com. Archived from the original on 13 October 2013. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
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