Davis dazzles, but Delly the difference?

Through the first three games of the Hungry Jack’s NBL26 Championship Series, most of the headlines have rightfully surrounded stars Bryce Cotton and Kendric Davis.

But the Sydney Kings have had numerous solid contributions from other key pieces on their roster, to help them go into Wednesday’s Game 4 up 2-1.

From Tim Soares’ 22 points and 8 rebounds in Game 1, to Jaylin Galloway’s shooting and athleticism, to Torrey Craig’s incredible impact off the bench, the Kings’ other key pieces have stood up when it’s mattered most.

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But according to South East Melbourne coach Josh King, who was a special guest on Tuesday’s NBL Now Roundtable, Matthew Dellavedova has been the Harbour City side’s most important player.

“Sydney's a very deep team. We can sit here and talk about KD, but they have a lot of high-level players on that roster that can hurt [you],” King said on NBL Now.

“You can't just focus on KD. That's the problem. KD does an excellent job of getting his other players involved.

“[One of those is Matthew Dellavedova], who’s been very important and probably they’re second-best [performer] right now.

“Delly does just as good a job as anybody in the league covering Bryce, but they’re posting Delly up on Bryce on the offensive end, which is wearing down Cotton.

“KD’s been amazing, but you take Delly off this Sydney team, I don't know if they win this Series. He’s a huge part of what they’re doing.”

The stats back up NBA champion Dellavedova’s impact, too, with the guard being +36 plus/minus for the Series, highlighting the impact he’s having on the game when on the hardwood.

King’s praise for Dellavedova, alongside fellow NBL Now panellists Kelsey Browne, Pete Hooley and Lanard Copeland, echoed the sentiment of his coach Brian Goorjian, who called the 35-year-old an “Australian icon”.

The other Kings star the panel wanted to highlight for getting the franchise to within one game of a sixth title is NBL23 MVP Cooks.

“Xavier Cooks is one of the league's MVPs, and has been unbelievable this Series on both ends [of the floor],” Hooley said.

“He always seems to be in the right spot and his length and athleticism [cause issues] on defence.”

Game 4 of the Championship Series tips off at 7.30pm AEDT on Wednesday at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, live on ESPN and 10 Drama in Sydney and Adelaide.