From waiting game to staking his claim: King takes over

Mojave King didn’t just take his chance, he owned it. In a career-best NBL showing, he poured in 32 points to remind everyone just how dangerous he can be.

Back for a second stint with the Cairns Taipans, King looked locked in and ready to maximise his opportunity.

The former NBA Draft selection started strong, hitting 3 of 4 from downtown for 13 points in the first half against the Illawarra Hawks. He added another 13 in the third quarter and finished with a career-high 32, shooting an incredible 13 of 16 from the field and 6 of 8 from three-point range.

It was the kind of performance King has always been capable of, one he’s flashed before in stints with the Snakes, Adelaide 36ers, New Zealand Breakers, and across two seasons in the G League.

After initially being without an NBL26 home following his year with the Breakers, the call finally came, with Adam Forde on the other end reaching out when Alex Higgins-Titsha suffered a season-ending wrist injury.

The 23-year-old dynamic scorer couldn’t get to Cairns fast enough last week.

"Even from the first phone call that I had with Fordey it sounded like everything that I was looking for, and I was just kinda sitting on the sidelines at home watching a lot of basketball and not with anybody," King said.

"Then once I got that call and he was telling me about how envisioned being a part of the team, and was laying out what the opportunity was going to look like for me.

"It was something I definitely wanted to take advantage of and make the most of, because it's been something that I've been waiting to get for a long time. I'm definitely just trying to maximise."

Coach Forde was happy to give King the opportunity and said it’s on him to now show that he’s ready to be more than just a player of potential.

While happy with his performance, King wants to see more of what he did on Friday.

"Well it's one game, so let's see if he can continue that form," Forde said.

"When we talk about what we want to teach in terms of the reads, when to cut, when to push the break and for Mo, it comes naturally so there's an element where that can lift the standard of everybody else to get to the position where we're all doing it.

"Mo's been around a lot of basketball and played for a lot of good teams, and played for a lot of good coaches and been on the NBA circuit so you pick up a few things along the way.

"For a guy who's still learning the playbook, he also showed how effective you can be off the ball and it was impressive."