NBL26 Report Card: Kings reclaim NBL throne

As the Free Agency period tips off, NBL Media is putting the microscope on every club's NBL26 campaign.

Pete Hooley analyses every team, starting with the tenth-placed Bullets, all the way through to the Championship-winning Kings.

What the ladder says

1st place - 24 wins, 9 losses

Four word summary

Crown secured for Sydney

Report Card

Grade: A+

What more can be said about this Sydney Kings team, who deservedly finished as champions of the season, utilising their exceptional depth and versatility to finish the job.

While they got the job done in overtime of Game 5 against Adelaide, the statistics would reflect that the Kings were far and away the best team all year.

Brian Goorjian’s men held the best net rating (+14.9), combining their league-leading offensive (123.2) and defensive (108.2) ratings.

It’s remarkable to think how this Sydney Kings team, that went on such an incredible run towards the end of the season, had their struggles early on.

That slow start included just three wins from their first eight games, including three losses by 14 points or more.

Even as this team began to figure things out on both ends of the floor, they were then dealt with more adversity when Bul Kuol went down with an ACL injury in Adelaide.

Rising above all that, the Kings managed to win 14 straight games from Round 16 until their Game 2 loss against Adelaide in the Championship Series.

Season highlight

It seems somewhat of the perfect script, that the Kings would win an overtime thriller on their home floor in front of 18 thousand screaming fans.

Any time you get to a Game 5 of a Championship Series, all momentum and prior results don’t matter, as the emotions peak for both teams and anyone can come out on top.

For Sydney, they managed to weather the Bryce Cotton storm once again and clawed their way back from multiple key deficits to get within striking distance late.

As Kendric Davis rose up for a potential game-winning three, Tim Soares flew in for an offensive rebound to tie the game.

After Cotton missed a layup, we had ourselves overtime, in which the Kings utilised their incredible home crowd to run away with it in the extra five minutes.

Season lowlight

Round 15 was one of the toughest hurdles for the Kings to overcome for a few reasons, but particularly when they lost Kuol to an ACL injury in Adelaide.

Arguably the best defender in the league, the 29-year-old had been setting the tone on that end of the floor to begin the season, especially in his direct matchups with Cotton.

The Kings entered Adelaide on the back of a six-game winning streak, and that injury to one of their key pieces hit them hard. After losing that game in Adelaide, the Kings had to welcome in the Phoenix to Qudos Bank Arena just days later in another matchup between more championship contenders.

Sydney fell to South East Melbourne by seven points in what was the highest scoring 40-minute game ever played, 117 to 124.

It would end a tough round for Goorjian’s team, who lost to both the other major contending teams and would have to find a way to cover for their injured star.

Stats don’t lie

Yes, that’s right, I’m combining these two categories because Kendric Davis once again put up ridiculous numbers in just his second season in the league.

The Kings’ leading playmaking was outstanding all year long, and after talking the talk following the MVP night, he walked the walk in the Playoffs to win the Championship Series MVP.

The 26-year-old continues to show that he’s one of the most talented players we have ever seen, by filling it up every night and taking over games when his team needs him to.

Davis averaged 25 points and seven assists for a second straight season, yet he did it in three fewer minutes of game time than the season prior for Adelaide.

For a guard who takes over 18 shots per game, his 47 per cent efficiency from the field is quite remarkable, just highlighting how he can get to his spots with ease.

It’s very rare that a fresh face, let alone a young professional, can come into a league and dominate the way he has in the first two seasons.

MVP

It’s honestly hard to narrow their team MVP down to one, because both Nathan Sobey and John Brown III deserve recognition for their outstanding seasons.

When King took over as head coach, it looked to be a match made in heaven for 35-year-old Sobey, who had a career year for the Phoenix and finished third in league MVP voting.

The veteran guard averaged 22.5 points, four rebounds and five assists per game, including his historic Game 2 performance that will forever be remembered.

On the other end of the court was Brown III, who was simply dominant defensively all season long.

His international resume and reputation lived up to the hype as he claimed yet another defensive player of the year accolade and did so in style.

As good as he was on that end, it was his aggression on the offensive glass that made him so pivotal to his team’s success.

Surprise packet

When Kuol went down with his season-ending injury, the Kings needed someone to fill that void, which is no easy task.

Thankfully for Goorjian, Makuach Maluach was biding his time and waiting for his opportunity to grow, and once his number was called, he never looked back.

The 27-year-old had his most impactful season yet, averaging over eight points per game, but quickly became an impactful two-way threat.

The athletic wing saved his best performance for when his team desperately needed it, with 23 points against Perth in Game 2 of their Playoff Series, including 10 in the fourth quarter to get them across the line.

What's next?

Heading into NBL27, Brian Goorjian's side has Xavier Cooks, Matthew Dellavedova, Jaylin Galloway, Kouat Noi, Keli Leaupepe, Tyler Robertson and Jason Spurgin all under contract, while Bul Kuol recently penned a two-year deal with Adelaide.

ESPN's Olgun Uluc reports the Kings have tabled a multi-year deal for Kendric Davis to return to the Harbour City, while the Kings are pushing hard to re-sign key wing Makuach Maluach.