"Be you, bro": Noi’s green light to entertain

When Brian Goorjian first met Kouat Noi, he had a simple message for the Sydney Kings star, “be you bro”.

Whether it’s the post-game mic drop aimed at Lanard Copeland, taking a deep breath before letting it fly, or the celebration in front of NBA icon Allen Iverson, Noi has embraced that freedom and played with confidence, personality and edge, and the results are speaking for themselves.

“When we first got in this together and I got to know him, I remember saying to him ‘hey man, this is entertainment. I’m not pulling your purse strings at all. I’m demanding this, but be you bro’,” Goorjian said after the Kings’ win over Brisbane.

“He is a character and really good for us. He loosens up, he plays real hard, but he’s a showman.”

With several Kings stars on the sideline, Noi stepped up in a big way on night one of HoopsFest, scoring 24 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.

Already the NBL’s Best Sixth Man in NBL25, he is very much in the mix to go back-to-back.

“Kouat Noi tonight, a double-double, played a lot of five, played four, played three … that’s another established player that’s had to play a little bit out of his box [due to the team’s injuries],” Goorjian said.

With his childhood hero Allen Iverson in the stands, Noi looked like he was having an absolute ball out on the court.

And if his coach ever pulls him into line for being a little too boisterous on the court, he's got the perfect response.

“Every now and then he’ll get the ball and he puts on a show before he shoots it. Any time I go at him, he’ll go ‘hey coach, we’re involved in entertainment’,” Goorjian joked.

Noi is averaging 12 points and 4.2 rebounds a game in NBL26, but his presence and impact stretch far beyond just the numbers.