Buford Opens Up on ‘Tumultuous 36 Hours’

Sydney Kings coach Chase Buford has revealed the “tumultuous” build-up he had towards Game 3 of the Grand Final, as a potential suspension hung in the balance.

Buford kicked and damaged the LED signage in Game 2 in Tasmania after disagreeing with a referee’s decision. His actions were later determined as unsportsmanlike behaviour by the Game Review Panel, and he was fined $500, reduced to $375, after he accepted an early guilty plea.

If Buford was suspended, he would have missed the Kings’ Game 3 win, where they won their first championship since 2005.

Reflecting on the moment while speaking on The Huddle, Buford said he “has those thoughts to myself” when asked if he thought he should have been suspended.

“It was a very tumultuous 36 hours. I didn't feel very good about myself at all,” he said.

“I felt I owed it to the guys. If they weren't going to suspend me, I'm not going to leave them hanging, so I'll deal with the guilt or whatever later.”

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Buford also explained how Sydney CEO Chris Pongrass and special adviser Luc Longley helped his mindset ahead of the Grand Final decider.  

“CP (Pongrass) and I rode to the building that morning together. I'd shared that I was mentally a little messed up about it. He helped me but Luc was another one,” Buford said.

“(Luc said) try to go enjoy it, this might not come around very often, go have fun, try to enjoy it. You're going to have to grow, you’re going to get better, but it's not right now, there's a game to win and you gotta go do that.”

The Kings swept the JackJumpers 3-0 to claim the NBL championship.