Buford's Record Unrivalled

After the announcement of the departure of Chase Buford from the Sydney Kings on Tuesday afternoon, the gravity of his impact during his short time in the NBL is only just beginning to sink in.

Buford’s appointment as the Kings’ head coach followed the style of philosophy the club has adopted – on and off – for over two decades – starting with the appointment of American and former North Melbourne head coach Brett Brown.

The desire to appoint exciting and emerging coaching talents from across the world.

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After arriving from the Wisconsin Herd ahead of NBL22 as an unknown quantity to the Australian basketball landscape, he leaves as quite possibly the most successful coach the competition has ever seen.

Aside from his highly-publicised two championships in two seasons, His 47 wins from 68 games in charge sees him depart with a winning percentage of 69.1 – the highest of any NBL coach ever to have led a team for more than one game. 

He’s one of just ten coaches to have won multiple NBL titles, and became the fourth youngest to ever win one.

He’s also just one of three coaches alongside NBL coaching legends Brian Kerle and Phil Smyth to win two titles in his first two seasons in the NBL.

Team success isn’t the only metric on which Buford could – or should – be judged on. The influence he has had on the growth of the individual players under his charge cannot be underestimated.

He’s coached the last two NBL MVPs in Jaylen Adams and Xavier Cooks, and Cooks has since found his way to the NBA with the Washington Wizards.

Dejan Vasiljevic and Angus Glover have both progressed in leaps and bounds – so much so that the previously injury-riddled Glover gave himself a chance to be named as the Larry Sengstock Trophy winner in NBL23.

Jordi Hunter and Kouat Noi put injury-hit campaigns behind them to become part of the most electric bench unit in the NBL, while Shaun Bruce has hit new heights in the competition at the age of 32.

Regardless of whether the Kings elect to look locally or internationally, or aim to bring in youth or experience, their next head coach has been left with a pair of historically large boots to fill.