Coach of the Year? Don't Forget Chase

Saturday, January 21, 2023

NBL analyst Liam Santamaria believes Sydney Kings coach Chase Buford should be right in the mix for Coach of the Year honours.

While majority of the Coach of the Year debate has centred around New Zealand’s Mody Maor and Cairns’ Adam Forde, Santamaria says Sydney’s head honcho deservers as much attention as anyone.

And even though Forde still gets Santamaria’s vote – just – he says it will be a close call.

“I think Adam Forde is that guy right now, just ahead of Chase Buford, with Mody Maor in the bronze medal position,” Santamaria told NBL Today.

“I don’t think we should sleep on Chase Buford for the Coach of the Year conversation. He has a lot of talent, they’re the defending champions, a lot of people came into the season expecting the Sydney Kings to be really good ... but you got to look at the fact they have three new imports and they just have not missed a beat all year.

“They’ve got the number one ranked defence in the league, the number one ranked offence, everybody who is a close observer of the league says the Kings are a class above everyone else right now and you would probably be surprised if anyone else won the championship at this point.

“All of that should be part of why we credit Chase Buford with the job he has done and why he should be part of that conversation.”

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The Kings sit comfortably on top of the ladder with a 17-5 record, while the Taipans are second at 16-7.

After sitting in the top two of most of the campaign, a recent form slump from New Zealand has seen Maor drop slightly in the Coach of the Year rankings, according to Santamaria.

“Last time we spoke we had Mody Maor just a step in front of that chasing pack, but it has been a bit of a struggle for the Breakers over the past few weeks, meanwhile the Taipans, without Keanu Pinder, have won six in a row,” he said.

“I think that little stretch has probably solidified Adam Forde’s favouritism for that award.”

The Lindsay Gaze Trophy for Coach of the Year will be awarded on February 7.