“We didn’t listen”: Kings back belief over outside noise

The Hungry Jack’s NBL26 Championship Series has been two years in the making for Brian Goorjian.

Since returning to the Sydney Kings in March 2024, one thing has been on the seven-time Coach of the Year’s mind, and that’s bringing another championship back to the Harbour City.

Last season didn’t go according to plan, with the Kings eliminated by Adelaide in the Play-In Qualifier.

Then, the start of this season, despite adding the likes of Kendric Davis and Matthew Dellavedova, followed suit, with the Harbour City side going 3-5 through their opening eight matches.

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But coach Goorjian stuck to his guns, and the five-time champions eventually clicked. When they did, it all fell into place.

“It [this group] is one of the best I've coached for a long time, and it's one of my most enjoyable years to this point,” Goorjian said during the club’s media availability on Wednesday.

“Talk's cheap, but all during that [tough] time, during all the interviews I did, I said the same thing, I really like this group. I think they're connected. I think they're special. I think we're going to work this out and be good.

“To get to the point that we got to [top spot] is probably higher than expected, because of the hole that we got in and what we had to do to finish on top and have home court advantage.

“But I did feel like we'd come good and nothing was getting in the way of our goal.

“We didn’t listen to the outside noise of I'm too old, the team's not good enough, bad selection and [look at] where we are now.

“We've grown through the disappointment by sticking together, and now, when you get into games like this, it comes in spades.”

With 35 games in the rear-view mirror, just three wins stand between Goorjian’s Kings and a championship.

To achieve that, the Kings will have to limit the impact of Bryce Cotton, a task they’ve achieved through the pair’s first four matches.

On the season, the six-time MVP is averaging 25.7 points on 43.8 per cent from the field, but that number drops to 16.3 points at 36.7 per cent against Sydney (the lowest mark against any team in NBL26).

The Kings have achieved that thanks to the number of players they can throw at him, including Torrey Craig, Makuach Maluach, Jaylin Galloway and the team’s ‘defensive joker card’, Matthew Dellavedova.

“He [Cotton] is an incredible basketball player, and if you don't do something about that, you're not going to win the series,” Goorjian said.

“He [Delly’s] a definite factor [in limiting Cotton]. We've played them four times, and the last one, we didn’t have him or Bul Kuol as our primary guy.

“Delly's been incredible, and all that's been talked about prior to how we've moved forward.

“You look at the last series, and you look at a guy like [Kristian] Doolittle, who is 6'8", 240, and he was our answer.

“[Or others like Nathan] Sobey or Bryce Cotton, these are all great players, the all-NBL players, and he has been heavily involved in that [being the defensive answer].

“He did a phenomenal job in Game 2 and was instrumental in that, so having him with you as far as executing your game plan offensively and defensively is huge, and he'll be a key part of it.”

The highly anticipated Hungry Jack's NBL26 Championship Series, between Sydney and Adelaide, tips off at Qudos Bank Arena on Saturday at 7pm AEDT, live on ESPN and 10 Drama.