How to watch & talking points: Adelaide v Sydney

02 Jan 2026

adelaide 36ers

sydney kings

The two hottest teams in the NBL, Adelaide and Sydney, clash in a blockbuster fixture at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

Adelaide 36ers (1st) v Sydney Kings (4th)
Friday, January 2, 7.30pm AEDT
Adelaide Entertainment Centre

How to watch‍

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Tickets

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Talking points

Adelaide's ultimate test
Right now it looks as if the Adelaide 36ers have their best chance at winning a title since they lost a championship series in 2018.

Led by the five-time MVP in Bryce Cotton, everything seems to be humming along nicely for the 36ers. The biggest obstacle right now is how they can get over the line against the Sydney Kings, who have beaten them twice this season.

What plan does Mike Wells have to combat the way that Sydney has shut them down so far this season?

Kuol vs Cotton
Part of Sydney’s success against Adelaide has been how effective Bul Kuol has been in limiting Cotton’s influence on the game.

While he hasn’t done it alone, with the likes of Matthew Dellavedova and Jaylin Galloway stepping up also, Kuol has been leading the charge with a big defensive effort.

The Kings are the best defensive team in the league and it seems as if they are not slowing down any time soon.

What they're saying

36ers import Nick Rakocevic on playing Sydney:
“It's a big challenge for us.

“You know, obviously they beat as bad at home and we went over there and lost to them as well.

“We definitely owe them one and it's our job to protect home court, and make it up for our fans that came out the first time when we played Sydney and we lost to them.

“But I think it's just really important for us to just keep building on what we've been doing and just kind of keep us going.”

Kings big man Tim Soares on his side's defensive mentality:
“We were treading water instead of really diving in [earlier in the season], because when our mentality is being the aggressor [on defence], it completely changes the game.

“Obviously, we're not going to win every single game, but if we want to have a chance at this, we need to play at this kind of level. We're starting to understand that now.

“It starts at practice, and he [Brian Goorjian] has done a great job of making sure that we're at a high level, which then translates to the game where we’re bringing that same intensity.”