The making of a modern dynasty in Sydney

After Sunday’s Game 5 victory, the Sydney Kings have now won three championships in the past five seasons.

While it’s not the same as the three straight the franchise won from 2003 to 2005, there’s an argument that the club is currently in their second dynasty.

It hasn’t all been sunshine and rainbows, but the Kings have established themselves as one of the premier teams in the competition since 2018, when NBA champion Andrew Bogut joined the franchise.

Soon after, Paul Smith and Paul Kind took over as majority owners in 2019, and Chris Pongrass became the club’s CEO and chief decision-maker.

While success didn’t immediately follow, the club was on the right path, reaching the 2019-20 Championship Series under Will Weaver, before losing to Perth.

A down year followed, before the club appointed Chase Buford as head coach.

That masterstroke led the Harbour City side, who had Robyn Denholm and the Wollemi Capital Group join the ownership group that also consisted of Luc Longley and Bogut in 2022, to back-to-back championships in NBL22 and NBL23.

At the conclusion of that second title, there was a changing of the guard in Sydney, with the likes of Buford, Xavier Cooks, Derrick Walton Jr, Tim Soares, Justin Simon and Dejan Vasiljevic all departing.

Two down years, where the Kings were knocked out in the Play-In Qualifier, ensued, but in the latter, coach Brian Goorjian explained, “there were a lot of good things” to come from the season.

That laid the foundations for the club’s incredible NBL26 campaign, in which the Kings finished in top spot with a 24-9 record, thanks to a 14-game win streak at the back end of the year.

Goorjian’s side then went 5-2 during the post-season to claim the club’s sixth NBL championship.

While there have been plenty of moving parts during this eight-year span, one star who’s been a part of all three titles is NBL23 MVP, Xavier Cooks.

"This game [Sunday] summed up this season," Kings star Xavier Cooks told ESPN.

"Everyone came to play. Look at this crowd. Look what we've created here in Sydney. Three championships in five years."

Cooks is just one of three three-time champions in the Kings’ current group, alongside Shaun Bruce and Jaylin Galloway, while Koaut Noi now has two to his name in Sydney.

"I hope I rewarded them," Cooks said. "I gave my absolute all this season to be in this situation. I don't play for individual stats; I play for wins, and to win championships. And we did it."

For Goorjian, it was his fourth title with the Kings and seventh as an NBL coach.

"This has happened a little quicker than anticipated," he said.

"I knew it was gonna be a build, and I think the organisation knew that when we started. Year one was rough, but I thought there were a lot of good things.

"This next step has been bigger and stronger than I thought, and the goal has been to get the city behind our team again. I think that might be the biggest thing out of this."

As it stands, Cooks, Galloway, Noi (club option), Matthew Dellavedova, Keli Leaupepe (club option), Tyler Robertson (club option), Bul Kuol (mutual option) and Jason Spurgin are all under contract next year, meaning the foundations are in place for the Kings to make a run at their fourth title in six seasons.

The last team to achieve that was the Perth Wildcats, who won four from 2014 to 2019.

Read the full story here >> Reflections from the Kings' 2026 NBL Championship