Kings Ink Championship Series Rival

Former New Zealand Breaker Sam Timmins has crossed the divide of last season's Championship Series, and has joined the Sydney Kings on a one-year deal.

 The Dunedin-born 26-year-old has joined the two-time reigning champions after two seasons at the Breakers, where he made 26 total appearances.

He is currently captaining the Otago Nuggets in the NZNBL, where he is playing alongside Perth trio Michael Harris, Jack Andrew and Tai Webster, and former Adelaide 36er Todd Withers.

He is currently averaging 14.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game for the Nuggets.

"Anytime an organisation has won back-to-back championships, you know as a player you’re joining a club that approaches things the right way, which is really exciting,” Timmins said.

"Having spoken to people like Tommy [Vodanovich], who have nothing but praise for the club, is great too – especially hearing everything they do is at a high, professional level while doing whatever they can to take care of its players.

“I honestly feel with the resources they have in place at the Kings, where all I have to do is worry about taking care of business on the court, is the perfect place for this stage of my career.”

Timmins has been included in New Zealand's extended squad for the upcoming FIBA World Cup, and spent four years playing in the American college system before starting his professional career.

He was also a member of the Tall Blacks side that earned a bronze medal at the 2023 Asia Cup.

"Sam is going to bring frontcourt depth to our side, alongside the likes of Jonah, Jordi, DJ and Kouat – all players I feel as though he can complement on the floor," Kings head coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah said.

"He brings something different to this group than the other power forwards and centres do, being a big presence inside the paint, that plays with physicality and willingness to put his body on the line for the team - by doing that, it’ll allow us to play different line-ups.

"Having spoken to him over the past few days, we both see plenty of improvement in his game by being in this environment, especially on the offensive end – which I’m sure he will be able to showcase in short spurts on the court this season.”

Timmins has signed on as the 13th player on the Kings' roster for NBL24, alongside Jaylen Adams, DJ Hogg, Alex Toohey, Jonah Bolden, Shaun Bruce, Angus Glover, Kouat Noi, Jaylin Galloway, Jordan Hunter, Makuach Maluach, and development players Jackson Makoi and Klairus Amir.