Kings prepare for hostile reception

The Sydney Kings and Tasmania JackJumpers have created some serious history over the past two seasons.

From the JackJumpers’ maiden run to the NBL Championship Series being brutally stopped by a rampant Kings side, to the back and forth between the likes of Tassie coach Scott Roth and Sydney owners Paul Smith and Andrew Bogut, its one of the strongest burgeoning modern rivalries in Australian sport.

A new chapter will be written between the two sides when the JackJumpers host the Kings on Friday night, and while there are new faces on both sides of the battle, the intensity will carry over from meetings past.

Kings CEO Chris Pongrass has praised the environment JackJumpers fans create at MyState Bank Arena, and says his players thrive on it.

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“It’s always a great place to play with 5,000 screaming fans,” Pongrass told Fox Sports. “They pack it out every night, and Tasmania has proven to be a really tough, hard-fought team year in, year out.

“I wouldn’t say the Kings are the most liked team going into Tasmania after two years ago … we know they’re going to be physical and they’ve got some returning players like Milton Doyle and Jack McVeigh.

“Jordon Crawford I have some history with – he played for us at the Memphis Hustle when I was in the US.

“We want to take it one game at a time and look at that as a tough environment to go and play in. Our players love it though ... a lot of them have told us Tasmania and Perth are the two places to go and play.”

The Kings won their opening clash of the season against local rivals Illawarra, and following their game against the JackJumpers will finally return home to Qudos Bank Arena, for the first time in NBL24.

Plenty has changed since they last played there in Game 5 of the NBL23 Championship Series. Chase Buford has departed along with the team's entire starting five, and Mahmoud Abdelfattah has taken charge of a new-look side.

That won’t stop the Kings celebrating last season’s triumph with their fans though, and Pongrass has implored fans to get their tickets to what will be a historic occasion in the club’s history.

“We’re doing the banner unveil at the first home game of the year, and the ring presentation for our returning players from last year,” he said.

“We’re hoping for 15-16,000 so it should be one of the biggest opening night crowds of the year.

“I know it’s going to be tough to get tickets.”

Sydney face Tasmania on Friday at 7:30pm AEDT before hosting Adelaide on Sunday at 4pm AEDT.