The "edge" that makes Davis great

The relationship between Sydney Kings coach Brian Goorjian and his superstar Kendric Davis has been well documented since they paired up in the Harbour City.

They both constantly refer to their relationship as one of a ‘father and son’, with Goorjian saying he’s never coached a player that’s so “misunderstood”.

Ever since they first got in contact before the Hungry Jack’s NBL26 Season, Goorjian explained his appreciation for the Championship Series MVP has only grown, both from his mentality and the impact he made on everyone in Sydney.

“When the season finished last year, and we interviewed him (Davis), he explained that this is what I need, so how are we going to do this?” Goorjian said on NBL Now.

“He wanted the leadership piece. He knew he needed [to figure out] how to win, he knew he needed [to learn] how to play without the ball in his hand, and he needed, defensively, [to learn how] to play off the ball.

“His mindset through the whole thing was when he came, we got to win the championship, and he felt he was the best player in the League.

“[He knew] the only way you're going to be that guy is to go after the top dog [Bryce Cotton], which is a similar approach I had when I was at the South East Melbourne Magic and Andrew Gaze.

“KD's built like ‘I'm the best player in the League, and we're winning this’. It was that drive in him [that I loved] because the great ones have an edge to them, and [with] KD, that's part of his greatness.

“How does a guy at his size come from where he's come from and from what he's been up against, get to where he is?

“He's had a chip [on his shoulder], and he’s like that in the locker room, he’s like that at practice, and that’s what makes him great.

“He carried that through the season, and it came up in spades through the MVP award and through the [Championship Series].

“We don’t win that Series without him and he made everyone else around him better.”

Another player that Davis brought the best out of was six-time MVP Bryce Cotton, with the two duelling it out during the record-breaking NBL26 Championship Series.

“I thought the KD versus Bryce thing has a big reason why [people] are calling it the greatest [Championship Series] of all time, but I hate that comment,” he said.

“[Honestly] it's constant when you're in it, which I've been since 1979. That thing had an edge to it back then.

“I've been in 14 of them [Championship Series] like no other. The Gaze and Magic was a big one, but this was at another level, and it was because of those two.

“We’re in the entertainment [business], and you could feel it, you could see it, it was real.

“It was not I'm picking you up when you fall down and pull you up, [rather] I'm standing on your face and walking over your throat, and that generated through both teams.

“I thought it brought an element to this Series that everyone felt from the time you stepped into Adelaide and Sydney.

“Those last two games, and I’ve coached for some stuff, there was nothing like it.”

Heading into NBL27, Xavier Cooks, Matthew Dellavedova, Jaylin Galloway, Makuach Maluach, Kouat Noi, Keli Leaupepe, Tyler Robertson and Jason Spurgin are all signed for the Kings.

Davis is currently unsigned for NBL27 but reportedly has an offer on the table.

While Goorjian says the Kings ‘would love to have him back’, if Davis chooses to play elsewhere, including in the NBA, which is his dream, the former Australian Boomers coach knows the bond that he and the American point guard will have forever.

“Winning a championship together [is like nothing else],” he said.

“When you see a guy that you won one with, it's different. When you make that hug, it's different. To see those guys and what they're doing with their lives through this [is amazing].

“[Whatever happens] the NBL is going to have a great effect on Kendric, his future and his life. It's a beautiful thing.”