Ware Reveals Why He Returned To The Kings

Superstar guard Casper Ware has revealed Grand Final redemption and being able to reunite with Shaun Bruce played a major role in his decision to return to the Sydney Kings.

Ware announced last week he is returning to the Kings for NBL21, after originally opting out of his contract earlier in the offseason.

Ware helped lead Sydney to a Grand Final berth in NBL20, where they ultimately fell short of the biggest prize against the Perth Wildcats.

By his own admission, the three-time All-NBL First Team member underperformed in the Grand Final series, averaging just eight points across the three contests.

Ware lists redeeming himself after that poor showing in the deciding series a key reason why he wanted to come back to the NBL.

“It (the Grand Final loss and his performance) played a part for me,” Ware told NBL Overtime.

“I’m such a competitive guy where I was like, I got to go back. I can’t leave like that. I know I didn’t play well, everyone knows I didn’t play well, and I like to prove myself all the time.”

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Ware also explained how he stayed in constant contact with Bruce over the past few months and the chance to play with him again helped draw him back to Sydney.

“(I was) very happy (when Bruce announced he was returning). I had smiles across my face, and I said, he is back, that’s probably another reason why I should go back is to play with Shaun Bruce,” Ware said.

“I kept in contact with him the most out of anybody over this time.

“He is one of those guys where when you play against him it’s like, I hate this guy, I don’t like him, but once you get to know him and be on the same team, it’s like I love this guy and I would do anything for this guy.

“His respect for me and my respect for him is mutual. We got that love for each other where it’s just like, hey I need you here and I want to be there with you. It’s pretty cool to have him there.

“I knew how tough he was and all that but this year he really showed how good he is. I appreciate him and what he did this year and we are going to do it again next year.”

Sydney has had an injection of youth in the offseason, with Angus Glover and Dejan Vasiljevic joining the team. Ware can’t wait to get to work with those youngsters, believing they approach the game with the right mindset.

“These young guys want to prove themselves and they’re going to play hard,” Ware said.

“If I know anything about those guys it’s that they’re going to give it their all and that’s all we ask for.

“That’s what I do on the daily, give it my all, so I know I’m going to go there and love those young guys because I played against a few of them where it’s like, he is playing hard, chill out young fella.

“I love it, that’s how I did it when I was a young guy, you got to go out there and play hard.

“We got a good coaching staff that will develop all of these players as young guys and let them go. I think it’s going to be a good opportunity for them and it’s going to be good for us having them come in.”

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