NBL24 Season Review: Sydney Kings

After winning back-to-back championships, the Sydney Kings failed to make the post-season in NBL24, losing in the play-in to the New Zealand Breakers.

The Sydney Kings heading into NBL24 had massive expectations.

After losing their core group that was part of the championship success, including head coach Chase Buford, the Kings understood what they needed to do to accomplish a third consecutive title.

With the signings of Jaylen Adams, Jonah Bolden, and Denzel Valentine, along with signing G-League championship coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah, it looked like a great off-season for the organisation with championship aspirations.

In their first ten games, the Kings were 7-3, only losing to the Tasmania JackJumpers twice and the Cairns Taipans.

Without their full roster with DJ Hogg injured for a significant portion of the season and Jaylin Galloway on the sidelines for multiple weeks, the Kings looked ready to compete for another title and were second, only having a worse record than Melbourne United.

From Round 8 onwards, the Kings struggled to win games, giving up 100 points on nine occasions, and struggled in effort areas, especially on the defensive end.

What worked

When the Kings were on a roll they were one of the best transition offences in the game, being able to play at a fast pace, creating open looks and shooting at a high clip.

When the game shifted away from being in transition, the pick and roll between Jaylen Adams and Jordan Hunter worked wonders when the offence centred around Adams as the main ball handler and initiator.