1000 Up For Sydney Kings

By Matt McQuade

 

12 February 1988.

Friday night.

The State Sports Centre in Homebush.

That’s where it all began for the Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings.

It was Game One of a journey that on Thursday night in Wollongong reaches 1,000 games in the National Basketball League as the Kings do battle with the Illawarra Hawks at the WIN Entertainment Centre.

Sydney won that first game 110-106 over the Geelong Supercats with import power forward Marc Ridlen going for 33 points and 16 rebounds. The late, great Ian Davies made the first basket in an NBL game for the purple and gold, his three-point bomb the first milestone befitting of one of the greatest outside shooters this country has ever produced.

And so here we are, more than 34 years and 998 games later, heading for a ballgame that in a couple of instances during the sometimes wild and crazy history of this franchise looked like would never happen.

You get that when you’re dumped out of the competition for a couple of years. And faced the spectre of voluntary administration on more than one occasion.

Yet this remarkable club has held together, even at the darkest of times, and rebuilt to the point where they’ve reached their sixth Grand Final in 2020 and have a strong chance to compete in another in NBL22.

The 1000^th game for the mighty purple and gold will take place on 14 April, 2022, and in the 12,479 days from that historic debut in the NBL to Thursday’s night’s Freeway Series battle, so much has transpired.

33 seasons (including this one).

Three championships.

Six Grand Finals.

15 playoff appearances (with 16 just around the corner).

233 players to have played an NBL game in a Sydney Kings jersey.

15 Head Coaches.

Seven different ownership groups.

Total attendance in those 999 games of well over four million patrons through the doors to see a Sydney Kings game, both in Sydney and across the nation (and overseas, for that matter).

Of course, those are all just numbers.

They don’t show just how special this organisation is and has been through those 34 years since that first game in February 1988; much of that thanks to an extraordinary fan base that has stuck with the Kings through thick and thin, tasted triumph and despair, experienced hype only to be disappointed and yet always maintains the faith.

Those amazing fans are a big reason why Sydney is now the eponymous Hoops Capital. And why the Kings have managed to reach the 1,000 milestone.

However, numbers are still interesting to contemplate (okay, maybe for stats nerds like me) and definitely worth a look as we pay tribute to the history of the Sydney Kings, culminating in what figures to be a very special Thursday night.

Here’s a look at some of the stats that matter and the all-time leaders in the past 999 games for the Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings:

 

TEAM

Wins: 535

Losses: 464

Playoff Wins: 36

Playoff Losses: 33

Home Wins: 315

Home Losses: 186

Road Wins: 220

Road Losses: 278

Points scored: 95,918

Points against: 94,882

Offensive Rebounds: 12,644

Defensive Rebounds: 27,476

Total Rebounds: 40,120

Assists: 18,312

Steals: 7,424

Blocked Shots: 4,157

Turnovers: 15,617

Fouls committed: 21,150

NBL MVPs: 3 (Chris Williams, Matthew Nielsen, Andrew Bogut)

NBL Grand Final MVPs: 3 (Chris Williams, Matthew Nielsen, Jason Smith)

NBL Defensive Players of the Year: 2 (Isaac Burton, Andrew Bogut)

NBL Sixth Man of the Year: 1 (Dontaye Draper)

NBL Rookies of the Year: 9 (Matthew Nielsen, Derek Moore, Travis Lane, Gary Boodnikoff, Mark Worthington, Ben Madgen, Anatoly Bose, Angus Brandt, Isaac Humphries)

NBL Most Improved Player: 1 (Ben Madgen)

NBL Coach of the Year: 1 (Brian Goorjian)

Biggest Home Crowd: 17,514 (NBL record) vs. Illawarra Hawks, 17/11/2019

Biggest Road Crowd: 15,099 vs. Melbourne Tigers @ Melbourne Park, 23/07/1994

Biggest Margin of Victory: 50 (138-88) vs Cairns Taipans, 02/11/2001

 

INDIVIDUAL

Most Games Played: Matthew Nielsen, 244

Most Points: Matthew Nielsen, 4,259

Field Goals Made: Matthew Nielsen, 1,634

Field Goals Attempted: Matthew Nielsen, 3,055

Three Pointers Made: Shane Heal, 608

Three Pointers Attempted: Shane Heal, 1,608

Free Throws Made: Matthew Nielsen, 906

Free Throws Attempted: Matthew Nielsen, 1,321

Offensive Rebounds: Matthew Nielsen, 616

Defensive Rebounds: Matthew Nielsen, 1,348

Total Rebounds: Matthew Nielsen, 1,964

Assists: Damian Keogh, 1,151

Steals: Damian Keogh, 425

Blocked Shots: Matthew Nielsen, 357

Career Points Per Game: Dwayne McClain, 27.8ppg

Career Rebounds Per Game: Ken McClary, 12.2rpg

Career Assists Per Game: Shane Heal, 6.3apg

Career Steals Per Game: Isaac Burton, 3.0spg

Career Blocked Shots Per Game: Leon Trimmingham, 2.0bpg

Triple Doubles

Dwayne McClain vs. Melbourne Tigers: 37 points, 12 assists, 10 steals @ Sydney Entertainment Centre, 31/07/1993

Dwayne McClain vs. Hobart Devils: 34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists @ Sydney Entertainment Centre, 07/08/1993

Aaron Trahair vs. Townsville Crocodiles: 21 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists @ Townsville Entertainment Centre, 12/11/1999

Chris Williams vs. West Sydney Razorbacks: 34 points, 15 rebounds, 11 assists @ Sydney Entertainment Centre, 18/01/2003

Dontaye Draper vs. New Zealand Breakers: 14 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists @ Sydney Entertainment Centre, 13/02/2008

20/20 Games

Marc Ridlen vs. Newcastle Falcons: 25 points, 30 rebounds @ State Sports Centre, 26/03/1988

Marc Ridlen vs. Hobart Devils: 22 points, 22 rebounds @ State Sports Centre, 16/04/1988

Marc Ridlen vs. Perth Wildcats: 23 points, 21 rebounds @ State Sports Centre, 04/06/1988

Marc Ridlen vs. Geelong Supercats: 26 points, 20 rebounds @ State Sports Centre, 28/07/1989

Ken McClary vs. North Melbourne Giants: 22 points, 20 rebounds @ Sydney Entertainment Centre, 20/04/1991

Dean Uthoff vs. Adelaide 36ers: 25 points, 20 rebounds @ Sydney Entertainment Centre, 25/04/1992

Ken McClary vs. Townsville Suns: 32 points, 20 rebounds @ Sydney Entertainment Centre, 26/06/1993

Ken McClary vs. South East Melbourne Magic: 31 points, 24 rebounds @ Melbourne Park, 03/07/1993

Dean Uthoff vs. Melbourne Tigers: 20 points, 24 rebounds @ Sydney Entertainment Centre, 31/07/1993

Bruce Bolden vs. North Melbourne Giants: 20 points, 21 rebounds @ Sydney Entertainment Centre, 09/09/1995

Melvin Thomas vs. Townsville Suns: 20 points, 20 rebounds @ Townsville Entertainment Centre, 26/04/1997

Melvin Thomas vs. Canberra Cannons: 23 points, 20 rebounds @ Sydney Entertainment Centre, 31/05/1997

Acie Earl vs. Adelaide 36ers: 20 points, 25 rebounds @ Clipsal Powerhouse, 04/12/1998

Julian Khazzouh vs. Adelaide 36ers: 20 points, 21 rebounds @ Sydney Entertainment Centre, 08/12/2011