Bolden voted as fifth Kings Ring of Honour inductee

The votes are in and the fifth member of the prestigious Sydney Kings Ring of Honour is Bruce Bolden.

Born in Mississippi, United States, Bolden attended Flint Northwestern High School before playing at Boise State University from 1981-1985.

Following that, Bolden spent time at Norway's Ulriken Elite, Gippsland Lakers, Eastside Spectres, Westside Saints and South East Melbourne Magic – named Grand Final Series MVP for the Magic in their 1992 championship win over the Melbourne Tigers – before joining the Kings as a highly sought after free agent ahead of the 1995 season.

King #31 Bolden went on to play 110 games for the Hoops Capital club across four seasons - which led to him finishing with club career totals of 1,629 points, 922 rebounds, 213 assists, 127 steals, 79 blocked shots, 3,737 minutes, 53.1 field goal percentage, 40.7 three-point percentage and 75.6 free-throw percentage. 

Sydney Kings historian and NBL commentator Matt McQuade believes Bolden, whose son Jonah also played for the Kings during the NBL24 season, is a worthy fifth inductee to the Ring of Honour, joining the likes of Tom Garlepp, Ben Knight, Brad Rosen and BJ Carter.

"Bruce Bolden is not only one of the greatest players in the history of the National Basketball League and a man who was a brilliant contributor to the Sydney Kings, but he’s also a fascinating dichotomy," McQuade said. 

"On court, he was tough, hard, and intimidating. A look from Bruce alone could stop veteran NBL players in their tracks. Yet off the court, you would not meet a more decent human being, a true gentleman who engaged with the community in an exemplary manner. 

"Recruited to the Kings in 1995, he was part of one of the most entertaining squads in franchise history, the legendary 1996 team featuring the likes of Isaac ‘Ice’ Burton and Melvin Thomas. 

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"And Bruce still features in the top 10 all-time in Sydney Kings history in field goal percentage, free throws made, free throws attempted, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, total rebounds, and career rebounds per game. 

"Later on, he became the lead analyst for Sydney Kings Radio for several years and continues to work with kids through his successful basketball clinics. 

"He’s a more than worthy inductee into the Ring of Honour, not just for what he accomplished as a basketball player, but also for being a great person off the court – a man of integrity, decency and kindness who represented the Sydney Kings exceptionally well for many years.”

Bolden will be inducted into the Kings Ring of Honour during an upcoming home game.

Tickets to the round 19 clash, tipping off at 2.15pm AEDT, are still available here.