Buford pays tribute to Bruce ahead of 100th Kings appearance

Friday night will be a special one for Kings veteran Shaun Bruce, who will chalk up his 100th game in Sydney colours, when the Hoops Capital side takes on Cairns - one of the guard's former clubs.

While unheralded around parts of the NBL, the 31-year-old Horsham product, who will become the 25th King to bring up the century, was a key factor in Sydney's NBL22.

"First and foremost, it's a revenge game of sorts for Brucey, coming up against one of his former teams," Kings coach Chase Buford said.

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"Besides that, it's a really cool moment for Brucey, who has been a special part of this club for the past few years.

"To get to see him become the first guy from Horsham to hold up that NBL trophy meant a lot to him and for us to get him back this season is massive - he's a huge part of who we are as a team and what we do.

"I love him to death and he deserves all the accolades that come his way, as he works as hard as any player I know."

In terms of the game itself, Buford knows his 3-0 will have to be ready for Adam Forde's side come 7.30pm AEDT or they could hurt the Kings with their shooting at Qudos Bank Arena.

"Cairns is obviously a good team that has started the year exceptionally well, as they can shoot the ball from practically every position - so we're going to have to be ready for that," he said.

"We've made a strong start to the season but it's important we continue to build on those wins against Cairns."

During his 11-season career, Bruce has played for four NBL clubs (Cairns (76 games), Brisbane (55), Adelaide (seven) and Sydney(99)) - tallying 257 games.

His scoring career-high (21 points) came against Melbourne United came in Sydney's 100-98 win on May 29, 2021, while he dropped a career-high nine assist on Illawarra that same season.