Cooks' Kings happy to embrace 'villain' status

Xavier Cooks is a good guy off the court.

He’s a fan favourite for the Sydney Kings, he willingly gives his time to fans around the league, and he’s a devoted father and family man.

On the court however, he flicks a switch and he relishes the opportunity to be the bad guy.

That ‘bad guy’ mentality isn’t limited to Cooks though. It’s a mindset that has swept through the entire Kings organisation en route to their 14 straight-away victories. In their record-breaking game - last week’s 20-point win over Melbourne - Cooks was certainly the villain of the piece in the eyes of the home faithful due to his immense performance.

“We love to think it’s us against the world,” Cooks told The Huddle.

“They’re the environments we really thrive in. We walk out there and we’re getting booed – they play the Star Wars music when you walk out in Melbourne – you feel like the villains and we love that feeling in Sydney.

“We embrace it. We thrive off it. A lot of it (the away wins streak) was last year’s team, but it’s the same kind of mentality we’re bringing this year. We talk about it in film sessions.

“The ‘oooh’ when you can silence a crowd, there’s no better feeling in my opinion.”

The reactions from Sydney’s players and coaches to Cooks’ monster dunk over Isaac Humphries were brilliant to watch.

Whether it was Justin Simon’s sheer surprise on-court, Jaylin Galloway’s roar from the bench, or CEO Chris Pongrass’ pure shock, the reactions represented a varied display of emotion.

It was Kings centre Jordi Hunter who offered the most heart-warming reception to the monster jam though. He just couldn’t stop smiling.

Even in the team’s next huddle he was getting around Cooks with an ear-to-ear grin.

Hunter has only returned to the court this season after missing the bulk of the championship-winning NBL22 campaign with a foot injury, and Cooks says he’s elated to have his great mate back on the court.

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“I missed his (Hunter’s) goofy humour. He’s always joking around out there and he’s a great teammate,” Cooks said.

“Jordi is the class clown of the group. A lot of new guys coming into the group are a bit afraid to make jokes about themselves, they don’t want to be embarrassed.

“Jordi sets the tone early with just being a goofball and laughing at himself, and that lets everyone feel they can be comfortable in that environment.

“I’m happy to enjoy moments like that with Jordi out there. I love Jordi, he’s a great teammate and a great person.

“It’s great to enjoy these kinds of things together back on the court with him.”

Cooks and the Kings are next in action this Friday night, as they host the Cairns Taipans and Qudos Bank Arena.