Cooks works on winning recipe

Grand Final MVP Xavier Cooks says playing regular games in the NBL off-season has him primed and ready for another big year. 

While a number of local stars crossed over to Las Vegas for the NBA Summer League, Cooks took the more traditional route of playing domestically, in New Zealand. His personal campaign was a roaring success as he won the league’s MVP Award for his stint with Wellington.

The 27-year-old says his experiences in the competition will see him return to the NBL a more complete player than he left it.

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“At the NBL level it is hard to work on stuff outside of your comfort zone, but over in New Zealand I was shooting a lot more threes, playing a lot more at the guard positions,” Cooks told The Daily Telegraph.

“I don’t really like taking three months off, doing nothing and then coming back into pre-season and getting killed …so New Zealand was good for me to stay in shape.

“It is also a good and respected league, and I had a lot of fun over there. I learnt a lot and I think I became a better basketball player, so I’m happy about that.”

As he returns to Sydney with hopes of winning back-to-back NBL championships, Cooks will also welcome several new teammates into the club.

Gone are reigning league MVP Jaylen Adams, impressive injury replacement player Wani Swaka Lo Buluk and imports Ian Clark and Jarrell Martin - and the Kings have looked within the league to help retool for another shot at the title.

They've brought in former Defensive Player of the Year Justin Simon and ex-Taipan Kouat Noi.

“I knew Kouat (Noi) because we are the same age and we worked in LA together,” Cooks said.

“And Justin (Simon) played with the Hawks a few years ago. It’s good to have the new guys here and they’ve all been playing ridiculously well.

“I think we’ve got a really good squad this year.

“I’m using this to win another championship for Sydney. Obviously, it is in the back of my mind trying to get to that next stage (NBA) and play for the Olympic team, but no way am I going to disrespect the Sydney Kings by saying I’m going to use these guys to progress my career.

“I’m here to win championships. That is what we did last year and I’m here to try and do it again.”

Click here for the full story >> Sydney Kings allow star recruit Kouat Noit to play a part in the NBL1 North Grand Final series despite initial concerns