Kings announce Mahmoud Abdelfattah as club's new head coach

The Sydney Kings are thrilled to unveil Mahmoud Abdelfattah (Mah-Mood Ahb-Dehl Fah-Tah) as the club’s new head coach, ahead of the upcoming NBL24 season.   

Fresh off a season as an assistant coach at the Houston Rockets, Abdelfattah, of Palestinian and American descent, has penned a two-year deal with Sydney, to become the Kings' 17th-ever coach.   

“To get the opportunity to coach the Kings, on the back of their amazing track record over the past few seasons, in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, is amazing,” said the 34-year-old, who was the first-ever Palestinian and first-ever Muslim to be named head coach of an NBA or NBA G-League franchise.  

“After speaking with both Chase [Buford] and Will [Weaver], both loved their experience in Sydney and raved about how phenomenal the organisation is, it felt like the perfect next step in my career.  

“Honestly, outside of the US, the NBL is the league that most resembles the NBA, in terms of style and developmental systems – which is important to me, as I want all players to fulfil their potential, be that Australia or taking to next step to the NBA.”  

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Abdelfattah began his career on the sidelines in 2011 as Perspective Charter Schools’ assistant head coach – a role he held until 2013.   

A four-year stint as an assistant with the St. Cloud State University followed before joining the staff of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the G-League affiliate of the Houston Rockets – firstly as their player development coordinator.  

He then transitioned to the Vipers assistant coach (in which the club won the title), before being promoted to head coach ahead of the 2019-2020 season – which was the first of two COVID-interrupted campaigns.   

In year three Abdelfattah had a breakout campaign, leading the Vipers to the 2021-2022 G-League championship (33-13 record) and taking out the Coach of the Year award – while leading the league in points per game and offensive rebounds, highlighting the style of play he will bring to the harbour city.  

On the back of this, Abdelfattah was hired as one of the assistant coaches on Stephen Silas’ Rockets team for the 2022-23 NBA season.  

“I’ll be letting our guys play with a lot of freedom on the offensive end, allowing them to use their talents while putting them in positions to succeed,” said Abdelfattah, who plans to arrive in Sydney after the 2023 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.   

“We will be playing with a high tempo, that pushes the ball up the floor.  

“We’ve got some great, versatile players already on the roster and I can’t wait to start working with them on the court.”  

With this kind of resume, Kings chairman and co-owner Paul Smith knew Abdelfattah was the perfect candidate for the role.   

“The club conducted a detailed global search for its new head coach,” Smith said.  

“There are so many factors that come into play in the decision-making process and our selection panel included some of the most astute judges of basketball in Australia with unrivalled international experience.   

“Ultimately, we were asking candidates to relocate from around the world to Sydney.   

“I believe that to be successful, not only did someone need the basketball chops to win a championship, an innate sense of curiosity and adventure to really embrace both the professional and personal aspects of life in Sydney on a year-round basis was critical.  

“Not only is Mahmoud clearly an outstanding coach, but he demonstrated an enormous appetite to discover and embrace the notion of coaching in the NBL and the cultural diversity that is the hallmark of our city.    

“His candidacy to be the head coach of the Sydney Kings was outstanding.”  

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Kings CEO Chris Pongrass echoed Smith's thoughts, saying Abdelfattah was the perfect candidate to coach the exciting roster of Jonah Bolden, DJ Hogg, Shaun Bruce, Dejan Vasiljevic, Angus Glover, Kouat Noi, Jaylin Galloway, Jordi Hunter, Makuach Maluach, Jackson Makoi and Klairus Amir.    

“We are thrilled to announce Mahmoud as the new head coach of the Sydney Kings to lead us into the next phase of the club’s success,” Pongrass said.  

“Our front office conducted a long and intricate coaching search, which makes us even more confident in our appointment of Mahmoud as the face of the organisation.  

“Mahmoud has a long-standing history in basketball with experience at every level.   

“A remarkable basketball mind, he sees the game differently to others – he is creative and innovative from an on-court, tactical sense, and has a strong background in player development.  

“As a leader, Mahmoud has proven success and we received an outpouring of support from players and colleagues.  

 “I am excited to get to work with Mahmoud as we continue to build out our roster.   

“We welcome Mahmoud and Janine to the Kings family and look forward to having them join us in Sydney soon.” 

Stay up to date with all the club’s off-season news here.