Kings Celebrate 1996 in Nod to Heritage Round

Written by Matt McQuade for Kings Media

The NBL may have celebrated Heritage Round last week, but this Sunday’s Round 17 home game against the Adelaide 36ers gives the Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings an opportunity to recognise and acknowledge a key period in the history of this proud franchise.

And as part of that recognition, the team will wear a special uniform at Qudos Bank Arena on Mother’s Day.

The uniform – which the team was unable to don last Sunday due to a clash with Melbourne United’s heritage uniform – was unique to the organisation when it was introduced.

And that Kings’ uniform – a black jersey with purple and gold pinstripes and black shorts – was launched at the beginning of the 1996 season.

Prior to 1996, there were three distinct colours worn by Sydney – white, purple and gold. In many ways, those colours – particularly purple and gold – defined the Sydney Kings brand, and introducing such a radical change with a fourth primary colour was a risk.

But there was a very good reason why the legendary Mike Wrublewski, the Chairman of the Sydney Kings at the time, decided to bring in a black uniform.

It was to signify a new era for the Kings.

From 1989 to 1995, the Kings had been coached by Bob Turner and had established themselves as a powerhouse franchise, particularly off the court. Corporate sponsorship through global juggernauts like Coca-Cola and Reebok and local heavyweights like GIO and Tooheys had assisted in the enormous growth of the brand and numerous sell-outs at the Sydney Entertainment Centre followed.

But in 1995, the Kings struggled on the floor, failing to make the playoffs with a 10-16 record. And for a club that every year expected to not only make the playoffs, but contend for a championship, that wasn’t good enough.

So, there was enormous change in the offseason prior to the 1996 campaign.

Bob Turner was replaced as coach by Alan Black, who had taken the Illawarra Hawks to the playoffs in 1993, 1994 and 1995, and was named NBL Coach of the Year in 1993 and 1995.

Two foundation members of the Sydney Kings – Mark Dalton and Damian Keogh – were released from the club, as were a number of other players from the unsuccessful 1995 squad.

There were import changes, with Tony Bennett – who had played 160 games for the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets – and Illawarra power forward Melvin Thomas the initial recruits. Bennett lasted only a few preseason games before he was replaced by a man who would become a high-flying excitement machine in Isaac ‘Ice’ Burton out of Arizona State University.

And among a few additions to the Australian player content, one stood out – that of a man who would eventually win a championship for the club in 2003 and be elevated to the Sydney Kings Wall of Legends, one Shane ‘The Hammer’ Heal.

Then came the announcement of a new jersey, and a new jersey design, with pinstripes added in a nod to a look that had become popular in the NBA thanks to the Charlotte Hornets and their superstar forward Larry ‘Grandmama’ Johnson.

It was all done to signify a new direction for the Sydney Kings in the hopes of re-energising a fan base that had experienced a great deal of disappointment and heartbreak in two of the previous three seasons.

And it worked.

With their new black jersey quickly becoming a fan favourite, and an extremely talented roster playing an electrifying brand of run-and-gun basketball, the 1996 version of the Sydney Kings were one of the most entertaining teams in the history of the franchise.

Shane Heal and Isaac Burton formed a deadly combination in the backcourt. Heal was a devastating scorer with unlimited range who could facilitate the team’s high-powered offence extremely well; Burton was a phenomenal athlete with a terrific smile who was the original two-way superstar for the Kings, a guy who could dunk on your head at one end and lock you down at the other.

Up front, Bruce Bolden and Melvin Thomas were an unstoppable tandem at times – Bolden with his toughness, rebounding and ability to knock down the midrange jumper; Thomas with his remarkable low post skills and propensity to go for at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in a game whenever he felt like it.

Then you had guys like Stephen Whitehead, Justin Withers, Brad Williams and Brad Rosen who played their roles well in a team that was lethal offensively and incredibly fun to watch.

Right from the start, they got the old Kingdome rocking, with Heal dropping 20 points in the fourth quarter of an unforgettable comeback win in the season opener at home against the North Melbourne Giants.

That set the scene for an incredible first two months, with Sydney jumping to an 11-3 record, winning their first eight games at home and leading the NBL standings. In one amazing stretch, the Kings won nine straight games, averaging a remarkable 120.4 points per game over that span.

Those wins included a 131-112 smackdown of the Gold Coast Rollers at the Kingdome with Shane Heal going for 35 points and seven assists and Melvin Thomas ringing up 26 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots; a 122-121 thriller over the Perth Wildcats in Sydney where three players scored at least 20 points and Thomas finished just two assists shy of a triple double; and a 128-106 blowout of arch rivals Illawarra as Isaac Burton dominated the hapless Hawks, going for 32 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.

Unfortunately, an untimely injury to ‘The Hammer’ slowed the team down, and they struggled for a time, but when Shane returned, he led the Kings to wins in four of their last five games, taking them to a fifth place 16-10 record and a playoff appearance.

And while the Kings were unable to progress past the first round of the playoffs, going down 2-1 to the Canberra Cannons, it was still a season to remember.

Much of that had to do with some of the offensive numbers the Kings had generated in the regular season.

Sydney averaged 108.8 points per game in the regular season – the most points scored per game in a regular season in franchise history – and also set team records that have never been broken for regular season field goal percentage (51.6%) and three-point percentage (41.2%).

And the Shane Heal-Isaac Burton duo – one of the best backcourts in the history of the team – led the way.

Burton topped the team in scoring at 24.4 points per game, led the entire league in three-point percentage, was third in the NBL in steals and would go on to become the first Sydney King to win NBL Defensive Player of the Year. Heal averaged 24 points per game, was third in the competition for three-point percentage and earned selection in the All-NBL Second Team.

1996 was a great year, a new era for the club, and that black jersey still resonates with the fans. It will be fantastic to see it once again on the court this Sunday afternoon as the current crop of Kings look to bring that same energy to the Qudos Bank Arena floor as the likes of Heal, Burton, Bolden and Thomas did at the Kingdome in that memorable ’96 campaign.

Rise With Us Sydney.