Kings farewell Lorraine Landon

Written by Matt McQuade for Kings Media 

When someone who has accomplished a great deal over a long period of time decides to move on or retire from an organization, you often hear the phrase ‘it’s the end of an era’ to describe their departure.

But when it comes to Lorraine Landon, who last Friday finished her extraordinary tenure with the Sydney Kings, a more apt description is that her exit from the franchise signals the end of multiple eras.

From where it all began in 1988 with the formation of the purple and gold, to the team’s resurrection in the early 2010s, the new ownership group that purchased the Kings and moved the team to Qudos Bank Arena in 2016 followed by the current hierarchy – Lorraine Landon has always been a vitally important cog in the running of what became an iconic sports franchise.

Indeed, it’s impossible to imagine the Sydney Kings – let alone the sport of basketball – without her, such has been her influence, her incredible achievements and above all else uncompromising love of the game ever since she began playing basketball more than 50 years ago.

There is little doubt that she is one of the seminal off court figures in the history of Australian basketball. As an administrator, her work and achievements are almost mind-boggling in their scope. She was one of the early leaders in the NBL with the Bankstown Bruins and later the West Sydney Westars. Her work with the WNBL and women’s basketball is unparalleled – she was the chairperson of the FIBA global women’s committee for 11 years and played a key role in the very successful 1994 FIBA Women’s World Championships held in Australia. And her leadership and advocacy for basketball players with a disability has been inspiring.

“Lorraine has been a key figure in Australian basketball for the past 40 years,” former FIBA Chairman Bob Elphinston said.

“She’s been a remarkable contributor to basketball at every level.”

Of course, her most high-profile role – not that she ever sought the spotlight – was as one of the founding members of the Sydney Kings, joining forces in October 1987 with chairman and King of Kings Mike Wrublewski and then in 1989 with promoter-coach Bob Turner in what would become the most important triumvirate in the history of the club.

Lorraine, Mike and Bob were the chief architects of a period that would take basketball in Sydney from a minor sport to a powerhouse in less than five years, setting the platform for the team’s future success.

And while Mike and Bob were the undisputed faces of the franchise at the time, there was no doubt of Lorraine Landon’s importance. She may not have been in the public eye and indeed was content to work in the background, but she was the glue that held the entire organisation together, a woman with an unerring ability to get things done, someone who understood what was required to push the sport of basketball forward in Sydney.

“Lorraine is the consummate professional administrator,” remarked Bob Turner.

“During the initial building years with the Sydney Kings, she formed part of a significant management trilogy with the club’s founder Mike Wrublewski and me, handling the main administrative role to mop up and organise the many facets of developing a professional sports team.”

“Her additional key positions with the Sydney Olympics, Basketball Australia, the Opals and FIBA World Championships only add to her list of credentials.”

“I had the absolute pleasure to work closely with Lorraine during my seven years as Head Coach/Marketer of the Kings and she was the ideal partner, supporter and confidant.”

“Lorraine is a tireless worker; she is one of a kind and will be difficult to replace, especially as she is one who commits to a role, not just working a job. Those traits are hard to come by in addition to her many talents!”

Lorraine’s work at the Kings through the Wrublewski years was nothing short of phenomenal, and yet most fans wouldn’t have understood her standing in the club. A soft-spoken, humble and pragmatic individual, Lorraine toiled away with little fanfare, doing whatever was required to drive the organisation, even if that meant washing players’ uniforms on occasion.

She was the key figure in bringing the Sydney Flames women’s team under the Kings’ umbrella in the early 1990s, and her leadership helped the Flames become both a dynamic force and the first champions of the Sydney Kings organisation. Remarkably, she was the first woman to ever concurrently manage teams in both the NBL and WNBL.

When Lorraine left the Kings prior to the 1999/2000 season, she left a giant hole in the franchise. But her work at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, when she was appointed competition manager for both the Boomers and the Opals and was the competition manager for athletes with a physical and intellectual disability at the 2000 Paralympics, was simply outstanding and contributed enormously to the success of those tournaments.

It would take a decade for Lorraine to return to the Kings, when she was enticed back by former Chairman Phil Hudson, one of the great individuals who resurrected the club in 2010 after it had been lost in the wilderness for two years. Phil understood that having someone with the tremendous ability of Lorraine Landon involved with the club was vital to the success of what was then a fledgling organisation.

Lorraine helped run the new version of the Kings for five years before Harvey Lister took over in 2016 to kickstart yet another Sydney Kings era that took the club into Qudos Bank Arena. And, like Phil Hudson before him, Harvey knew that he wanted Lorraine Landon to be a part of it, such was his respect for one of Australian sport’s greatest administrators.

Together with former Sydney Kings General Manager Jeff Van Groningen, the three formed yet another impressive trio that took the club forward before current Chairman Paul Smith bought the club, brought them under the banner of the TSE Group and in just one season oversaw tremendous growth in what was a record-breaking NBL20 campaign for the purple and gold – once again, Lorraine was a part of that very special season that improved the Kings’ brand significantly.

“I’ve known of Lorraine for a while, but working with her over the past couple of years has been an absolute pleasure,” said Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings CEO Chris Pongrass.

“She’s highly regarded in basketball circles across Australia, from BA and BNSW to FIBA and the WNBL. She’s had her hands in everything and is clearly one of the top-tier administrators in the NBL.”

It was a pleasure for me two years ago to go down to Melbourne to attend her induction into the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame and be around her family to see the great support she has.”

“It’s a very tough loss for us. She knows everyone; she’s got the connections; she’s seen how things are done at a very high level and I’ve relied on her to get things done. It’s a big hole that needs to be filled.”

“She’s a fantastic person, and I’m really happy and thankful for her and Kev and the entire family.”

In 2018, Lorraine received the highest tribute the club can bestow with her elevation to the Sydney Kings Wall of Legends, joining the likes of Mike Wrublewski, Bob Turner, Steve Carfino, Matthew Nielsen and Jason Smith in an acknowledgement of her incredible work for the purple and gold over so many years.

It was a terrific event honouring someone who is so well regarded right across the basketball world and no one deserved the recognition more than Lorraine.

“Getting to know Lorraine Landon over a long period of time, both at the roles she held at Basketball Australia and having the privilege to work with her at the Sydney Kings, has reinforced in my mind the belief that she is the pre-eminent basketball administrator that the country has ever known,” said Jeff Van Groningen.

“The class with which she conducts her work, the friendliness she has always shown and the mentoring she has always given many younger staff over a long period of time who have wanted to understand how basketball administration works, the charitable contributions she’s made in many, many roles with national competitions and working with a disparate group of events and tournaments – Paralympics and Olympic Games most notably – it all just shows the regard in which she’s held.”

“She’s a wonderful person. The NBL will miss her. The highlight of my time at the Kings was when we had a chance to fully acknowledge her contribution by putting her up with the other Sydney Kings greats with a banner in the stands. That’s a rare public acknowledgement of someone who has worked behind the scenes so tirelessly, literally for decades. It was a privilege to work with her.”

Lorraine has been similarly honoured countless times over the past 40 years, with an Order of Australia, a FIBA Order of Merit, the 2004 IOC Women in Sports Award, and induction into the Halls of Fame of Basketball New South Wales, Basketball Australia and Sport Australia.

Importantly, she won’t be lost to basketball just yet, given her ongoing work with the organising committee for the 2022 FIBA Women’s World Cup to be held in Australia, an event that will no doubt be a roaring success given her involvement.

“I’m really excited for the next chapter of Lorraine’s career,” Chris Pongrass said.

“It speaks volumes that she’s involved with the women’s World Cup and I’m excited for her to have such a significant role to help put that event on.”

However, it’s impossible to imagine the Sydney Kings without Lorraine Landon, such has been her impact over the past 31 seasons. She will always be a Sydney Kings Legend. A Hall of Famer. And the best administrator that Australian basketball has ever known.

It’s not the end of an era. It’s the end of several. And the Kings are poorer for her departure.

All that remains to be said is thank you for everything, Lorraine.

Farewell.