Kings pen Tall Black Timmins to one-year contract

The Sydney Kings are excited to announce that New Zealand Tall Black Sam Timmins has joined the club on a one-year deal. 

The 26-year-old, who played with the New Zealand Breakers in NBL23, becomes the club’s 13th player for the upcoming 2023-24 season – joining Jaylen Adams, DJ Hogg, Alex Toohey, Jonah Bolden, Shaun Bruce, Angus Glover, Kouat Noi, Jaylin Galloway, Jordi Hunter, Makuach Maluach, Jackson Makoi and Klairus Amir.      

“Anytime an organisation has won back-to-back championships, you know as a player you’re joining a club that approaches things the right way, which is really exciting,” said Timmins, who is in the Tall Blacks’ extended FIBA World Cup squad. 

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“Having spoken to people like Tommy [Vodanovich], who have nothing but praise for the club, is great too – especially hearing everything they do is at a high, professional level while doing whatever they can to take care of its players. 

“Admittedly, I’ve learnt a lot during my time at the Breakers but there were simply not enough on-court opportunities for me to prove myself. 

“I honestly feel with the resources they have in place at the Kings, where all I have to do is worry about taking care of business on the court, is the perfect place for this stage of my career.” 

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Born in Dunedin, Timmins first started playing basketball with the Otago Nuggets – which springboarded him to helping his country claim the silver medal at the under 18s Oceania Championships. 

The 211cm centre then spent four years in the United States at the University of Washington (from 2016-2020) before returning home and signing with the Breakers in 2021. 

During his time with the Auckland-based club, Timmins has enjoyed an extraordinary NZNBL career, including winning the championship with Otago in 2022 and being named in the All-Star Five in 2021.  

He also steered the Tall Blacks to a bronze medal at the 2023 Asia Cup in Jakarta, defeating Jordan 83-75 in the playoff. 

“I know coming into a club like Sydney, where there are plenty of proven players on our roster, I’m not walking into a playing role straight off the bat and have to prove that I can impact winning at an NBL level,” said Timmins, whose Otago Nuggets will contest the NZNBL semi-finals this weekend in Auckland. 

“I’m heading to Sydney with a chip on my shoulder and hungry to continue to grow as a player, which feels like the perfect environment to do so with mentors like Luc [Longley] and Andrew [Bogues] around the club – who both have had huge impacts on other big men. 

“This opportunity isn’t just a job for me, rather every time I step on the court I want to develop and bring wins to Sydney, through intangibles such as being a presence inside the paint, being a solid screener, making plays for others and finishing inside the paint. 

“If I do that and continue to work my tail off, I’m sure I can carve out a role where coach Mahmoud [Abdelfattah] feels that can help the team on the court - honestly feel I play my best basketball when winning is the most important thing and I know that’s the mentality in Sydney.” 

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Kings coach Abdelfattah is thrilled to add another exciting talent in Timmins to the Hoops Capital side’s roster for NBL24. 

“Sam is going to bring frontcourt depth to our side, alongside the likes of Jonah, Jordi, DJ and Kouat – all players I feel as though he can complement on the floor,” Abdelfattah said. 

“He brings something different to this group than the other power forwards and centres do, being a big presence inside the paint, that plays with physicality and willingness to put his body on the line for the team - by doing that, it’ll allow us to play different line-ups. 

“Having spoken to him over the past few days, we both see plenty of improvement in his game by being in this environment, especially on the offensive end – which I’m sure he will be able to showcase in short spurts on the court this season.” 

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