Kings tip-off pre-season training ahead of massive NBL25 campaign

The Sydney Kings are officially back on court, as their NBL25 pre-season tipped off this week at Auburn.

More than half the squad returned to the hardwood on Monday, as the Hoops Capital side begins preparations for round one of the 2024-25 campaign, which will be played at the inaugural HoopsFest in Perth.

In attendance over the first few days of pre-season training have been signings Xavier Cooks, Keli Leaupepe, Jason Spurgin and Henry Lau, as well as returning trio Shaun Bruce, Alex Toohey and Klairus Amir and numerous training players.

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Tyler Robertson, Izayah Le'afa, Kouat Noi and Makuach Maluach are expected to join this group in the coming week, with import duo Jaylen Adams and Cam Oliver, as well as South Sudanese international Bul Kuol, slated to land in Sydney next month.

With head coach Brian Goorjian away with the Australian Boomers at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, the Kings have been put through their paces by the club's assistant coaches, led by Billy Tomlinson, who has been really excited by the players' efforts through the opening few days.

"Honestly, Monday was one of the best first days [of pre-season] I've ever had," said Tomlinson, whose coaching staff have been planning these sessions for a number of weeks.

"The boys came in sharp and ready to work - their attitudes and willingness to learn made the whole day run smoothly.

"Then the second day was even better than the first, all in all, it's been a highly productive first few days which we will look to build over the coming weeks.

"[Looking ahead] the plan is to make training as competitive as possible, allowing our seven new players and three new coaches to transition into our system as easily as possible.

"The main thing [in Brian's absence] is that we set the standard defensively and get a basic idea on offence while getting our fitness levels to where they need to be before Goorj gets back and gets into the bones of it all.

"In his absence, I told him us coaches will ensure all the pencils are sharp and in the case ready to go when he's back - because we can't afford any bad practices as games will be here before we know it."

Stay up to date with all the harbour city club's off-season news here.