Madgen takes his place in Sydney Kings Ring of Honour

Former Sydney Kings captain Ben Madgen says it’s a massive privilege to be the latest inductee into the club’s Ring of Honour.

The Ring of Honour award, which has already seen Tom Garlepp, Ben Knight, Brad Rosen, BJ Carter and Bruce Bolden inducted, encourages fans and members to vote for and recognise their favourite Sydney players over the last three decades.

The judging criteria ranges from the most entertaining, most courageous, being a great team-mate, to giving back to the community. It’s a separate award from the Sydney Kings Hall of Fame, which is the club’s most distinguished award.

Madgen played 139 games for the Kings from 2010-15 where he scored 2011 points. He was also part of the Australian Boomers team from 2011 to 2016.

“It’s a massive honour. The Sydney Kings hold a special place in my heart, being the first professional team I played for outside of US College,’’ Madgen said.

“They gave me my first shot to forge a long professional career, so all the people that I've met throughout my journey have been incredible.

“I’m still very close to the club. To be inducted into the Ring of Honour with the other inductees already in there and the names I had to go against, is a huge honour and something I don't take lightly, so I’m very thrilled.

“There were some really great players nominated, not only for their work on the floor but off it. A lot of those players did plenty for the community and represented the city with pride."

Madgen arrived at the Kings in 2010 for their ‘rebirth’ after the Kings were out of the NBL for two years.

“I was in college when the Kings went under and I just don’t think the NBL was the same without the mighty Sydney Kings,’’ he said.

“There was a lot of great work by the people behind the scenes to be able to get the club back up and running. We had a strong new ownership group which were amazing and really set the foundations I think for the success that they're having today.

“Certainly, on court it was tougher. We won our first game and then lost the next 14 straight. We had our fair share of adversity to overcome but we finished that season strong and kind of got better as the years progressed.

“It was just great to be a part of to be honest, the city was electric that the Kings were back. It was an awesome time to be able to play and yeah, lots of fun memories of great teammates and coaches I had throughout that time. We’re still close to this day.”

Despite a rocky start, Madgen grabbed the NBL Rookie of the Year award a year later before taking home the NBL’s scoring title in 2012/13, the Most Improved Award, and selection to the All-NBL First Team. 

A fine sharpshooter, Madgen was named in the Kings 25th Anniversary team in 2013 while still playing for the club. 

He was also handed the Kings captaincy role from 2012 to 2015.

“When I was named captain, it was a bit of a shock at first as plenty of the guys were older than me on the team. I had to kind of guess, grow a lot of courage to be the captain of such a big club whilst being one the younger guys on the team.’’ Madgen admitted.

“I had some great mentors in the team that really helped me like James Harvey and guys like that who had been captain for many years at other clubs.

“I grew so much over those three years and have held leadership position since with the City of Sydney Basketball Association and other organisations.

“Those formative years of being the captain of the Sydney Kings under the immense pressure and the expectations to be successful really set me up for life after basketball which I'm super grateful for.”

It wasn’t just on the court that Madgen found some joy. He established 'Madgen’s Message of Hope' program, a community-focused initiative dedicated to supporting children in need.

The program brings joy to sick children through hospital visits and providing special game day experiences, such as tickets.

“To be able to help so many sick kids and their families to be able to enjoy a good night out at the basketball was an amazing experience not only for them, but for me, as I got to know them on a personal level,’’ Madgen said, proudly.

“I’m not the player that's the face of the charity now. I’m more in the back end helping people set up structures to be able to give to their causes that their passionate about and where they can help the most, so that's also been super rewarding.

“When you're playing professional sport, you're in a really privileged position to give something back, especially to people that are less fortunate than us players who run around after a ball on the weekend. Some people are fighting for their lives.

“To me, it was a no brainer to be able to help. There’s a lot of sports stars out there doing their bit in the community which is fantastic to see. It gives a lot of hope especially to young people that might be going through some severe challenges.

“As an investment advisor now, I get to really help people think about their community work and their charitable giving in philanthropy as well, so it's kind of come full circle which is been really nice.

“I’m still super committed to the community and wanting to help in any way that I can.”

And as for the current Kings team, Madgen likes what he sees in the NBL championship favourites.

“They have got a really well-rounded team. Guys like Kendric Davis, Xavier Cooks and Matthew Dellavedova are playing fantastic roles, and they have the best coach in the country in Brian Goorjian leading them,’’ he added.

“They have shown a lot of resilience throughout the season in overcoming injuries and although they didn't start the way that would have wanted with a 3-5 record, sometimes you need those early teething issues to be able to find your identity which they have.

“The Kings play a brand of basketball that is super passionate and hard nose, and very energising which is fantastic to watch.

“It’s a brand that the city can be proud of. Everyone's got around them and they have got a real chance to win it. They are my tip to take it out this year, so fingers crossed they can keep this great form up throughout the finals series."