'Mr Magic' Steve Carfino on honour of being forever a King

Even though he only played for the club for three seasons, Steve Carfino is almost as iconically Sydney Kings as the purple and gold itself. 

The man who came to be known as “Mr Magic” quickly became a fan favourite as part of the inaugural Kings outfit in 1988 and remains as such today though his playing days are long behind him. 

And now another moniker can be added to Australian basketball and Sydney Kings great Steve Carfino … “Kings’ Number One”. 

The Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings recently revealed the club will honour every single player in the Kings’ history with a number and memento at a special tribute game in April this year. 

The number allocation was determined by what NBL season and game the player made their debut for the club in and ordered around whether the player started or came off the bench. And then alphabetical order was used to categorise players. 

Hence, for the original Kings’ starting five, Carfino comes up at No. 1, the late great Ian Davies is at No. 2, Damien Keogh at No. 3, Tim Morrissey at No. 4 and Marc Ridlen at No. 5. 
YOU CAN READ THE REVISED, FULL LIST OF PAST KINGS HERE

“It’s a tremendous honour,” Carfino said. 

“I guess I have to thank my dad for giving me a surname like Carfino to get me that number one spot, but it’s a great honour. 

“It’s amazing to think I only played three seasons for the Sydney Kings, but that’s how people remember me. When I talk to people in the street, when I worked in television, that’s how people have identified me. It’s an honour to go to games and have players come up and say hello. 

“All of us want to be a part of something big. I was part of a university which took sport seriously and took basketball very seriously and who would have known after three years with a club this honour would come along. 

When you are younger you think good things happen and don’t much consider it, but the older you get the better perspective you have, and this is something I will share with my children and friends.” 

After a stellar college career with the University of Iowa, Carfino first came to the National Basketball League with the Hobart Devils and played two seasons before being recruited to be a part of the first ever Kings unit in ’88. 

“That (original Kings) team was special, we try and get together on a yearly basis,” Carfino remembers. 

 “Mike Wrublewski and Andrew Lazaris amalgamated the West Sydney Westars and the Sydney Supersonics, and they had a vision. 

“The Kings were the first professional team to sell corporate boxes and they were at the forefront of being professional. 

“To be a part of that team and to crack it in Sydney, the biggest city in Australia and to be a pioneer in Australian basketball.  

“I mean you look at Damien Keogh who is now (President and) CEO of Hoyts, Tim Morrissey (national deputy sports editor for News Corp), Brad Dalton with St Augustine’s College and Ian Robilliard who was 2IC of the PGA in Australia before he started the Central Coast Academy of Sport. 

“The team from those early years was not only a special group of people on the court but a special group of people in their own right.” 

In his NBL career, the Californian-native amassed 3089 points at an average of 23.4 points before back injuries cut short his career. In 2004 he was inducted into the NBL Hall of Fame. 

A post-playing career as the face of basketball for both Channel Ten and Fox Sports only cemented his identity as an iconic Sydney Kings figure as he became one of the most recognisable faces on Australian television. 

Talking to Kings media this week on the phone while walking his beloved beagle-Bassett hound-fox terrier cross Frankie, a passer-by even stops to pick up Frankie’s “deposit” so Carfino could go on enthusing about what being a King means to him. 

“Thanks so much for that, I’ll dispose of that, thank you so much,” Carfino says momentarily distracted and talking to the helpful passer-by. 

Chances are that person went home that afternoon and told their nearest and dearest they helped “Mr Magic with his dog poop”. 

It's an example of the status Carfino still holds in Sydney.

The Kings’ numbers initiative has been driven with the current playing group, upholding the mantra “Once a King, Always a King” and that’s something Carfino can relate too. 

“I feel it when I go to a game,” he said. 

“The front office can’t do enough for me, getting me into the prematch function, meeting the people involved with the program and the sponsors involved with the club. 

“I mean it was such a long time ago when I played with the club and yet I still get the red carpet and I even get that type of respect at the local coffee shop just because I was a King. 

“At least once a week at least I have someone stop me and tell me they loved watching me play. It’s ironic I got the number one jersey because I feel more than anyone ‘Once a King, Always a King”. 

“I still get people who will walk past me and as I’ve passed go: ‘Stttttteeeeeevvvvvvveeeee Caaaaaaarrrrrrrrfffiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnooooooooooo’.” 

Carfino encouraged all players to try and attend the tribute game in April. 

“I would love to see every single player and get an opportunity to catch up with everyone. Not just the guys with their banners in the roof, but everybody to know how special it is to be a part of a special team. 

“This is an opportunity for us to stay connected.”