Olympic Games a Tradition for Sydney Kings

Written by Matt McQuade for Kings Media 

 

For most professional athletes, reaching the top of their profession is what it’s all about.

Becoming the best at what you do with the goal of tasting championship success is paramount in your mentality.

If you’re an American football player, your endgame is winning the Superbowl. Baseball players dream of winning the World Series. Hockey players strive to lift the famed Stanley Cup.

But when it comes to Australian athletes, and perhaps the majority of Australian fans, success at the Olympic Games is more important than anything else.

These current Games in Tokyo are no exception. How many people have screamed at their televisions as one of our superstar swimmers tried to achieve the ultimate? How many were nervous wrecks watching Jessica Fox try to realise her lifetime dream of an Olympic gold medal? How many fans, who probably never watched BMX freestyle before in their entire lives, watched enthralled as Logan Martin skied to win the inaugural Olympic title for Australia?

It’s because the Olympic Games have always been held by the majority of Australians as the ultimate. Every four years, the nation focuses in for 16 days on the Australian team. In all sports. It’s what really engages the nation’s psyche.

And as far as any Australian basketball player is concerned, the same holds true.

Sure, winning an NBA championship is incredible. And there’s no doubt that Luc Longley, Andrew Gaze, Patrick Mills, Aron Baynes, Andrew Bogut and Matthew Dellavedova would all say that holding up the Lawrence O’Brien trophy as the winner of the NBA Finals would rank amongst their proudest achievements.

But you better believe that if you told each of those guys that if they had a choice between winning an NBA title or winning this nation’s first Olympic gold medal – they would choose the Olympics, hands down.

If you don’t believe me, just take a look at the unit that has so brilliantly represented this country in Tokyo and has a big opportunity to get a medal that has so far eluded the Boomers. Their slogan is GVO – Gold Vibes Only. They want this more than they have wanted anything else in their professional careers.

Led by the magnificent Patty Mills and coached by Sydney Kings Legend Brian Goorjian, the Boomers have done this nation proud as, at time of writing, they head into a cutthroat quarter-final against Argentina.

Their entire focus has been on winning that Olympic medal. Individually, and as a group, representing Australia and achieving the ultimate at the Olympic Games would be the pinnacle of their athletic lives.

And when it comes to the Sydney Kings and their relationship with the national program, the organisation has a rich history in sending competitors to the Olympics to represent their country.

From the first season of the purple and gold in 1988 to the present, there has been a member of the Kings representing Australia at all but two Olympic Games – and all were key contributors.

Sydney Kings Legend Damian Keogh and Kings’ foundation member Brad Dalton both wore green and gold in Seoul; the 1988 Games bringing Australia their best result in Olympic history, fourth place.

Damian backed up in Barcelona in 1992 and in his book Money For Jam recounted a story when he was getting ready in a locker room and ran into none other than His Airness, Michael Jordan.

Then another Kings Legend in Shane Heal led the Kings to a playoff appearance in his debut season with Sydney in 1996 and helped lead the Boomers to a memorable fourth place finish in Atlanta, averaging 17.8 points and 5.1 assists per game in the tournament to finish top ten in both categories.

Shane went on to Sydney in 2000, as did Sydney Kings Head Coach Brett Brown, as the Boomers just fell short of a medal with their second straight fourth place.

In 2004, the purple and gold sent a record four representatives to Athens. Brian Goorjian coached the Boomers, joined by fellow NBL championship winners CJ Bruton, Matthew Nielsen and Jason Smith.

‘Goorj’ was again at the reins in 2008, joined this time in Beijing by two Kings who went all the way to Game Five in the 2008 NBL Grand Final Series, Glen Saville and Mark Worthington, both of whom had the honour to compete against a couple of icons in Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, not to mention superstars like Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Chris Paul.

Then, after a hiatus in London when no current Sydney players at that time made the 2012 Olympic roster – albeit previous and future Kings Matthew Nielsen, Brad Newley, Mark Worthington, Aleks Maric and David Barlow all wore green and gold – Kevin Lisch stepped up for the Boomers in the 2016 Games held in Rio De Janeiro.

Kevin had just signed for the purple and gold prior to the Olympic campaign and would play for a Boomers squad that went agonisingly close to breaking the duck for the Australian men’s team during an incredible tournament.

It was really quite remarkable when you think about it. In 2016 the Boomers smashed powerhouse teams France and Serbia in the preliminary rounds, led the United States at halftime before going down in a close game and lost the bronze medal game by a single point to Spain after one of the most controversial calls in Olympic history, when Patty Mills was called for a highly dubious offensive foul with just five seconds left.

Australia finished fourth yet again in Rio and have had to wait five years for redemption in Tokyo – building an Olympic roster that very nearly featured current Sydney King Xavier Cooks, who was desperately unlucky not to make the final squad. But even these current Boomers feature a strong connection to the Kings, with Brian Goorjian back as head coach, Matthew Nielsen his lead assistant and Jason Smith part of the squad’s management team.

It’s an impressive honour roll to be sure for the purple and gold. And given that all Australians, even in these tough times, have been imbued with the Olympic Spirit, we thought it would be a great opportunity to chat with current Sydney Kings assistant coach Kevin Lisch to find out about his Olympic experience in Rio and understand just what that meant to him.

 

What did playing at the Olympics and for the Boomers mean to you?

First of all, I think it was the icing on the cake for me after getting my citizenship. As I always said, it was so special to become a citizen of this country as well as the US, and to live that out and really feel like you’re a part of the country in representing Australia was great.

You often hear about this thing called Boomers Culture. Can you put in words what that’s really all about?

It’s pretty unbelievable. Coming in to that situation without really knowing many of the guys, they really embraced me right from the very beginning. I met a lot of them at the airport on the way to Ayers Rock for a camp and a team bonding session we had there and the way they embraced me as a naturalised guy, even without me really knowing anyone, was pretty amazing.

When you got to Rio, what was life like in the Olympic Village?

It’s interesting, in that we kind of were staying in our own little bubble or cocoon. I’m sure it wasn’t as bad as it is at this Olympics, but yeah, we did have the opportunity to meet plenty of other athletes and see many others. I think one of my favourite things was just sitting in the dining hall and people watching. Just seeing the different athletes who have really excelled; the best in the world all in one place was pretty cool.

Were there any standout athletes that you saw or met in Rio?

I remember walking in the village and seeing Novak Djokovic training for his tennis match, so that stood out. I saw Usain Bolt walking around one day although I think he didn’t spend that much time in the village. Then there were some lesser names that some people wouldn’t recognize, but I don’t even know where to begin, because like I said, you’ve got the best of the world of sports right there. It’s pretty unbelievable.

The Olympic basketball format is in some ways akin to an NCAA tournament, which you obviously know a bit about. What’s the major differences in preparing for those games at the Olympics in comparison to say a regular NBL season?

Well, it was different in Rio to what it is in Tokyo, because we had six teams in our group. We started the very first day of the Olympics and ended on the very last day and we had a game every other day. So it pretty much came down to play a game, the next day review the game, go over the scout for who you play next, have a really light practice, then rest up and get ready to play the next day. It was just this rhythm you got into, and like I said you were in your own little bubble so you didn’t have much contact with the outside world or know what was going on, or even realise how big the following was in Australia until you finished and came home.

On a personal level, most of the guys on that team in Tokyo are stars in their own right on their club teams, and the same was true for you in Rio. How tough is it to make that adjustment to kind of just fit in and play a particular role?

I think there’s a couple of things. First of all, it’s not that tough because we had a great coach in Andrej Lemanis and the Boomer have one now in Brian Goorjian, and you’re surrounded by guys who just want to win. So, it’s not a situation where everyone is out for themselves; you touched on the culture before and it’s a situation where guys are all about doing what’s best to get that win. That’s why you don’t feel it’s tough in that regard. On the other hand, it was so good in teaching me, because most of the teams I’ve played on I’m starting and playing 30-40 minutes a game, and then to see a game from a different perspective where you’re coming off the bench and trying to help the team that way was a great lesson I learned. First and foremost though, the people involved and the culture just makes you feel right at home.

In Rio, the Boomers had an incredible run. You beat a couple of super teams in the preliminary rounds in France and Serbia, then you led the US at the half but lost by 10, destroyed Lithuania in the quarter final and lost by one to Spain in the bronze medal game thanks to that awful call on Patty Mills. Playing those games against those kind of teams and players like Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Milos Teodosic and Rudy Gobert – what was that experience like and how proud are you to have been a part of that?

Obviously, I’m grateful, not just for the Olympics part, but for the whole lead-up too – Ayers Rock, the training camps, playing pre-Olympic games in Buenos Aires, that whole summer was just an unbelievable experience. The Olympics is one thing, but for me it’s hard to separate the two because being welcomed into the group, this outsider, this American who became Australian (laughs) – that was really cool and gave me a sense of national pride. For me, the entire experience was enjoyable and so much fun. I roomed with Andrew Bogut at the Olympics and who would have thought we’d become teammates and now he’s a part owner. It’s really cool to have built those relationships.

What are your thoughts on how the Boomers have done so far in Tokyo and how far do you think they can go?

They’ve been a lot of fun to watch and I think the thing that really stands out – obviously Goorjian has his signature all over it – is their defensive intensity and toughness; their elite defensive pressure and willpower. These teams have been able to hang with them for a couple of quarters, but come the middle of the third or fourth quarter we’ve just been able to wear these teams down. I think that’s been great, and some of the additions like Matisse Thybulle and some of the other guys have really been a lot of fun to watch. I still think we’re finding our rhythm at the offensive end too which is really encouraging. Then you’ve got Jock Landale and Nick Kay coming in and contributing and that’s been great to watch too.

 

Sydney Kings Olympic Games Honour Roll

Brad Dalton 1988 Seoul

Damian Keogh 1988 Seoul; 1992 Barcelona

Shane Heal 1996 Atlanta; 2000 Sydney

Brett Brown 2000 Sydney

CJ Bruton 2004 Athens

Matthew Nielsen 2004 Athens

Jason Smith 2004 Athens

Brian Goorjian 2004 Athens; 2008 Beijing

Glen Saville 2008 Beijing

Mark Worthington 2008 Beijing

Kevin Lisch 2016 Rio de Janeiro