The NBL23 Finals tip-off on Thursday night, with both of the inaugural Play-In games taking to the court.

The first will see South East Melbourne host Perth in a sudden-death Play-In Qualifier at 6:30pm AEDT, before Cairns takes on Tasmania at 8:30pm in a Seeding Qualifier.

The winner of the latter will progress to play New Zealand in Playoff Semi-Final series, from Sunday, February 12.

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While the loser will take on the victory of the first-ever sudden-death Play-In Qualifier - with the winner of that clash, scheduled for Sunday, February 12 from 2pm, locked in to play the Sydney Kings.

With all that being considered, Chase Buford's side could potentially face any of those four teams in their semi-final series starting on Wednesday, February 15 at Qudos Bank Arena.

To prepare for all those outcomes, we're winding it back and see how the Hoops Capital side faired against all four potential opponents in the NBL23 regular season.

Semi-Final Game 1 is now on SALE.

Let's run it back, Sydney – we need you there to help defend the crown?

Tickets $30, and Families $65 ? https://t.co/KggoEqVbOc
? https://t.co/oRls5AmX99#WeTheKings pic.twitter.com/W5AiRQUYcM

— Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) February 7, 2023

Cairns Taipans (18-10 record, with Kings losing season series 2-1)

October 14 at Qudos Bank Arena: Sydney Kings 78-83 Cairns Taipans.

October 29 at Qudos Bank Arena: Sydney Kings 106-103 Cairns Taipans.

November 28 at Cairns Convention Centre: Sydney Kings 88-94 Cairns Taipans.

In the season's first meeting, Keanu Pinder sparked the Taipans to finish the game on a 12-7 which ultimately proved to be the difference and handed the reigning champions their first loss of NBL23.

Two weeks later, in a much higher-scoring affair, the harbour city used a strong second half (winning 51-41) and a Kouat Noi game-winning three-pointer to secure the victory.

The final game of the series (in which all games were decided by two possessions or less) was in Cairns, which saw the Snakes end the Kings' NBL record 17-straight road wins streak - on the back of outscoring the Kings 24-10 in the final 7.33 minutes (including the fourth quarter and overtime).

From a stats perspective, Sydney averaged only 83 points (on 43.8 per cent from the field in the two losses) compared to 106 (on 50.7 per cent shooting) in the win - while handing out 27 assists in the October 29 fixture, compared to 17 and 13 respectively in the defeats.

Ice Cold Noi ?#WeTheKings pic.twitter.com/0seyTrIyBb

— Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) November 1, 2022

Tasmania JackJumpers (16-12 record, with Kings winning season series 2-1)

December 11 at Qudos Bank Arena: Sydney Kings 76-84 Tasmania JackJumpers.

December 30 at Qudos Bank Arena: Sydney Kings 97-77 Tasmania JackJumpers.

January 27 at MyState Bank Arena: Sydney Kings 91-77 Tasmania JackJumpers.

In the first grand final rematch, Scott Roth's troops overran the Kings, outscoring them 26-6, to secure an impressive Indigenous Round victory.

A couple of weeks later, at the same venue, Buford's side used huge second and third quarters (where they outscored the Ants 52-36) to chalk up the impressive win, in front of more than 12,000 fans.

The final game of the regular season between the two was on the Apple Isle, where the Kings overcame a sluggish first quarter to power past Tassie (thanks to a 37-14 second term) and wrap up the series 2-1.

In those victories, the harbour city side shot a combined 64.5 from the field and hit 17 threes, compared to just 46.9 per cent, including three bombs from downtown in the loss.

South East Melbourne Phoenix (15-13 record, with Kings winning season series 2-1)

December 18 at Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Stadium: Sydney Kings 112-113 South East Melbourne Phoenix.

January 4 at Qudos Bank Arena: Sydney Kings 118-104 South East Melbourne Phoenix.

January 29 at Qudos Bank Arena: Sydney Kings 111-106 South East Melbourne Phoenix.

The first match between the two sides was one of the games of the season in Traralgon, with Derrick Walton Jr and Mitch Creek going toe-to-toe and both dropping 40 points in the double-overtime thriller.

Game two will forever be known as the DJ game when Dejan Vasiljevic nailed 10 triples (breaking a franchise record in the 40-minute era) on his way to a career-high 42 points.

The season finale, which was the Kings' last home game of the regular season, saw Xavier Cooks record the first triple-double of NBL23 during the competition's inaugural Pride Round.

In the two wins, the purple and gold shot 55.1 per cent from the field (compared to 43.9 in the loss), 88.8 per cent from the charity stripe (compared to 78.4) and averaged 23 dimes (compared to 15).

Perth Wildcats (15-13 record, with Kings losing season series 2-1)

January 7 at Qudos Bank Arena: Sydney Kings 108-87 Perth Wildcats.

January 20 at RAC Arena: Sydney Kings 104-111 Perth Wildcats.

February 5 at RAC Arena: Sydney Kings 84-96 Perth Wildcats.

On their home court, the Kings dominated the first meeting between the NBL20 grand final opponents, jumping out to a 45-24 lead midway through the second term and never looking back.

Game two was a shootout between two of the competition's most lethal offences, with a 35-24 final-period explosion by John Rillie's side proving the difference during the Heritage Round fixture - which snapped Sydney's six-game win streak.

The final fixture was the last game of the NBL23 calendar, which the Cats needed to win by 11 to ensure the spot in the Play-In games (otherwise Melbourne United would have finished sixth) and behind a 12-4 advantage in triples, Perth won by 12 points.

Looking back at the three fixtures, the Kings shot 57.8 per cent from the field in their lone win, while only managing 48.3 across the two defeats - with the latter by no means being a bad output, more showing how well Perth shot across the two games in RAC Arena.

Tickets to game one of the Kings' semi-final series on Wednesday, February 15 at Qudos Bank Arena are officially on sale here.