Regular Season Milestones

By Matt McQuade

It’s been quite the NBL22 regular season for the Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings.

A journey full of ups and downs, triumph and devastation, fantastic finishes and jaw-dropping plays, monster dunks and massive rejections.

Indeed, as Russell Crowe in Gladiator roared  – “Are you not entertained?”

There’s no doubt that it has been an extraordinary last few months for the purple and gold.

From the depths of a 3-6 start to the heights of a remarkable 13-game winning streak – the fortunes of the team have fluctuated to be sure, but here we are on the eve of another playoff series with Sydney holding a legitimate shot to capturing their fourth National Basketball League championship.

And while we eagerly look forward to that prospect and a journey to the ultimate goal which starts this Friday night at the WIN Entertainment Centre in Wollongong, we thought it was worthwhile taking a quick look back at the NBL22 minor rounds by the numbers.

Those statistics make impressive reading to be sure for a ballclub that won 19 games despite suffering through a ton of adversity throughout the season.

They are a resilient bunch, these Sydney Kings, and they did some extraordinary things in NBL22, on both a team and individual level.

Here’s a rundown of some of the stats that mattered for the Hoops Capital in the 2021/2022 campaign.

INDIVIDUAL

• Xavier Cooks led the NBL in total rebounds per game and blocked shots per game and Jaylen Adams led the NBL in assists per game. It is the first time in franchise history that the Sydney Kings have led those three individual categories in the same NBL season.
• Xavier Cooks became the first Sydney Kings player to lead the NBL in total rebounds per game and blocked shots per game since Andrew Bogut in 2019. He’s just the fourth King alongside Bogut, AJ Ogilvy in 2014 and Julian Khazzouh in 2011 to lead the NBL in rebounds and blocked shots in a single season.
• Jaylen Adams became the first Sydney Kings player since Jerome Randle in 2018 to lead the NBL in assists. He’s just the third King alongside Randle and Shane Heal in 2002 to lead the NBL in assists in a single season.
• Jaylen Adams finished fourth in the NBL in points per game.
• Xavier Cooks led the NBL in defensive rebounding per game.
• Jarell Martin finished fifth in the NBL in defensive rebounding per game.
• Xavier Cooks finished sixth in the NBL in offensive rebounding per game.
• Jarell Martin finished seventh in the NBL in total rebounds per game.
• Jaylen Adams finished sixth in the NBL in field goals made per game.
• Xavier Cooks finished ninth in the NBL in field goals made per game.
• Jaylen Adams finished fourth in the NBL in field goals attempted per game.
• Xavier Cooks finished sixth in the NBL in field goal percentage.
• Jaylen Adams finished third in the NBL in three pointers made per game.
• Dejan Vasiljevic finished eighth in the NBL in three-pointers made per game.
• Jaylen Adams finished fourth in the NBL in three-pointers attempted per game.
• Jaylen Adams finished second in the NBL in three-point percentage.
• Ian Clark finished fourth in the NBL in three-point percentage.
• Jarell Martin finished seventh in the NBL in three-point percentage.
• Dejan Vasiljevic finished ninth in the NBL in three-point percentage
• Jaylen Adams finished fourth in the NBL in free throws made per game.
• Jaylen Adams finished fifth in the NBL in free throws attempted per game.
• Jaylen Adams finished sixth in the NBL in free throw percentage.
• Jaylen Adams finished tenth in the NBL in minutes per game.
• Xavier Cooks had 14 double-doubles (double figures in points and rebounds in a game) to lead the NBL in that category.
• Tom Vodanovich, Angus Glover, Jarell Martin and Xavier Cooks all played their 50^th games for the Sydney Kings.

COACH

• Chase Buford won 19 games – the third-most ever in a single season by a first-year Head Coach of the Sydney Kings.
• Coach Buford won 13 straight games – the second-best winning streak in franchise history and the most-ever games won consecutively by a first-year Head Coach of the Sydney Kings.
• Chase became the first Sydney Kings Head Coach to ever win 10 straight road games in a single season.

TEAM

• Sydney’s 19-9 record is the sixth-best regular season record (by win percentage) in franchise history.
• The Kings’ 13-game winning streak is the second-best winning streak in franchise history (overall and in a single season).
• Sydney’s 10-game road winning streak is the longest in a single season in franchise history.
• Sydney’s 10-game road winning streak is the second longest overall in franchise history.
• Sydney’s 10-4 record on the road was just the fifth time in franchise history that the team has won at least 10 games on the road in a single regular season.
• Sydney’s 10-4 record on the road is the fourth best (by win percentage) in a single season in franchise history.
• The Kings led the NBL in defensive field goal percentage.
• The Kings led the NBL in defensive rebounding per game and defensive rebounding percentage.
• The Kings finished third in the NBL in total rebounds per game.
• The Kings finished second in the NBL in defensive rating.
• The Kings finished third in the NBL in points allowed per game.
• The Kings finished third in the NBL in three-pointers made per game.
• The Kings finished third in the NBL in three-pointers attempted per game.
• The Kings finished third in the NBL in free throw percentage.

CROWDS

• The attendance of 12,632 for the game against the Illawarra Hawks at Qudos Bank Arena on Sunday 24 April was the fifth largest home crowd in Sydney Kings franchise history.