ROUND 4 PREVIEW – KINGS VS 36ERS

It was historic.

Momentous.

One of – if not the greatest – Championship Series in theannals of the National Basketball League.

Five games, culminating in the first championship seriesdecider to go into overtime.

Incredible plays made by incredible players.

And the two biggest crowds ever seen in the NBL.

Sydney vs Adelaide. The first time the two iconic franchiseshad met in a playoff series, let alone one that was for all the marbles.

It’s hard to believe that was six months ago.

And now an intense rivalry that spans decades is renewed inNBL27.

This Sunday afternoon at Afterpay Arena, the 36ers willreturn to the scene of what they consider to be a crime – a place that forAdelaide fans will bring up a ton of unpleasant memories, specifically relatingto a Game Five where they could argue their team was a missed layup away fromtheir fifth NBL title.

Of course, as far as Sydney fans are concerned, there wasnothing better than witnessing history on what was a magical night in April2026 – especially that extra period where the 36ers were decimated by a purpleand gold avalanche.

It was a victory for the ages, and now as they continuetheir quest to go back-to-back for the third time in franchise history, thedefending champs seek to inflict more pain on an Adelaide squad that was apopular pick by various members of the NBL media as a championship favourite inthe preseason.

The reasoning was the 36ers had retained most of the squadthat had gone the distance with the Kings and added one Trevor Gleeson as HeadCoach, a man with vast experience and multiple championship victories to hiscredit.

But so far, things haven’t panned out for Adelaide as manyexpected, with the team sitting in ninth place on the NBL ladder with a 2-4record following their loss at home on Wednesday night to Melbourne United.

Part of their slow start has been due to injury setbacks tokey big man Isaac Humphries and starting swingman Flynn Cameron to go with theunavailability of former Sydney King Bul Kuol, who continues his rehabilitationfrom the ACL injury he suffered while a member of the purple and gold in NBL26.

And as can sometimes happen, the installation of a newoffensive system by Coach Gleeson hasn’t been as smooth as the 36ers wouldlike, with the team currently averaging just 88.7 points per game through sixcontests with an offensive rating of 113.9 that ranks fourth-worst in theleague.

Yet despite their worse than expected record and the absenceof Humphries, Cameron and Kuol, the 36ers still boast a formidable lineup thatmust be respected.

Naturally, the headliner is six-time NBL Most ValuablePlayer Bryce Cotton (26.3ppg, 7.0apg, 1.3spg, 47.5% FG, 47.1% 3PT FG, 90.5%FT), whose brilliance is well-documented. He is one of the best players theleague has ever seen and continues to build an imposing legacy.

Up front, the 36ers are powered by bookend forwards NickRakocevic (20.5ppg, 10.5rpg, 2.3apg, 55.9% FG, 32.1% FT) and Zylan Cheatham (12.5ppg,4.7rpg, 4.5apg, 1.2spg, 56.1% FG, 44.4% 3PT FG, 69.4% FT). Rakocevic has goneto another level since being inserted into the starting lineup; Cheatham is anactive, physical force who plays both ends of the floor.

And although Adelaide’s depth has taken a recent hit,they’ve addressed that to a degree with the addition of New Zealand veteranCorey Webster, while John Jenkins, Isaac White and Jacob Rigoni can all knockdown the outside shot and Matthew Kenyon offers defensive toughness.

So, as ever, the 36ers will pose a set of challenges to aKings unit that has started their championship defence in imposing fashion,with all three victories in their perfect record coming by double figuremargins, including a last-start 93-78 win at home against Brisbane in a gamewhere their normally potent offence struggled to a degree but the defence wasin lockdown mode, particularly in the final three quarters where they held theBullets to just 44 points across the 30 minutes.

It’s an early pointer to a club that is showing they can winin multiple ways, and that’s great news for all Kings fans, who the club ishopeful will show up in massive numbers this Sunday.

The team has already given them plenty to cheer about, witheveryone on the roster contributing.

It all starts with the man who should be the early outrightfavourite for NBL MVP, point guard Kendric Davis (27.0ppg, 5.7rpg, 6.3apg,47.5% FG, 20.0% 3PT FG, 80.8% FT), who came into the team late, had nopreseason to speak of and yet has picked up right where he left off in hislegendary NBL26 campaign. KD is the best player in the league right now.

Sydney’s frontline has already produced significantly, withteam captain Xavier Cooks (12.7ppg, 6.0rpg, 2.0apg, 1.7bpg, 62.5% FG, 57.1% FT)and imports Torrey Craig (14.3ppg, 4.0rpg) and Andrew Carr (9.7ppg, 7.7rpg) allcontributing in a variety of ways.

Then there’s a bench led by a man in Makuach Maluach(16.0ppg, 2.7rpg, 73.9% FG, 72.7% 3PT FG, 100.0% FT) who has put himselfsquarely in the frame for both NBL Most Improved and NBL Sixth Man of the Yearin the early stages of the season while youngsters Will Johnston and HarryWessels have made promising debuts.

And the best news is this team is just scratching thesurface of what they are capable of – there is significant upside in a varietyof areas, which bodes well for the remainder of NBL27.

But the immediate focus will be on the Adelaide 36ers thisSunday.

It will be tough. It will be hard fought.

It will be a blockbuster.

Let’s go Kings.

WHO

Sydney Kings vs. Adelaide 36ers

WHEN

Sunday 11 October, 3:00pm AEST tipoff

LOCATION

Afterpay Arena, doors open 1:30pm

TICKETS

On sale via Ticketek via link

THE PLAYERS

KINGS

Projected Starters: Kendric Davis; MatthewDellavedova; Torrey Craig; Xavier Cooks; Andrew Carr

Bench: Makuach Maluach; Tyler Robertson, JasonSpurgin, Harry Wessels, Jayden Stone, Will Johnston; Peitok Machar; BaileyHanson

36ERS

Projected Starters: Bryce Cotton, Keanu Rasmussen, JacobRigoni, Zylan Cheatham, Nick Rakocevic

Bench: John Jenkins, Isaac White, Matt Kenyon, CoreyWebster, Ben Griscti, Deonte Williams, Raheim Brown Jr

THE COACHES

KINGS

Brian Goorjian (9^th season with Kings, recordwith Kings 213-86, NBL career record 601-275, 7 NBL championships)

36ERS

Trevor Gleeson (1^st season with 36ers, recordwith 36ers 2-4, NBL career record 276-190, 5 NBL championships)

NBL26 REGULAR SEASONSERIES

Kings won 3-1

NBL26 PLAYOFFS

Kings won 3-2

KEY MATCHUP

Kendric Davis vsBryce Cotton

Well, obviously. In fact, this individual rivalry has quicklyestablished itself as one of the best the NBL has ever seen between two playerswho are elite at their position. Cotton is the 36ers’ engine; a man who meanseverything to his team who provides great scoring, facilitation and just plainold inspiration. Kendric is playing at an exceptionally high level right now andno one has come close so far to stopping him – he’s a deadly scorer at allthree levels, he excels at making his teammates better and he’s a betterrebounder and defender than anyone gives him credit for. He’s always highlymotivated when he comes up against Cotton and has saved his best for thosegames – as two prime examples, his performances against the 36er superstar inGames 3 and 5 of the NBL26 Championship Series were the stuff of legend. It’spretty simple – whoever wins this duel will lead their team to the W on Sunday.

THE QUESTIONS

Will the Sydney frontcourt get the job done against anAdelaide unit missing a key piece in Isaac Humphries?

If the Kings knock down the outside shot consistently, doesAdelaide have the collective weaponry to keep up in a shootout?

HISTORY

All-time Head-to-Head

121 games played; 36ers lead 67-54

In Sydney

58 games played; Kings lead 31-27

At Afterpay Arena

24 games played; 36ers lead 13-11

DID YOU KNOW?

Brian Goorjian will coach his 300^thgame for the Sydney Kings on Sunday. The greatest coach in Australianbasketball history and the winningest coach in Australian sports history joinsluminaries Lindsay Gaze, Brian Kerle, Phil Smyth, Brendan Joyce and DeanVickerman in coaching at least 300 NBL games for one club. His record with thepurple and gold is 213 wins and 86 losses, an extraordinary winning percentageof 71.2%. Goorj’s stunning record with the Kings includes four championships,six appearances in the NBL Championship Series, seven semi-finals and sixseasons where the team has finished on top of the NBL ladder at the end of theregular season.

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