Teammates laud Vodanovich’s leadership before his 50th game as a King

Tommy Vodanovich will become the third current King to register 50 games for the Kings against the SEM Phoenix in Melbourne on Thursday night.

Our New Zealander will join Jordan Hunter and Shaun Bruce as the only players with the Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings to hit the 50-game club milestone.

Vodanovich spoke to Kings media this week about what it means to reach the milestone.

“I guess I’m a young vet,” Vodanovich joked.

“It’s a great milestone, 50 games is a lot of games and playing them for a club like this is awesome.”

Vodanovich spoke on what it means to represent his home country of New Zealand following this big milestone.

“We have a lot of talent in New Zealand,” Vodanovich said.

“We just have one team in the Breakers, so for people like myself to get out and play for teams like this, it’s great. There’s a bunch of Kiwis in the league now hopefully there is more to come.”

Vodanovich is 27-years-old and is considered a veteran by all his peers and coaches. Assistant coach Kevin Lisch spoke on his impact on the team.

“It’s great to have Tommy with us,” Lisch said.

“He brings so many aspects off the court that fans don’t get to see. His leadership, his toughness and his energy on and off the court day in and day out. He’s just a great guy to have in the locker room and a joy to coach.

“I’ve obviously been in the arena before, so I know guys like Tommy are a lot of times the glue guys who hold your team together.”

Star teammate Xavier Cooks shared a similar sentiment for Vodanovich, who was lauded by all his teammates as a great leader on and off the court.

“Tommy is a big voice in the locker room,” Cooks said.

“He’s one of the older guys on the team and he does a great job of sensing his role. He doesn’t come in and do too much, he just does what he’s good at and sticks to his role.

“He never complains, he’s just a great team player. Every team needs guys like him.”

Catch Tommy’s 50^th game as a King against the Phoenix on Thursday night at 7.30pm on ESPN.