From Astronauts and Bruins to Supersonics and Westars, then finally to the Kings of basketball – such has been the journey of the five-time – National Basketball League champions, the Sydney Kings.

It’s a trek that stretches back to a time when professionalism, pay television and private ownership were considered fantasy; when players wore short shorts and played for the love of the game more than anything else.

Over the previous 34 seasons, the story of the franchise – born out of a marriage between two teams who were arch-rivals for years – has been a roller coaster ride from the depths of despair to the ultimate high of championship success, a stunning fall from grace and then a long-awaited resurrection that would turn into title glory.

There has been so much to celebrate during this club's rich history, from the highs of the early 1990s and the feats of superstars named Dwayne McClain and Leon Trimmingham, to a 1996 squad that was the highest-scoring team in franchise history and a 2001 club that made the playoffs under Head Coach Brett Brown after a five-year absence.

Of course, the Brian Goorjian era between 2002 and 2008 was the zenith of on-court success for the Kings, including the first ‘Threepeat’ in the annals of the NBL between 2003 and 2005 when the team won three straight championships. In the time of 'Goorj', Sydney reached an amazing five Grand Finals in six seasons, a run capped by a remarkable 27-3 regular season in 2007/2008.

Sydney was out of the league for two years before its rebirth in 2010, and it took another 12 years before the club could celebrate its fourth NBL title in what was an historic 33^rd season for the purple and gold, who set several franchise records on the way to their crown and became the second Kings team to ever go perfect during the playoffs, finishing 5-0 in the NBL Finals after a 19-9 regular season.

The final game of their 3-0 sweep of the Tasmania JackJumpers in the Grand Final series saw the then third largest crowd in NBL history, a staggering 16,149 fans, cram into Qudos Bank Arena to witness their heroes lifting the Dr John Raschke trophy.

That championship in 2022 – Sydney’s fourth NBL title – was the culmination of an extraordinary period that included the club's 30^thAnniversary Season in 2018/2019, the addition of NBA superstar Andrew Bogut and a Grand Final appearance in NBL20.

As it turned out, NBL22 was just an appetizer to what became an extraordinary, record-breaking NBL23 campaign. In a season that was all about the Hoops Capital, the Kings shattered the all-time record for consecutive road wins with 17 straight victories, finished first at the end of the regular season and attracted the most fans ever in a single season to Qudos Bank Arena.

Those record crowd numbers in NBL23 included five of the ten largest home crowds in franchise history and back to back home games in a pulsating Grand Final Series that saw the NBL single-game attendance record smashed not once, but twice, with 18,049 attending Game Three before a stunning 18,124 – the third-largest crowd ever to watch a basketball game in Australia – witnessed the Kings outlast the New Zealand Breakers in Game Five to repeat as National Basketball League champions and win the club’s fifth NBL title overall.

During NBL24, the Kings attempted to become the first team ever to complete a championship ‘Threepeat’ on more than one occasion and just the second team ever to win at least six NBL crowns but ultimately fell short - being eliminated by New Zealand in the season's Play In Qualifier.

The Hoops Capital side now looks poised to rebound in a big way in NBL25 after announcing Brian Goorjian as the new head coach.

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