Sydney Kings: Rising through the ranks

As the prowess of Australian basketball continues to grow, the powerhouse franchise Sydney Kings has been at the forefront of the domestic basketball scene. Winning three consecutive NBL championships between 2003 and 2005 and reaching the Grand Final the following season have stamped the club's place in the history books as one of the country's basketball dynasties, even though there was little to boast about of the sport in Sydney prior to then. The merger of the Sydney Supersonics with the West Sydney Westars in 1987 gave birth to the Kings, though it would still be a long road to glory. The new franchise's first big star was Dwayne McClain, who helped the Kings reach the playoff semifinals in 1992. Still, real success was a decade away. A turning point for the franchise came with the signing of Australian Olympian Shane Heal, who joined up in 2001 and played a key role in making the Kings a power. The next season saw future Euroleaguer Chris Williams join Heal, while top coach Brian Goorjian took over on the sidelines as Sydney finished the regular season in first place and beat the Perth Wildcats in the Grand Final to claim the Kings' first-ever championship. Even though Heal would retire after the title-winning campaign, a new star was on the horizon in Matt Nielsen, now a top Euroleague big man with Lietuvos Rytas of Lithuania. Nielsen claimed the MVP award the next season as Sydney won the 2004 title. Jason Smith played the lead role in 2005 as Sydney became the first team to win three straight NBL crowns. Another trip to the Grand Final came in 2006, but despite the defeat, the Kings place in the Australian basketball pecking order had been set and now every new season brings with it hope and expectations of greatness in Sydney.

Despite some personnel problems and injury blows, Sydney finished the regular season in fourth place, achieving 20 victories for the fifth consecutive season. Swingman Jason Smith stood out along the way, as the club overcame the Singapore Slingers 102-76 on the final day of the regular season to ensure a home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. That set up a matchup with the Townsville Crocodiles in the one-game quarterfinal, in which an in-form Mark Worthington stepped up to guide his side once more to the semifinals. However the team's quest for a fifth consecutive Grand Final appearance was ended in a two-game series against eventual champion Brisbane Bullets.

SYDNEY KINGS SCHEDULE

vs. CSKA Moscow, September 30 18:30 local time | 12:30 CET vs. Benetton Tamoil, October 1 17:00 local time | 11:00 CET vs. Team China, October 2 16:00 local time | 10:00 CET

TEAM ROSTER # Name Pos. Height 4 B.J. Carter G 1,86 5 Dontaye Draper G 1,80 8 Blake Borgia G 1,85 10 Jason Smith F 1,94 11 Ian Crosswhite C 2,10 12 Glen Saville G 1,97 14 David Pollard C 2,03 21 Luke Kendall G 1,93 22 Mark Worthington F 2,02 24 Cameron Tovey F 1,99 25 Isiah Victor F 2,02

TEAMS CSKA Moscow Benetton Treviso Team China Syndey Kings