SYDNEY — Game 5 was a moment Australian basketball had been building toward all season. Maybe longer.
A record crowd was packed shoulder-to-shoulder in Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena, every set of eyes fixed on the same hardwood stage, knowing exactly what was at stake. There’s no denying the characters involved made this the ideal bit of theatre for the NBL: two heavyweights, one final act, and no margin for error.
And so, on Sunday afternoon, the league got everything it could have hoped for… and more.
Bryce Cotton was dragging his team forward possession by possession, like only an MVP can. His counterpart — and yes: his rival — was forced to back up weeks of words. The Adelaide 36ers had the late lead, but the Sydney Kings surged, and the building grew louder and louder. The game spilled into overtime, and it felt like only a matter of time before the Kings used the energy of their record crowd to come away as 113-101 victors, winning the franchise’s third title in the last five seasons.
“This game summed up this season,” Kings star Xavier Cooks told ESPN. “Everyone came to play. Look at this crowd. Look what we’ve created here in Sydney. Three championships in five years.”
The aftermath was befitting of the war both teams just embarked on.
Kendric Davis — who led the Kings with another masterful point guard performance, finishing the final game of the NBL season with 35 points and 14 assists — was carrying around a bottle of champagne, and it should be noted that he’s never drunk or smoked in his life. That changed on Sunday. Kings co-owner Paul Smith, his voice all but gone, still found a way to be heard, draped in his now-iconic ‘King Gong’ robe as he moved through the chaos. At one point, he passed it to Torrey Craig, who grinned and declared, “I might sleep in this tonight”, before disappearing down the tunnel. And Kings assistant coach Shaun Roger was one of many who were completely drenched in some sort of alcoholic beverage as he offered pleasantries in the hallway after the initial celebrations.
The nets have been cut down, and the maintenance team has blown away the purple and gold confetti from the court, so it’s time for some reflection on an outrageously entertaining game that capped off one of the most contentious and enthralling Championship Series in the history of the league.
The Kings’ faith in Kendric Davis… repaid
Late in the fourth quarter, it looked like this game was the 36ers’ for the taking. Davis had an answer every time, though.
“No-one doubted,” Cooks said. “KD’s a f—–g motherf—er. Man, he’s nice. Belief never dipped within the team.”
Cotton hit a three-pointer, while drawing a foul, to put the 36ers up six with just over two minutes to play. That felt like the beginning of the end for the Kings. Davis drew a foul and hit a pair of free throws. Davis then hit a three, to cut his team’s deficit to one point. Cotton got to the line for three free throws, and Davis responded once again, hitting a pullup jumper.
Come overtime, it was Davis who had the juice left to put his team on his back and guide them to victory.
“I checked myself,” Davis told ESPN of his late-game shot-making.
3:55
Sydney are Kings of the NBL for 2026
The Sydney Kings have claimed an historic victory in Game 5 of the NBL Championship series. ESPN’s Olgun Uluc spoke with the winning side in their celebrations.
“Game 5, it’s not about the role players. They’ve done their job all series to get us here. I had to be who I said I am. Bryce is gonna make you work for it. After he hit that three and talked to my crowd, I kind of got mad. I said: if we’re gonna go out, we’re gonna go out with me swinging. I got some shots to go down… In Game 5, it’s about which star’s gonna show up in crunch time.
“All that hard work we put in throughout the year. You don’t wanna go out on your home floor like that. I know I didn’t. All year, those guys counted on me in the fourth quarter to make plays, make shots. We couldn’t have done this without a team effort.”
Davis finished with his immense stat-line, and won the Larry Sengstock Trophy for the Championship Series MVP, and vindicated the Kings’ decision to recruit the American who came in with some perceived baggage from his previous season with the 36ers. There were questions about Davis’ maturity circling him over the last off-season, but the Kings sought intel from their vast network and ultimately got an indication that the point guard can excel in a team environment, and that, in their words, his passion for basketball was the driving force for his oft-emotive behaviours.
“Brian [Goorjian] championed it, and we all backed that,” Kings co-owner and head of basketball Luc Longley explained to ESPN.
“His talent’s irrefutable. What we didn’t know is he’s a 24/7 basketball junkie, and the hardest thing for KD seemed to be switching off from basketball.
“Here’s what Brian said: I’ve got weaknesses and strengths. I can’t deal with sulkers. But I can deal with someone that can punch me in the nose and tell me how it is. That’s the perfect guy for me. I can deal with that. Then I know what I’m dealing with.
“When you’ve got a guy that cares that much, and is so talented, then it’s worth listening to the positives instead of the negatives. And wouldn’t it be nice if we all listened to positives instead of negatives about everybody.”
The faith the Kings showed was rewarded, and Davis says he’s a better leader for it.
“It means everything, because we live in a world where basketball is about who you know,” Davis told ESPN, on the Kings’ decision to sign him.
“Every relationship doesn’t work out in life, but to have the belief Goorj had in me… He called people that matter, and he said the people that matter said good things about you, and that’s all I care about. He helped me become a man; not just him, [but] X, Delly, Bogut, Luc.
“They challenged me to be a leader, a man. We already knew what I could do basketball-wise, but they challenged me for moments right here. I couldn’t have done it without their leadership. I wasn’t ready to be a leader last year, and I took that step… I can’t be thankful enough. In Sydney, we expect championships, and I’m glad I brought them one.”
Basketball in Sydney is thriving more than ever
Smith has long called Sydney the ‘Hoops Capital’. And, after Sunday, it’s difficult to dispute that.
“We like to think it is, we like to act like it is, and we like to act like it is, and we like to play like it is,” Smith told ESPN.
“I think it all does play out. Where we started and where we are now, it’s a journey. Sport’s a cruel mistress, basketball’s a very cruel mistress. It can break your heart. We’ve had our heartbreaks here, but we’ll take in this moment for what it’s worth. We’re getting to work tomorrow. We’re getting started again.”
1:47
Kendric Davis: ‘I had some maturing to do’
NBL Championship series MVP Kendric Davis reflects on the Sydney Kings’ title.
We saw the largest crowd in NBL history watch Game 5 of this Championship Series in Qudos Bank Arena. What was the previous largest crowd in league history? Game 3 of this series. How about before that? It was Game 3 of the 2023 Championship Series, in Sydney.
“This place was rocking,” Smith said.
“This joint was loud, it was authentic, it was passionate. It’s everything we wanted for our city, our team, and ultimately for the league.”
After substantial success in the early-2000s, under Brian Goorjian, the Kings re-emerged as a relevant force in 2018, when Andrew Bogut signed with the franchise. It’s almost perfect circularity that this Kings team — which just won the franchise’s third championship in the last five seasons — were guided by Goorjian, flanked by his assistant coach in Bogut.
Smith guided the team to a new level when he became the majority owner in 2019, with CEO Chris Pongrass as the franchise’s chief basketball decision-maker. Robyn Denholm and the Wollemi Capital Group joined the ownership in 2022, before ultimately assuming majority ownership in 2024. Throw in Goorjian, Bogut, and new general manager James Newman, and it’s been an experienced and demonstrated brains trust guiding the franchise on and off the court.
“Clearly Chris [Pongrass] did a lot of work, and he’s been doing a lot of work for a long time, so we do need to shoutout him, for sure,” Longley said.
“Brian and the rest of the coaching staff poured themselves into it. Then, [new general manager] James [Newman] helped us put the finishing touches on it.”
Bryce goes down swinging
It came in a losing effort, but it shouldn’t be forgotten how incredible Cotton was in Game 5.
Seemingly for the first time all series, the six-time MVP got loose, hitting a trio of three-pointers in the first quarter. It was daunting. He hadn’t really shaken free of the clutch of the Kings’ plethora of perimeter defenders in the first four games of the series, but everyone felt the spectre of Cotton taking over in this decider after the first period.
And he very nearly did. Cotton had 35 points and nine assists, including what felt like daggers in the fourth quarter, and played all 45 minutes over the back-and-forth Game 5.
Cotton had an opportunity to win the game, and title, for the 36ers at the buzzer, but his layup was off, sending the contest to overtime. By then, it seemed like he ran out of juice. The 33-year-old didn’t have the legs to play with the same aggression, so the Kings were able to run away with it.
He’s not alone, of course. This was an impressive Isaac Humphries game, and Zylan Cheatham had an imprint on the contest once again, but these 36ers go as Cotton does, and they fell so excruciatingly short.
Goorj silences the doubters
Goorjian is now a seven-time NBL Champion, but this one was personal.
“For me, personally… my age,’ Goorjian told ESPN, on why this title means so much to him.
“There’s been a lot said about this since I’ve come back. Where I’ve been, there’s a respect for knowledge and an appreciation for my generation… Here, I thought, real quick, when we started this build, there was a lot of negativity.
“Just that narrative, I think I’ve put that to rest, and I can play my career out here now trying to get this next one with the bank’s money.”
The 72-year-old was head coach of those Kings teams that three-peated in the early-2000s, but then took a 10-year hiatus from the NBL to coach across Asia. When he returned to the NBL in 2020, and rejoined the Australian Boomers as the program’s head coach, there was a sentiment that began to float around that he was perhaps too old. Maybe he was too past his prime.
That narrative sprung up again when Goorjian took over the Kings ahead of the 2024-25 season, with the team finishing fifth on the NBL ladder.
He responded by leading them to the No. 1 seed — while coaching both the No. 1 offence and No. 1 defence in the league — walking away with his seventh NBL Coach of the Year award, and ultimately winning the 2026 title.
“This has happened a little quicker than anticipated,” Goorjian said.
“I knew it was gonna be a build, and I think the organisation knew that when we started. Year one was rough but I thought there were a lot of good things. This next step has been bigger and stronger than I thought, and the goal has been to get the city behind our team again. I think that might be the biggest thing out of this.”
Davis has been a champion of Goorjian all season long, and was particularly impressed with Game 5.
“Goorj coached his ass off,” Davis said.
“The players were ready, he had us ready, and Sydney came out today, baby. Basketball in Australia is in a beautiful spot right now. To bring a city like Sydney out like this, it’s going in the right direction for sure.”
Delly finally wins his first NBL title
For a moment, step into Dellavedova’s shoes as he was preparing for Sunday’s outing.
This was the third straight Game 5 of a Championship Series Dellavedova was set to play in, and he came short in the previous two. Losing a single Game 5 is heartbreaking, but doing it in back-to-back seasons, no matter how accomplished you are, is brutal fortune. The first two were with Melbourne United, and he was even the Championship Series MVP in 2025, and he helped guide the Kings back to the final stage of the season.
It’s why there’s no surprise what emotion the 35-year-old was feeling.
“Relief,” he told ESPN.
“It’s been a long road. Just really happy for this group. We went through a lot all year, through injuries, tough losses… I wanna give a special shoutout to the guys who got injured along the way. They’ve been all in for us all year: [Jason Spurgin], Keli [Leaupepe], [Tyler Robertson] Robbo, Bul [Kuol]… With their voices, with their energy, everyone’s played a big part in this.”
Dellavedova was the primary defender on Cotton over the course of this series. And, while Cotton was able to shake loose in Game 5, Dellavedova led a group of guards and wings who were able to contain the reigning MVP as well as any collective has in recent times.
“I’m always gonna do that,” Dellavedova said. “Obviously he’s the engine that makes them go, and we threw a whole bunch of different coverages at him. He’s a high-level player, so we had a lot of guys focus in on him.”
Dellavedova signed with the Kings last off-season as probably the most high-profile move of free agency, and it was fascinating how his role on the team developed over time. First, he was a primary playmaker at the point guard position. Then, he moved to the bench as the team’s backup point guard. By the playoffs, he was a vital piece that was plugging and playing wherever needed. He guarded Kristian Doolittle — a 6’7 forward — for much of the semifinals series, and was then tasked with being glued to Cotton over the Championship Series.
“Delly signed here because we needed his basketball IQ, his effort, and, more than anything, the way he leads by example,” Longley said.
“He’s not the loudest guy in the locker room, he’s not the cheerleader… he leads by example. He looks after his body, he f—–g nails the scout. He’s the pro you need young men to follow.
“To have guys on your team who young men can look at, identify with, and understand that’s the benchmark, he’s the benchmark of that stuff. We have young guys on our team who need that. F–k, I need that. I need to see guys feeling that pressure to prepare, pressure to buy-in, pressure to perform.
“Whatever his role is, he’s good. His role changed tonight from the other game. He wasn’t necessarily brought in to run the whole show, he was brought in to lead by example and bring a winning culture. And he’s done that.”
Two special shoutouts
Let’s talk about how wildly impressive Jaylin Galloway was over the course of this Championship Series.
There’s a good argument he was a top-three player in the series, and his shooting exploits were particularly notable. Over the five games, Galloway shot 18-of-32 (56.3%) from beyond the three-point line, which is extraordinarily efficient. Every time the 36ers would go on a run, Galloway would seemingly be the one to halt it with a three, making Mike Wells’ team pay for every late rotation.
We know Galloway is a long, wiry athlete who excels at getting on the rim, but the efficiency he showed with his shooting are what makes him among Australia’s most intriguing young players.
Then, there’s Cooks, who always seems to be underrated among the broader NBL fanbase, but is now a three-time champion after playing an important role on both ends for the Kings.
Cooks had 19 points, 12 rebounds (seven offensive), four assists, three steals, and one block in Game 5, and that wasn’t a one-off. He was putting up those sorts of numbers all series long.
In early 2024, Cooks became the first frontcourt player to sign a one-million-dollar deal in the NBL, in what eventually became a trend for returning players in the league. He was a two-time champion with the Kings, but this was his first while on the substantial contract.
“I hope I rewarded them,” Cooks said. “I gave my absolute all this season to be in this situation. I don’t play for individual stats; I play for wins, and to win championships. And we did it.”
