At the start of the season, this sports writer predicted the Sydney Kings would win the whole thing, and that call proved spot on. Sydney backed it up with a championship run, finishing as regular-season champions before clinching the NBL title in a dramatic overtime Game 5 win over the Adelaide 36ers on Sunday, 5 April.
Kings deliver on the promise
The Sydney Kings turned early belief into a season that ended with silverware, combining a strong regular season with a finals campaign built for the big stage. After finishing on top of the ladder, they carried that momentum into the championship series and completed the job in front of a huge home crowd at Qudos Bank Arena. The title felt like the payoff for months of steady improvement, with the Kings peaking when the stakes were highest.
What made the run more impressive was the way Sydney recovered from an uneven start. The Kings found their rhythm late in the regular season, then showed composure in the finals when the pressure peaked. That ability to reset and respond became one of the defining traits of the team’s championship push.
A decider for the ages
The Grand Final series against Adelaide was tight from the beginning and reached its peak in Game 5, where the Kings outlasted the 36ers 113-101 in overtime. The decider had all the ingredients of a classic: momentum swings, a loud crowd and two teams refusing to give an inch.
Kendric Davis was the standout for Sydney, scoring 35 points and handing out 14 assists in the title-clinching win, earning Grand Final MVP honours in the process. Bryce Cotton kept Adelaide in the contest, but the Kings had too much depth and composure when it mattered most.
Season built on belief
Sydney’s regular season gave the team the platform for its title push. The Kings sealed the regular-season crown with a dominant finish, underlining their status as the league’s most consistent side by the time the playoffs arrived.
The championship also reinforced the culture around the club, with Xavier Cooks praising the environment the team built throughout the year. From the early-season prediction to the final buzzer, the Kings’ 2025/26 campaign became a full-circle story of confidence, resilience and reward.
