The Sydney Kings have claimed the 2025-2026 NBL championship after a hard-fought season capped by a decisive series win, with Finals MVP Kendric Davis playing a central role in the title run.
Speaking after the victory, Davis reflected on a challenging period earlier in the year in Adelaide and how stepping away from social media helped him reset, while crediting the Kings’ environment, leadership and belief in him as key factors in their championship success.
Watch live coverage of NBL and WNBL 2025-26 seasons with ESPN on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
“It takes a bold organisation and say, ‘I’m to work with you’,” he said.
“In life, relationships won’t be great. You’re going to go through phases in business, partners, whatever. Relationships don’t be great. And you never want to be determined off one bad relationship. And that’s what it felt like. And whether it was my fault, their fault, or it was both our fault, why it didn’t work. just for me to get all the blame.”
“I couldn’t even click on Instagram at the beginning of the year. You just see all the hateful things. And these guys just kept uplifting me. It was at a point where I hated Australian media. That’s why I never came in here. That’s why I stayed away. And I fell in love with basketball again because of these people right here on this table.”
“During this series, I got off social media. I didn’t even have to look to know there’s some hate going on. And it helped me. Guys like Deli, Xavier, they’ve been through a lot. Deli played in an NBA final, so it’s nothing he haven’t seen. Xavier won before here, coach, been here forever. So they helped me.”
“You don’t find too many organisations that don’t believe the hype and do their own research. And they did. And I’m a loyalty guy. That meant the world to me.”
The Kings secured their sixth championship in franchise history with the 113-101 win over the 36ers, as legendary head coach Brian Goorjian claimed a seventh title to go with his seven Coach of the Year awards.
“Today I felt like I did before the bronze medal game, that sense of visualising a win,” Goorjian said.
“But tonight I also thought about what it would feel like if we didn’t get it done, with 20,000 people there. This is a team I love and care about deeply, and you want to share that moment when you’re so close.”
He admitted the external noise crept in before tip-off.
“On the way to the game, my daughter sent me something on Instagram. I hadn’t looked at any media, and the first thing I saw was ‘biggest choke in history’. I just thought, this is crazy. There’s been so much said throughout the series.”
Goorjian said the pressure moments could have derailed them, but instead revealed the group’s character.
“We’re down six, Bryce makes a three-point play, there’s some confusion defensively, and that can break you. But this group stayed together. To go on an 18-6 run at home and win the way we did, with everything that happened during the day, meant everything to me.”
Sydney forward Xavier Cooks, now a three-time NBL champion, reflected on the team’s journey after early-season struggles.
“I think we started three and five and finished with, what, five losses?” he said.
“At every moment, someone stepped up and made a play.
“Delly [Matthew Dellavedova] hits huge threes when people are doubting him. Makuach [Maluach] comes in during overtime and gets two massive steals. That’s what makes this one special, everyone contributed.”
Matthew Dellavedova, now both an NBA and NBL champion, echoed those sentiments and admitted relief was his first emotion.
“I’m just relieved, that’s the main thing,” he said.
“But I’m really happy for this group. We faced a lot of adversity, the slow start, tough losses, injuries. The guys on the bench, their voices and energy all year, they’ve been a massive part of this.”
‘Tried to bash my name’: MVP’s emotional message after last laugh in all-time NBL Finals series
Finals MVP Kendric Davis delivered 34 points and 14 assists, and was quick to highlight the contributions that don’t always make headlines.
“The guys people don’t talk about are why we’re here,” he said.
“Goodrick, Robertson, Kuol, the leadership, we don’t get here without them. There’s always work being done behind the scenes.
“This was my first playoff series, I didn’t know what to expect. Guys like Bruce and Tyler were messaging me, helping me stay locked in. You don’t want to let them down.”
He also credited the home crowd, which set a new NBL attendance record with 18,589 fans.
“It meant everything. You could see it in overtime, Adelaide got nervous when the crowd got going. You can’t hear play calls. Role players play better at home, and on the road they can freeze up.
“Credit to our fans. They showed up, spent their time and money to support us. We don’t win without them.”
Cooks agreed, pointing to the late-game momentum shift.
“We don’t win that game without the crowd,” he said. “Down six with 90 seconds left, we score and you can feel the energy shift straight away. People don’t always understand how much influence a crowd has.”
Dellavedova, who knocked down two crucial threes late and finished with 11 points, reinforced the point.
“You feel it in those moments, fighting for a rebound and the crowd lifts you,” he said. “That’s why we pushed so hard for home court advantage. We knew how important it would be.”