<\/p>\n
He is finally back in Australia after visa complications delayed his arrival, but reigning Finals MVP Kendric Davis returns to a somewhat new-look roster unfazed by league experts predicting Adelaide to win it all this season.<\/p>\n
Watch every NBL game LIVE with ESPN, available on Kayo | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n Instead, his focus remains firmly on helping the Sydney Kings go back-to-back.<\/p>\n Speaking to Fox Sports Australia<\/i>, the Kings star import, who recently re-signed with the club on a two-year deal, leaves little on the table when it comes to his opinions.<\/p>\n Davis\u2019 voice carries plenty of weight around the NBL, and when asked about the Kings once again being overlooked by many pundits, he was no different.<\/p>\n \u201cLast year we had zero votes of winning a championship,\u201d Davis said. \u201cWe [Sydney] all thought we were going to win it, even at 3-5, so we\u2019re not looking at what we lost, we\u2019re looking at what we gained.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite eventually winning the championship during the 2025-26 season, the Kings faced their fair share of criticism following a slow start before finding their rhythm and finishing atop the league with a 24-9 record.<\/p>\n Before the start of last season, not one of the NBL.com\u2019s 14 experts predicted Sydney to win the championship. The panel, which featured names including Andrew Gaze, Derek Rucker, Felix Von Hofe, Olgun Uluc and Lanard Copeland, instead backed Adelaide (four votes), Melbourne (three), Illawarra (three), Perth (three) and Tasmania (one).<\/p>\n Now, with a new season comes another round of predictions<\/a>, and they have once again sparked debate, with Sydney receiving no championship selections from the 14 voters.<\/p>\n \u201cWho were they predicting to win the championship last year?\u201d Davis said.<\/p>\n When reminded it was Adelaide who received the most votes from the experts last season, Davis didn\u2019t mince his words.<\/p>\n NBL Burning Q\u2019s: Snub that\u2019s \u2018flat-out disrespectful\u2019; crazy reality emerges after NBA explosion<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n \u201cWell they\u2019re not experts then if they ain\u2019t getting sh** right,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Davis only landed back in Australia three days ago following a lengthy delay due to passport issues, which saw him miss the entirety of the NBL Blitz in Bendigo. He is also yet to play a single second of pre-season basketball.<\/p>\n CODE Sports<\/a> first revealed that Davis\u2019 return to Australia had been delayed by an unexpected passport issue, with the American originally expected to arrive in Sydney weeks earlier to begin pre-season training.<\/p>\n At the time, a Kings spokesperson described the problem as an \u201cadministration issue that we are working through as quickly as we can\u201d, with club officials hopeful Davis would arrive in Sydney last week.<\/p>\n Now, despite the less-than-ideal timing of his arrival, Davis can officially begin the Kings\u2019 journey towards going back-to-back, with the reigning Finals MVP linking up with several new faces on the roster ahead of their season opener.<\/p>\n Despite seeing several championship-winning players depart, including Jaylin Galloway, Kouat Noi, Tim Soares and Shaun Bruce, Davis does not view the changes as the Kings simply losing talent.<\/p>\n Instead, he insists the new additions, combined with the championship DNA that remains within the group, give Sydney every chance of going back-to-back.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you say we lost players, it means we took a step back. We don\u2019t think we took a step back, we just signed new players.\u201d<\/p>\n The Kings have added plenty of fresh, young talent, including Jayden Stone, Will Johnston, import Andrew Carr and big man Harry Wessels. While the group may lack experience at NBL level, Davis believes the talent is there.<\/p>\n