It’s time for the 2026 NBL Championship Series, and storylines almost write themselves.
The Sydney Kings and Adelaide 36ers arrive at the league’s biggest stage exactly as many predicted, but that familiarity only heightens the stakes. We have the top-two teams on the regular season ladder, the two leading vote-getters in a contentious and emotional MVP race, and a return to old stomping grounds for players on both teams.
All eyes will be on the matchup between Bryce Cotton and Kendric Davis; they don’t guard each other, but are the engines of their respective teams.
Cotton, now a six-time MVP, has elevated his play yet again this postseason, chasing a fourth championship to further cement a legacy that already towers over the league. Across from him is Davis, the electrifying newcomer and perhaps the clearest sign yet that Cotton’s grip on the NBL’s throne is being seriously tested.
The Kings have been uniquely dominant this season, and face a 36ers team that saw money as no issue when adding top-end talent to their roster, which boasts arguably the greatest American-born player in NBL history. The series opener tips off on Saturday, March 21, and if the trend of the last few seasons continues, we may well be in for another series that goes all the way to a Game 5 decider.
Here are some of the talking points to take in; from the key narratives, how special each team’s star player is, who could be x-factors, and the tastiest matchups worth keeping an eye on.
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Schedule (AEDT)
Game 1: Saturday, March 21 @ 7pm — Qudos Bank Arena
Game 2: Friday, March 27 @ 7:30pm — Adelaide Entertainment Centre
Game 3: Sunday, March 29 @ 2:30pm — Qudos Bank Arena
Game 4 (if required): Wednesday, April 1 @ 7:30pm — Adelaide Entertainment Centre
Game 5 (if required): TBC — Qudos Bank Arena
Guarding Bryce
When it’s all said and done, how well Cotton is contained will likely end up being where the championship is decided; that’s the extent to which the six-time MVP is central to how the 36ers operate. It’s something Goorjian is hyper aware of.
“We’ll have a gameplan for him, and this is gonna be a series and we’ll make adjustments.” Goorjian said. “The point being is, he’s an incredible basketball player and, if you don’t do something about that, you’re not gonna win the series.”
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And, of all teams, the Kings have reason to enter this series with a high level of confidence that they can do just that.
Over the four regular season games between these two teams, Cotton averaged just 16.3 points per game, shooting 36.7% from the field, including 23.8% from beyond the three-point line. That’s substantially down from his season averages, and particularly low relative to what he did in the 36ers’ semifinals series against the Phoenix, where he averaged 36.3 points per game (57.1% FG, 48.1% 3PT).
It’s almost like the Kings’ roster was specifically built to contain Cotton, given the smattering of long, athletic wings they have at their disposal. We’re likely to see Makuach Maluach as the first individual matchup on Cotton, before Jaylin Galloway and Torrey Craig get their turn at the dynamic scoring guard.
“He’s a great player,” Craig said of Cotton.
“Great players are always a tough cover. The way he moves without the ball, his ability to shoot the ball; it makes him a threat anywhere on the court. I have a lot of experience guarding guys like him, and the way our team is constructed — with our size, with our length — there’s no other NBL team that has what we have, collectively; that’s the advantage we have.”
It’s a best-of-five series, so Matthew Dellavedova will also have time to make his presence felt in that matchup; he was a mercenary-type defender on Kristian Doolittle in the Kings’ semifinals series, and he’ll likely play a similar role on Cotton in stretches.
Cotton is playing some of his best basketball of the season, and showed the many arrows in his quiver over the 36ers’ first three playoff games. The Phoenix were a team that played up-and-in, top-locking and denying Cotton off the ball with their usual high-pressure play-style, but Cotton was able to leverage that by playing through his bigs and moving effectively without the ball in his hands.
The Phoenix’s defence could end up being a useful warmup for Cotton, who’ll face a Kings unit that plays with a similar level of physicality, and the 33-year-old is prepared for what’s about to be thrown his way.
“Part of my job is taking what the defence gives me, and finding ways to create opportunities for myself and others,” Cotton told ESPN.
“I think my biggest strength is my mind. My ability to adapt to different circumstances but more so, regardless of the perceived pressure, I’ve done a good job at staying really in-tune with myself, to make sure I never make any moment, any team, or any defence more important than what it is. That’s whether I’m playing great or not playing up to my standard.
“I approach it the same way I approach every team. We’re the last two teams standing, and it’s not about me. The goal is to come away with five wins in the playoffs. We’ve got two down, so I’m just worried about getting three more wins.”
If the Kings endeavour to get the ball out of Cotton’s hands, the question then turns to which 36ers players show up on the offensive end. Flynn Cameron is the 36ers’ secondary perimeter creator, but he hasn’t scored the ball at a high rate thus far in these playoffs, so can he find some shooting rhythm in this series? Dejan Vasiljevic started Game 3 of their semifinals series and had arguably his best outing of the season — an efficient 27 points, where he shot 6-of-10 from downtown — and will be looking to carry that form into this series against his former team.
Guarding Kendric
The Kings have a high-usage, mega-talented American guard of their own, with Davis entering the series playing some of the best basketball of his career.
The MVP runner-up had an efficient 35 points in Game 1 of the Kings’ semifinals series against the Perth Wildcats, before putting together an impressive second half in Game 2 en route to 27 points and a spot in this Championship Series.
Against the 36ers over the regular season, point guard effectively got to whatever spots he wanted, averaging 23.8 points and 7.5 assists per game in that matchup, scoring 20 or more points in all four games. A Championship Series, however, is uncharted territory for the 26-year-old, who’s vying for his first NBL title in his second season in the league.
1:42
Sydney advance to the NBL Grand Final series
the Sydney Kings eliminate the Perth Wildcats in a tough battle at RAC Arena.
“I’m ecstatic, and super grateful for this opportunity,” Davis told ESPN.
“I’m still young so I don’t really know what’s going on yet. Being honest, it hasn’t hit me yet. I’ve got great vets in Delly and X, and Goorj, and they’re a lot older than me and have been through this. This is my third year as a pro, and I’m just soaking it in. I’m learning as I go. I don’t know what to expect. Even the first series, I just went out there and played; whatever happens happens. It’s been a good experience for me; I can say I’m having fun doing it. I’ve enjoyed the brotherhood we’ve built here.”
For Adelaide, there’s a question on whether they have the defensive personnel on the perimeter to contain Davis consistently. Flynn Cameron will likely get the first crack at Davis, while the 36ers have also made a habit of rotating both Matt Kenyon and Isaac White onto primary offensive options on opposing teams.
The mobility and physicality of the 36ers’ bigs will come into play when guarding Davis, as well as how they choose to help on the point guard’s inevitable penetration. Outside of his scoring talent, the two things that make Davis a particularly tough cover are: his ability to get to the line — he leads the NBL in fouls drawn (6.1 a game) and free throw attempts (6.7 a contest) and the fact that he’s a willing passer; the latter is something the 36ers are very cognizant of.
“The biggest thing is that there are a lot of other good players around him,” Cotton said of Davis.
“You can’t give him too much attention, because then you just make life too easy for the other players. It’s about figuring out that balance.
“What that looks like, I would never tell you.
“But, you’ve got to respect everybody out there on the floor, because Sydney is a very deep team, one through probably 10. It’s not just about one guy on Sydney because they have a great team, so we have to gameplan for all of those guys.”
Cotton’s not wrong. Maluach has stepped up in a big way on the offensive end, while Jaylin Galloway has created a knack of hitting back-breaking shots that halt the opposition team’s momentum. Still, while the Kings do boast the more demonstrated depth going into this series, there’s a sense that the team’s success will be dependent on how effective Davis is against his former team.
“He’s like a firecracker of competitiveness,” Craig said of Davis.
“He’s not afraid of anything, he’s not afraid of any moment. He’s the guy that wants to be in these moments, and wants to have the ball in his hands in these moments. You can’t ask more of a guy like that. He’s a natural-born competitor, and that’s what I love about him the most.”
Will the MVP matchup create that extra bit of tension?
Cotton and Davis are the two most talented guards in the NBL, so that alone is worth the price of admission, but there are a heap of peripheral narratives going into this series that will be fascinating to track.
The obvious one is the MVP race, where we saw Cotton edge Davis by just two total votes to win his sixth Andrew Gazey Trophy. Of course, Davis was very public in expressing his frustration with the outcome and the process by which the winner was chosen.
“I think it’s a little bit of a motivating factor, considering how the MVP thing turned out, and it’s obviously his former team,” Craig said. “No matter who you are, you always wanna one-up your former team. I lost to my former team in the NBA Finals, and I still remember how that felt. It’s the nature of the sport, man. I think it’ll be that little bit sweeter if we were able to win, especially against those guys.”
READ: How the 36ers advanced to the Championship Series
Natural questions will arise. Does Davis still carry resentment because of the MVP outcome? Will those emotions affect his play on the court? Could it be a distraction? Will playing his former team have any effect, either positive or negative, on Davis? The answers to those questions are ahead of us, but Davis has made it clear that he knows that the only reasonable response to not winning the MVP trophy would be to, in his words, “win something they can’t vote on”. He, of course, means a championship.
“Look, any normal hooper wants to win MVP,” Davis told ESPN. “And, if I don’t, I want to win a championship. I think that’s normal hooper dreams. Winning a championship would be like, ‘yeah motherf-ckers, I did it’. I think you have to find that edge that keeps you motivated, and you have to ride it.
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“For me, I rode that; I didn’t win MVP, cool… I’ll accept that, move on. For Sydney and my teammates, and for my legacy, you win a championship, they remember that forever. I saw the Melbourne Tigers get together; that meant a lot. 20 years down the line, I can see myself flying to Sydney to be honoured at an NBL game that happened 20 years before; I imagine my son, who’d be older, being with me. That’d mean the world. I don’t think they fly you out for an MVP. I looked at it in that lens. I had some extra motivation but, now that we’re here, forget that. Now it’s like, what do I have to do to help my teammates and Sydney win this championship.”
There’s also the conversation — largely media-driven, to be fair — of who the best player in the league is. Functionally, it’s a flip of a coin, but Cotton winning the last two MVP awards over Davis does give him some bragging rights.
“Bryce is 33,” Davis said. “I remember being in middle school and he was at Providence.
“I used to watch him and think, damn, if I can get to that point in my career, I’m gonna be just fine. Now, at 26, he’s 33, and I get to play against him to win a championship, it’s even more crazy.
“To be the best, you’ve always gotta go through the best. I remember when I got my first deal with Golden State and I spoke to Steph (Curry), and he said he knew he made it when he first played against LeBron James on the biggest stage. ‘That’s when I knew I made it’.
Davis is the young guard who’s trying to begin his legacy in the NBL and world basketball space, while Cotton is building on a career where he’s widely regarded as the best import to ever play in Australia.
“I feel the world took notice of who I was last year,” Davis said. Now, a year later, I get to play against a guy I consider a guy I looked up to. I’m grateful, I’m excited, I get to play against a guy I looked up to, to win it all. That’s super dope in my eyes. He’s an all-time great, and I’m trying to become an all-time great in my journey.”
Will we continue seeing an aggressive Torrey Craig?
There was a stretch in Game 1 of the Kings’ semifinals series where their offence got slightly stagnant. The Wildcats were finding ways to score, limiting the Kings’ running game and keeping them in the half-court, and we weren’t seeing the ball and player movement we’re used to Goorjian’s team operating with.
That’s when Craig stepped up, showing off more creation than we saw from him to end the regular season, with the 35-year-old getting to his spots and hitting shots in the midrange. It kept the scoreboard ticking over for the Kings until Davis was able to get loose and take over the scoring load, and something that can’t be understated. Things can get stagnant and sticky in the playoffs, especially toward the end of a long series where fatigue and pressure sets in, so having a big guard/wing type of player who can create offence out of nothing is extremely valuable.
“Torrey is a guy who’s come in and just wants to win,” Dellavedova told ESPN. “He played in the NBA for a really long time, knows how to play, is tough and physical, defends multiple positions, can play multiple positions on offence. He’s a really smart player, and it’s been fun playing with him and getting to know him.”
When Craig first got to the Kings, he didn’t want to ruffle feathers, so he kept his game complementary; largely as a three-and-D option for Goorjian’s team. Over time, he’s been making note of other areas he may need to assert himself, and general scoring in the half-court was one he identified, and it’s already helped the Kings win an important game in the postseason.
“I didn’t wanna come in and do too much and disrupt the rhythm of the team,” Craig said.
“I wanted to get in where I fit in. Once the playoffs got here, I knew how teams would guard KD, and knew the physicality is turned up a notch, so I knew I had to be a little more aggressive, and that’s what I’m doing.”
Can Adelaide’s frontcourt trio continue to fire?
Because of Cotton, it’s easy to forget what the 36ers boast in their frontcourt.
At his best, Isaac Humphries is one of the most talented centres in Australian basketball, Zylan Cheatham is a two-way threat and the best defensive rebounder in the NBL (28.5% DREB), while Nick Rakocevic is playing the best basketball of his season and is the league’s best offensive rebounder (17.2% OREB).
It was all on show in Game 3 of the 36ers’ semifinals series. Humphries had 13 points in 20 minutes, Cheatham pulled down 13 rebounds, and Rakocevic dropped his third straight double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Zylan Cheatham and Isaac Humphries. Photo by Mark Kolbe Photography/Getty Images
“They’re all amazing,” Cotton said of the frontcourt trio.
“It’s taken time for Nick to find his groove but, since he’s found it, he’s been absolutely unbelievable. With Z and Ice, it’s been amazing. It’s very rare you have three bigs on a team that have huge roles but they all bring something uniquely different to the court. That’s something that’s helped us throughout the entire year.”
That frontcourt imposition is potentially where the 36ers could have an edge against the Kings, who roll with Xavier Cooks and Tim Soares at the four and five. Kouat Noi and Craig also play the four-spot, and the Kings have a knack of going small, but otherwise the only natural big depth is Hunter Goodrick, who isn’t regarded as a high-minutes player for Goorjian.
The Wildcats’ size and length up front gave the Kings some issues over their two semifinals series games, and there’s potential for the 36ers to pose a similar threat.
“Rakocevic and Isaac, they dominated that series,” Davis said of the 36ers’ bigs.
“They won that battle on Brown. They were more physical, they got the extra possessions, they got Bryce and DJ a couple of kickout threes, they changed the series. When South East would make a run, they’d grab a big board, Bryce would relocate and hit a three. Then, you give it to them in the post, and they won that matchup. They were bigger. They pass the ball great, they set Bryce up for easy looks, they set DJ up, they set good screens.
“The double big lineup was great. They hit South East with a curveball that I don’t think they can hit us with, so we just have to contain them. No team is here by accident, so they’re great players, so we’ve got to be physical with them and try not to let the double big lineup run the series like it did in that Game 3.”
Mike Wells went to the double-big lineup — both Humphries and Rakocevic sharing the floor together — in Game 3 of their semifinals series, and it was largely successful. It allows the 36ers to shore up the boards, while also providing them with a more imposing presence inside the paint on the defensive end.
We’ll also see how the 36ers manoeuvre those three frontcourt players in order to contain Cooks, who had one of his best games of the season in a December matchup between these two teams; the one-time MVP posting a season-high 27 points, shooting 12-of-19 from the field.
Goorj eyeing 7th title… against the team he almost signed with
Goorjian knows how good a chance he has at building on his already-unimpeachable legacy in Australian basketball.
The 72-year-old is already a six-time NBL Champion and seven-time NBL Coach of the Year, and this series is a golden opportunity for him to even up those two sets of accolades.
What’s been most impressive about Goorjian is his evolution over the years; to be the oldest coach in the league, guiding arguably the most modern system. It’s what has kept Goorjian relevant as a basketball mind over the last four decades, and why he has a chance to win a seventh NBL title 34 years after winning his first.
“I would love to see the first team that he coached, and their style of play back then, compared to now, with the three-point game and pace of play,” Cooks said of Goorjian.
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“That’s what great coaches do. They’re dynamic, they move with the times, and see what’s in front of them. It’s what Goorj does really well; we have a lot of athletic guys that like to get downhill, and he figured out a game style that moulds around them. It’s what great coaches do. Whatever they get served in front of them, they put together a strategy that everyone can thrive in.”
Under Goorjian this season — year two of his second tenure in Sydney — the Kings are the league’s No. 1 offence and No. 1 defence, and boast the highest net rating in recorded NBL history. After sweeping the Wildcats, they now have an opportunity to cap off a historic regular season with the franchise’s third title in the last five years.
“He obviously loves the game, and he puts so many hours into it,” Dellavedova said of Goorjian.
“The question he asks is: how are we going to win? That’s obviously a good place to start, and it’s the obvious place to start, but building from there has allowed him to continue to evolve. The game continues to change, it’s getting faster — and we’re in one of the fastest leagues in the world — and he’s guiding us to a point where we’ve evolved to push the pace on both ends of the floor.”
What’s even more serendipitous is that Goorjian is facing a 36ers team he almost signed with back in 2024 when they had a head coach vacancy. Our ESPN reporting at the time was that Goorjian was offered the position and was ready to take it, before a late change of heart saw it go to Scott Ninnis, and then eventually Wells. Goorjian would take the Kings job that same off-season, and now we’re here.
“If it means sleeping in Qudos Bank Arena, he’ll do it,” Davis said of Goorjian. “I think all the players are ride or die for him.”
Can the Adelaide home crowd play a role?
The Kings have home court advantage in this series, but it’s the 36ers who probably get the most lift from playing in their own arena.
It was on show over the semifinals series, where it wasn’t just the volume of the crowd, but it was how those fans were able to help lift the pace of Adelaide’s game — pace they don’t often play with, but did a good job of at home against the Phoenix — as well as amplify scoring runs.
“Our crowd is very rowdy, and especially in Game 3,” Cotton said.
“They were rocking. As much as you want to say that you tune out the sounds of the crowd; you do in moments, but there’s also pockets where you can’t ignore what’s happening. I think we do a good job feeding off the crowd, but we also do a good job, by the style of our play, giving the crowd something to feed off as well.”
The crowd at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre were also clearly following some of the narratives floating around, because Nathan Sobey — a former 36er — was the recipient of unending booing throughout Game 3, and it seemed to get to him. There’s no doubt that the 36ers crowd will take aim at another former player of theirs in Davis, who had an unceremonious exit from the team after last season.
“I’ve been in some high-level games, but anybody in this league will tell you — even if they don’t wanna admit it — AEC gets rocking,” Cheatham said. “It’s second to none. It’s definitely an advantage; sometimes it’s a disadvantage for us because we can’t hear each other talking, but it’s definitely something you play for.”
