The Sydney Kings are NBL champions again after beating the Adelaide 36ers 113-101 in overtime on Easter Sunday, sealing their sixth title in a final that delivered late drama, a record crowd and another defining performance from Kendric Davis. In a season that had already built Sydney into the team to beat, the championship was ultimately decided by composure under pressure and Adelaide’s agonising collapse in the final moments of regulation.
Played in front of 18,589 fans in Sydney, the largest crowd in NBL history, the deciding fifth game had the scale of a showcase event and the tension of a street fight. Davis finished with 35 points and 14 assists, controlling the tempo when the game threatened to turn against the Kings, while Bryce Cotton answered with 35 of his own for Adelaide in a duel that had come to define the series.
For long stretches, this looked like the night the 36ers would finally end a title drought dating back to 2002. Adelaide carried a seven-point lead into the fourth quarter and still held control entering the final minute, with Cotton delivering the kind of big-stage scoring that suggested the fairytale was within reach. But grand finals are often decided less by who leads longest than by who survives the final swing.
That swing came quickly. Davis cut the gap late, then Tim Soares tipped in the equaliser with six seconds left to level the score at 95-95. Cotton drove on Adelaide’s final possession of regulation but could not convert the shot that would have won the championship, and from there the emotional balance of the game shifted sharply.
Kings took command when the game tipped into chaos
Overtime began with the kind of sequence that exposed where the match was headed. Davis forced a steal from Cotton in the opening exchanges, and Adelaide’s problems deepened immediately when Nick Rakocevic fouled out on the next possession. Sydney, suddenly freed by the escape, played with greater authority. Adelaide looked rattled by the opportunity it had let slip.
Davis added seven points in overtime and was again the most influential figure on the floor, not simply because he scored, but because he imposed order on a game that had become frantic. Cotton’s numbers ensured the individual rivalry still framed the contest, yet Davis had the more decisive imprint when the title was truly on the line.
The moment that confirmed the result came in the final minute, when Makuach Maluach stole from Cotton and raced away for a one-handed dunk that pushed the Kings to a game-high 13-point lead. It was both a turning point and a symbol of how the night ended: Adelaide chasing, Sydney surging, the trophy already slipping from one set of hands to another.
The victory also gives fresh substance to the revival project around the Kings. Brian Goorjian returned with a clear brief to restore one of the NBL’s flagship clubs, and while Sydney had been widely backed for much of the campaign, title-winning seasons are rarely as straightforward as early dominance suggests. The Kings had opened the series with a record 44-point statement in game one, only for Adelaide to keep dragging the contest back to level terms.
Why this final mattered beyond the trophy
That is what gave the decider its edge. The 36ers were not overwhelmed across the series. They were resilient, disruptive and close enough in the fifth game to believe the drought was finally over. That made the ending more than a simple result. It turned the match into a story of timing, nerve and missed closure.
For Sydney, the championship strengthens the club’s modern legacy and gives this era its defining image: Davis directing the comeback, Soares forcing overtime, and the Kings overwhelming a wounded opponent once the game moved beyond regulation. For Adelaide, the hurt will sit deeper because this was not a heavy defeat from the opening whistle. It was a title challenge that held shape until the final seconds before unravelling all at once.
The broader league will also take something from the occasion. At its best, the NBL now produces finals that feel bigger, sharper and more emotionally charged than the competition was once given credit for. The record crowd underlined the appetite for nights like this, while the Davis-Cotton duel gave the championship a personal rivalry that carried through the full series. That mix of atmosphere, star power and late-game chaos is the kind of sporting theatre leagues cannot manufacture but will gladly build around once it appears.
Readers looking for the wider finals backdrop can find more on the official NBL website, but the lasting memory of this championship will not be the fixture list or even the final margin. It will be the final minute of regulation, when Adelaide could almost see the title, and the stretch that followed, when Sydney took it anyway.
In the raw numbers, the Kings won by 12. In reality, this was a championship claimed in the narrowest space sport allows: the gap between holding on and letting go.
You may also like: Who Is Dusty May’s Wife Anna? Inside Their Story as Michigan Reaches the 2026 Final Four
Make Swikblog your go-to source on Google for reliable updates, smart insights, and daily trends.
