Sydney Kings veteran Brad Newley has waited 17 years for championship glory
Sydney forward Brad Newley has waited almost two decades to taste the glory of a championship - as the Kings prepare to face the Wildcats in the grand final, it could be his final chance.
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Sydney King Brad Newley is desperate for a championship ring.
For 17 years, the forward has played basketball around the world — from Townsville to Greece and Lithuania.
He’s a Boomer and a dual-Olympian and Commonwealth Games gold medallist, but Newley has never won a club championship.
So on Sunday, when the Kings begin their best-of-five NBL championship series against the Perth Wildcats, Newley will be digging extra deep.
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“I’m real desperate,” Newley said. “I see those guys up on stage dancing around with confetti, spraying champagne bottles, I always say to my wife sitting next to me that I want to be a part of that one day.
“That’s a big thing I need to get done, my daughter wants to see me up there in the confetti.”
The forward admitted he is still hurting from losing four finals in the Lithuanian league, Spanish Cup and Europe Cup.
“I’ll never forget losing to Real Madrid playing in the Spanish Cup, they featured a very young Luka Dončić,” Newley said.
“In Europe, it’s even harder to win, with 18-team competitions, no salary caps or budgets, so at that stage the fact we made the grand final was a huge thing in itself, but I was a bit deflated.”
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When Newley returned to Australia and signed with the Kings in 2016, he was determined to win the league that kickstarted his career.
He’s made NBL semi-finals three times, but this first finals.
“I was out of the NBL for nine years and I like to think I had a chance to win one in that stage,” Newley said.
“But I’ve come back as an older player now and the last 4 years have built up to this and I’m really excited to have a crack,
“I never felt that I’m never going to win one, and I still believe I can.”
The Kings already made NBL history when they became the first team ever to lead the competition from start to finish and have reached their first NBL grand final in 12 years.
Now, coach Will Weaver’s side will take on defending champions Perth who have dominated Sydney this season with a 3-1 head-to-head record.
But Newley is confident the Kings who hold the home court advantage for the series will continue to make history this year.
“Coming up against a side like Perth, who have been there and done that, and they’ll tell you real quick how many times they’ve been there, I wouldn’t say we’re nervous, but enjoying the moment for what it is,” Newley said.
“I’m backing what’s won our games this year, and that’s our defence … that’s how we’ll win the series is defending.”
Last week, the Kings showed their resilience when they became the first team in NBL history to lose a playoff game by 45 points and bounce back to win the series.
“The semi finals will help the group because we’ve had that bit of hardship, having our back against the wall to start with and knowing what it takes to win the play offs” Newley said.