‘Get over it’: Pongrass disputes DJ's ring, exit claims

• ‍Game 1: 'Saturday night slaughter' as KD's Kings fire first shot‍
• Game 2: Cotton game-winner levels series as KD loses his cool‍
• Game 3: 'All love' as KD talks Cotton clash as Kings take Game 3
• Game 4: DJ winds back the clock to keep 36ers alive‍
• Game 5: Kings crowned champions in greatest decider ever

Chris Pongrass watched the Sydney Kings win their sixth NBL championship in the US “on a laptop screaming in a hotel room”.

Pongrass, in his late 30s, told Jason Cadee on the latest episode of Cut to the Jase that he had gone to Game 4 in Adelaide on April 1, 2026, hoping the Kings would get it done on the road “knowing full well that if it didn’t, I was leaving 48 hours later to go over to the US.”

The Kings didn’t, and he did.

Former Sydney Kings two-time NBL champion Dejan Vasiljevic turned back the clock to keep the 36ers alive as Pongrass, the former seven-year CEO of the Sydney Kings, sat in the stands with 10,068 rabid Adelaidians.

Pongrass, who stepped down in June 2025 but stuck around for the rest of the year, is now a player agent with Lighthouse NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness), which primarily manages deals for Australian basketballers in American college basketball. He is likely to be busy, given more than 50 Australians are in the 2026 NCAA Transfer Portal.

He was a prime mover in assembling the 2025-26 Sydney Kings roster as well as the championship teams, including Vasiljevic, in 2022 and 2023.

In the lead-up to Game 5, Vasiljevic again turned back the clock to his somewhat acrimonious Kings exit and perceived “ring ceremony snub”.

Vasiljevic, 28, played a key role in the Kings’ back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023, but the relationship soured when he left the club to chase an NBA dream that didn’t work out, before a controversial return to the NBL as a 36er.

“There’s a few people in that organisation (Sydney) who didn’t want me back,” Vasiljevic said.

“So I take it as a slap to the face, but that’s part of the business, that’s a part of life.

“The main culprit isn’t there anymore, so I’ll keep that under wraps."

It was a less-than-veiled swipe at Pongrass.

“They had their ring ceremony, and I don’t know what happened,” Vasiljevic said.

“All I know is there was no invitation to me or my family.

“I was in America at the time, and my family asked me the question, and I said: ‘No, I haven’t heard anything’.

“When I returned back into the league, (former assistant) Fleur McIntyre was in town, came to watch an Adelaide game, and she was the one who actually gave me my ring.

“It happened, but it was three years ago, so, so be it.”

Pongrass said he was struck by the timing of Vasiljevic’s ring ceremony dig with Game 5 just hours away.

“It was interesting reading that narrative from afar, right before Game 5, you know, two days before Game 5,” Pongrass said.

“It’s like, you know, hopefully everyone’s focused on the game itself, so that was interesting.

“Look, I don’t wanna air out dirty laundry. It’s upsetting to hear it because you see it framed as one side of the story.

“Everyone’s got their own truth, and that’s fine whether it comes out or not. I just think it’s a non-issue.

“Yes, he did play for us, and he won two championships, and he was a huge part of those two championships, which, again, it’s hard to understand once you win a championship with a team, you've got that connection forever. So he’ll forever be remembered and appreciated as a Sydney King for what he did in the city.

“Him moving on — players move on, right. Teams move on from players, players move on from teams. People get cut, there’s good and bad blood when you leave, all of those things. It’s been three years, it’s almost like ‘get over it’.

"And so to hear that, I think everyone’s in a better situation. He’s loving his time in Adelaide, and he’s happy, and that’s great. And we just, the Sydney Kings just lifted a championship. So if you could go back and say, ‘Was it the right decision?’, arguably it’s hard to say no.

"Of course it was, right, this path led us to winning, you know, the Kings winning an NBL championship.

“So would I change things? Absolutely not. It was completely the right decision. Everyone’s got their truth.

“The ring ceremony one — yeah, look, in the NBA, for those who see it, the returning players receive a ring on opening night if they’re still on the team. Players don’t get flown in, and their families get flown in to accept the ring. I didn’t fly in Tim Soares or Derrick Walton or, you know, whoever else might have been that had been moved to another team in a year where they didn’t get a ring. They get it when they return.

"And you know, so no, that’s not — it’s not a snub. We didn’t snub him or his family. We don’t fly people from the US, you know, to come accept the ring on a night, especially ones that aren’t playing for us anymore.

So, you know, we were lucky enough that (Xavier Cooks’) family lives in Wollongong and drove up to accept his ring. I think that’s a different situation.

"But also, Xave is the captain of that team.

“And so I again — would I change things? Absolutely not.

“But the off-court stuff, it’s hard to not wanna respond immediately, so I’ve tried to keep my lips shut, but it is what it is. I think everyone’s just gotta move on from it now, it’s been three years.”

Watch the full interview with Chris Pongrass in the Player Above where he talks about:

• Lifelong connection to the Sydney Kings – “always have a special place in my heart”
• Kendric Davis recruitment:
• • Known talent, but maturity was a key factor
  • Davis openly addressed past challenges during recruitment
• Matthew Dellavedova:
• • Elite leadership and professionalism
  • Notable mindset — asked, “How are you going to make me better?”

• Brian Goorjian’s impact, calling him arguably the best coach in Australian sports history‍
• Andrew Bogut’s influence from player to owner to assistant coach
• Transition to Agency Life and focus on young athletes entering the US college system