It's clinical Kendric's Kingdom, Johnston's loving it

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Kings rookie guard Will Johnston ($69,000) is back home – and right at home – beside NBL26 championship teammates Kendric Davis ($436,000), Matthew Dellavedova ($221,300) and Xavier Cooks ($308,000).

Johnston, 25, finished his four-year college career at Richmond Spiders in the Atlantic 10 Conference last season and joined his hometown Sydney Kings in late August.

He had his best game as a professional against the Illawarra Hawks, dropping 14 points in 16:45 as the defending champions dismantled the NBL25 champions 121-100 at Afterpay Arena in the last game of NBL27 Round 2 on Sunday, September 27, 2026.

"I just feel like I'm back home," Johnston said.

"I'm comfortable. I've been around Coach for a while now, so there are multiple factors that play into it. I've got great teammates and leaders with Delly, Xav and Kendric. All those guys make it easy to fit right in and do my job."

Kendric Davis got whatever he wanted in a 31-point clinic. He went 10-from-18, played just 28 minutes and sat the last four and a half minutes of the fourth quarter as head coach Brian Goorjian had the luxury of playing Bailey Hanson ($58,500), Peitok Machar ($58,500), Jayden Stone ($100,000) and giving decent minutes to Will Johnston, Harry Wessels ($100,000) and Jason Spurgin ($69,000).

It was head coach Brian Goorjian's 600th NBL career win. The Kings are 2-0 to start their title defence, winning both games by 21 points.

"No idea. Absolutely zero," Goorjian said when asked about his 600th win.

"When you've been in it this long, every game there's a number: 700, 800, 850. What's growing is my appreciation for being able to be in the NBL at this age, with a group and an organisation.

"It's more that I still get to do this. I don't have to go to work; I get to be in this. Those numbers reflect longevity.

"If you asked me on my first day what success would be, I'd say staying in it. It's not easy. It's hard to stay relevant. When something like this happens, I think, 'How fortunate am I? How great is it that I've been able to be in the game this long?'

"Shout-out to the Kings, this whole organisation and the NBL. It's such an exciting product right now. Everyone's talking about its growth. To experience the highs, the lows and how the league has changed over the years – I know I'm going on, but I do think about it."

It's Illawarra's third straight loss to start the season, all three on the road.

"They played well tonight and had a week to prepare," Illawarra Hawks head coach Justin Tatum said.

"My guys gave a lot of effort. I'm proud of them, very proud of them. We're undermanned, guys are hurt, and we're coming off a back-to-back.

"There's a little inconsistency with our roster situation right now, but I'm so happy with what those guys came out and did today."

What you need to know

• Sydney Kings beat Illawarra Hawks 121-100 at Afterpay Arena in NBL27 Round 2.
• Sydney won the four quarters 31-27, 34-18, 33-26 and 23-29, and led from 1:03 of the first.
• Kendric Davis top-scored with 31 points and six assists in under 28 minutes, going 10-from-11 at the line.
• Sydney out-rebounded Illawarra 46-25 and went to the free-throw line 32 times to their 17.
• Makuach Maluach did not miss: 19 points on 6-from-6, 3-from-3 from deep and 4-from-4 at the line.

Sydney Kings

• Kendric Davis ($436,000) top-scored with 31 points, six assists and four rebounds on 10-from-18, and was 10-from-11 at the line in 27:57.
• Torrey Craig ($290,400) added 20 on 8-from-11 in 23 minutes.
• Makuach Maluach ($134,500) was perfect, 6-from-6 from the field including 3-from-3 from three and 4-from-4 at the line, for 19 points and plus-21 in under 18 minutes.
• Will Johnston ($69,000) scored 14 on 5-from-6 with four rebounds and four assists, and was plus-16.
• Andrew Carr ($277,000) pulled 12 rebounds with six points and two blocks.
• Xavier Cooks ($308,000) had eight points, four rebounds and two assists in 21 minutes.
• Matthew Dellavedova ($221,300) had five points and five assists in 23 minutes and did not commit a foul.
• Jason Spurgin ($69,000) scored five with five rebounds in 9:16 and was plus-17, the best mark on the floor per minute.
• Sydney shot 42-from-75 from the field, 10-from-25 from three and 27-from-32 at the line, with 46 rebounds, 20 assists and 13 turnovers.

Illawarra Hawks

• Kelan Martin ($277,000) led Illawarra with 21 points and seven rebounds on 7-from-15, and was minus-21.
• Sam Froling ($228,200) matched him with 21 on 9-from-13 in 27 minutes.
• Kyle Adnam ($69,000) scored 17 off the bench in 13:06 on 6-from-9, including 3-from-6 from deep.
• Tyler Harvey ($271,700) was 4-from-5 from the field and 4-from-5 from three for 12 points and four assists.
• Milton Doyle ($274,700) had nine points and six assists and fouled out, the only player in the game to do so.
• William Hickey ($331,600) added nine points and four assists in 19 minutes.
• Wani Swaka Lo Buluk ($145,200) scored eight on 2-from-5 from three.
• Johny Narkle ($69,000) blocked two shots in 19 minutes without scoring, and Lamar Patterson ($210,900) went scoreless in 16.
• Illawarra shot 37-from-72 from the field, 13-from-35 from three and 13-from-17 at the line, with 25 rebounds, 19 assists and 12 turnovers.