It was always going to take something special to get Will Weaver to leave New York, let alone move halfway around the world. His family was settled and his coaching career was flourishing with the G League's Long Island Nets.
"Absolutely," Weaver says. "I loved New York City. My wife was a neurologist at Columbia [University] and loved what she was doing. We had just had our first child in October. I say that not to brag, but it was going to take a lot for me to come across the world and coach somewhere, given how happy we were in New York."
Weaver had already earned a reputation as a long-term thinker, a program builder. That was exactly what the Sydney Kings, a franchise that had had three owners in five years, required. Weaver, who had already been part of the Boomers' coaching staff, saw nothing but potential.
Didi Louzada, Andrew Bogut and the Kings have seen record crowds this season.Credit:Getty
"I just looked at the potential of a city like Sydney, with an owner like Paul [Smith] and a set of players that included guys like [Kevin] Lisch and [Andrew] Bogut, guys I had worked with at the Boomers before, and I knew how much fun it would be to be part of that again," Weaver says.
"All of those aspects were pointing in the right direction. Good owners, good players, that is a reflection of the league’s [NBL] growth and how many things have been going on in the league for a while now. But it’s so clear there was so much room to grow."
The NBL's upward trajectory in recent years has been well-documented. This season, it has been the Kings at the heart of that ride, with crowds surging 16 per cent and an average home attendance of just under 10,000 fans, who have seen the iconic purple jersey reborn in Sydney.
They’ve been the most consistent team not just this year, but perhaps in the history of the game
With two games remaining in the regular season, the Kings have a chance to claim a slice of history. On Sunday afternoon, they travel to Melbourne Arena to take on the South East Melbourne Phoenix, before their final game at home next Friday against Illawarra. One win may be enough to ensure they become the first team to lead the NBL from the first game to the last of the regular season. It's a significant milestone that should be celebrated, but Kings great Shane Heal knows they have far loftier ambitions.
"A lot of people would argue that Sydney has to be in the grand final for the league to really prosper on a national stage," Heal says. "When you go on the road, more people come and watch Sydney, more people have an opinion, more people want to shoot you down.
"That’s what happens when you play out of the biggest city in Australia. But all of the records they have set this year will mean nothing if they don’t go on and win it. I’m sure that’s something they will embrace.
"[Consistency across the season] is about the administration putting the right people in the right place. Everyone complements each other, rather than having talented people working against each other. When you sign someone like Casper Ware, that’s what he’s about. He’s won wherever he’s gone. He’s that sort of player.
"That’s how you set the tone. They’ve been the most consistent team not just this year, but perhaps in the history of the game. Nobody’s ever done that. They deserve the accolades for that."
Weaver might be new to town, but he treats the concept of legacy with seriousness. He understands the meaning of the franchise to the Sydney basketball community and the players that helped make it one of the most recognisable brands in Australian sport, from the likes of Dwayne McClain in the 1990s to the Brian Goorjian era that featured a three-peat from 2003-2005.
The Kings don't take that sort of history lightly and Weaver understands what it takes to get back to that level.
"It’s always the players," he says. "That’s everything. Just go around the ring of honour, it’s a who’s who of amazing players that have built the foundation of something that still resonates with people. People in America know who the Sydney Kings are, people in China know who the Sydney Kings are, it goes towards the great teams that Brett Brown and Brian Goorjian had built over time.
"That’s not just a retro T-shirt we make, it’s not a cool video montage before our games. What you do to rekindle that is to bring in super high-quality players and coaches and staff members that care enough about their craft to honour the guys that went before them.
Will Weaver during the Kings’ game against the Illawarra Hawks at WIN Entertainment Centre last month.Credit:Getty
"I think we’ve done that, Casper and Jae'Sean Tate and all these guys were all excited to play alongside Bogut and Lisch and Newls [Brad Newley] and Kicks [Daniel Kickert], but they are unselfish and care a lot and play their asses off.
"They love basketball and act in the right way. Our legacy will be defined by the quality of the people we bring in and surround ourself with. So far so good."
Heal loves the solid foundations on which the Kings' season has been built. They were a team crying out for some planning and forward thinking and, combined with shrewd recruiting, that has been delivered across the regular season.
"The first thing that it tells me is that they recruited very well," Heal says of Sydney's roll this season. "They’ve probably got the biggest budget, to be fair, but they were smart with the pieces they put together. That started with Casper Ware from Melbourne, who is a superstar, and Andrew Bogut in the middle and they could put together a team with a lot of talent and depth to go with that.
"They’ve been able to blend well together, they have players that are happy to play a role and are more focused on winning rather than playing a starring role.
"Like any franchise, winning the title is the ultimate goal. The Kings have had three owners in five years, they haven’t had a lot of stability, it hasn’t been great planning, they haven’t been able to put together teams for the long term or really build. This year they’ve done well to put those things in place."
Sydney's fans have been energised and the team has been able to feed off that support. It's symptomatic of the rise in fortune of Australian basketball and testament to what the Kings have done to engage the sport's growing and established supporter base.
"We’ve got the best building in the league, I think," Weaver says. "But it was empty a lot over the past five years to the point where the team was in danger at one stage. Now, every time we walk in there, there are 10,000 people. We filled it when LaMelo Ball came to town.
"Those things show us we’re on the right track. But if you ask anyone, we feel there is so much room to grow in terms of the professionalism and what we provide for the players and even the quality of players we can attract."
Heal agrees, saying it's been something of a perfect storm for the Kings this season, with two key ingredients in an obvious recipe: winning and entertainment.
"I think the Kings fans, from very early days, could see that it was going to be a good year," he says. "Sydney wants winners. Once you start winning, the crowds continue to come. And the entertainment in an NBA-like stadium, you want to come back over and over again."
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