- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Sydney Kings star Xavier Cooks has signed his maiden NBA contract and will join the Washington Wizards at the conclusion of the ongoing NBL championship series.
Cooks has been the form player of the NBL this season and was named the competition’s MVP after guiding the Kings to a second-straight championship series.
Joining the Wizards, a team fighting to remain in the Eastern Conference playoff race, could be a good landing point for the 27-year-old to begin his NBA career.
Washington do not have a deep roster and recently traded away forward Rui Hachimura to the LA Lakers so Cooks will be competing with the likes of bench players Anthony Gill and veteran Taj Gibson for minutes.
CLICK HERE for a seven-day free trial for your favourite sport on KAYO
And the fact they’ve signed him until the end of 2023-24 means they see him as more than just a stopgap to soak up minutes at the end of this season.
Xavier Cooks. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
Star forward Kyle Kuzma is a free agent this off-season so if he moves to another franchise, there could be an even greater opportunity for Cooks to make his mark in the NBA.
He is averaging 15.32 points and 7.74 rebounds per game and garnered international attention for a poster dunk on Melbourne United’s Isaac Humphries in October.
The 203cm forward’s two-year deal with the Wizards will make him the 11th Australian contracted to an NBA side this season.
Cooks, an Illawarra Hawks junior whose father Eric was the team’s head coach when he was a teenager, re-signed with the Kings in June but his three-year deal contained a clause allowing him to defect to the NBA or EuroLeague if offered a contract.
He had previously worked out with the Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns in the 2018 and 2019 NBA Summer Leagues, respectively, and joins a Wizards side vying for post-season action.
With just over a month to go in the regular season, the Wizards sit in 10th position on the eastern conference standings, putting them in line for the play-in tournament.
The Kings revealed Cooks’ NBA deal in a press release early Monday morning.
“I speak for the entire Kings family when I say we are thrilled for Xavier to take this next step to the NBA and realise his childhood dream,” said Kings CEO Chris Pongrass.
“It is difficult to properly articulate the impact X has had on this club. His talent, leadership and innate desire to win completely shifted our trajectory these past four seasons.
“It is obvious that he is an NBA talent and belongs among the best players in the world.
“We thank X for his contribution to our club – he will forever be a King.”
Cooks will next play for the Kings in the third game of the championship series with the New Zealand Breakers on Friday night.
On Sunday, Sydney levelled the series at 1-1 with a 81-74 road win despite losing Cooks and guard Derrick Walton Jr to leg injuries early on.
The Kings told AAP they expected neither would require scans and would line up on Friday night.
Build your own ultimate team! Pick your key players and take a shot at big cash prizes every day with Draftstars. For great odds on NBA games every day head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.