Sydney Kings confirm Boomers coach Brian Goorjian's NBL return on three-year deal after Mahmoud Abdelfattah sacked

NBL coaching legend Brian Goorjian has rejoined the Sydney Kings on a three-year deal, less than a week after Mahmoud Abdelfattah was sacked.

Abdelfattah was given his marching orders just two days after his first season in charge ended with an early finals exit, having led the Kings to their first losing record (13-15) in five years.

The finals flop followed Sydney’s successive championships under Chase Buford in 2022-23.

The Kings hope six-time championship-winning coach Goorjian’s arrival can immediately turn them back into title contenders.

Currently in charge of Australia’s national team, Goorjian coached Sydney to three consecutive titles from 2003-05.

The 70-year-old also climbed the NBL summit with South East Melbourne Magic (1992, 1996) and South Dragons (2009).

His most recent NBL stint was with the Illawarra Hawks in 2020-22.

Goorjian flagged interest in an NBL return in January, declaring he was keen on a coaching job once the Boomers’ Paris Olympics campaign concludes this winter.

“I’m pumped to be back in Sydney,” Goorjian said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Honestly, I never thought I’d leave Sydney the first time after we built everything from the ground up and were winning consistently.

“It felt like home to me and I thought I’d finish my coaching career there, as we’d built something really special.

“But when I left, I never looked over my shoulder, as I didn’t think I’d ever get a chance to coach the Kings again - it’s amazing how life works like this sometimes.

“I’ve had a lot of great opportunities come to me in my career, so to be able to come full circle and come back where I’ve made so many special memories and my photo is hanging from the rafters, is going to be incredible.”

Abdelfattah was sacked with one year left on his two-year deal, his fate sealed last week when injury-hit New Zealand travelled to Sydney and eliminated the Kings from the finals.

Australian basketball legend Luc Longley - a part-owner of the Kings - was among those who reached out to Goorjian to gauge his interest in returning to the Kings.

“Having spoken to the ownership group at length recently, I have complete confidence we both have a similar philosophy when it comes to running a successful basketball organisation on and off the court,” Goorjian said.

“It’s crucial to have a great team around the team and Sydney has that, from the owners to the front office, fans, venue and the city itself - everything is in place to be successful.

“While this season didn’t live up to the club’s expectations of achieving a ‘three-peat’, I took on the job as I feel I can offer something to the club with my strengths and abilities and can assist with winning more championships for the program.”

Goorjian has coached more games (803) than anyone in NBL history and holds a winning ratio of 68.9 per cent.