Sydney Kings star Xavier Cooks has signed his maiden NBA contract and can be a part of the Washington Wizards on the conclusion of the continuing NBL championship collection.
Cooks has been the shape participant of the NBL this season and was named the competitors’s MVP after guiding the Kings to a second-straight championship collection.
He is averaging 15.32 factors and seven.74 rebounds per recreation and garnered worldwide consideration for a poster dunk on Melbourne United’s Isaac Humphries in October.
The 203cm ahead’s two-year cope with the Wizards will make him the eleventh Australian contracted to an NBA facet this season.
Cooks re-signed with the Kings in June however his three-year deal contained a clause permitting him to defect to the NBA or EuroLeague if supplied a contract.
The 27-year-old had beforehand labored out with the Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns within the 2018 and 2019 NBA Summer Leagues, respectively, and joins a Wizards facet vying for post-season motion.
With simply over a month to go within the common season, the Wizards sit in tenth place on the jap convention standings, placing them in line for the play-in match.
The Kings revealed Cooks’ NBA deal in a press launch 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,” stated 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 clear that he’s an NBA expertise and belongs among the many finest gamers on the earth.
“We thank X for his contribution to our club – he will forever be a King.”
Cooks will subsequent play for the Kings within the third recreation of the championship collection with the New Zealand Breakers on Friday night time.
On Sunday, Sydney levelled the collection at 1-1 with a 81-74 highway win regardless of dropping Cooks and guard Derrick Walton Jr to leg accidents early on.
The Kings instructed AAP they anticipated neither would require scans and would line up on Friday night time.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
