Sydney Kings

Formed in October 1987 out of a merger between the West Sydney Westars and the Sydney SuperSonics, the club took the court for the first time in the 1988 National Basketball League (NBL) season.

The purple and gold, borrowed from the Los Angeles Lakers, did not always sit well with results. Through the 1990s the club lost so many tight contests that supporters turned the colour against them, coining "The Violet Crumbles" — a nickname that stuck even as the same era earned the team "The Cardiac Kids" for matches that went down to the final possession.

The Kings eventually turned those close games into championships instead of near-misses, winning the NBL title in 2003, 2004 and 2005. Andrew Bogut's name attached itself to the club during the 2011–12 NBA lockout. The Kings returned to the top of the league in 2022 and again in 2023, and the club now keeps that history on display through a Wall of Legends and a Ring of Honour rather than leaving it to memory alone.

The Sydney Derby against the Illawarra Hawks remains the fixture closest to home, while the meetings with Melbourne United and the Perth Wildcats carry their own edge on the road.

Six NBL championships now sit against the club's name.