ONE OF the biggest movers during the off-season, former National Basketball League (NBL) MVP Kendric Davis starred on Saturday evening, leading his Sydney Kings to a 22-point win over the New Zealand Breakers.

After Friday night’s action saw only an exhibition match between Melbourne United and the New Orleans Pelicans, regularly scheduled programming resumed on Saturday evening, kicked off with a clash between the Kings and the Breakers, both of whom were still searching for their first win.

With both teams looking to claim their maiden victory for the 2025/26 season, it was the Kings who were simply too good for the Breakers when the two sides locked horns at Qudos Bank Arena. A third quarter scoring blitz broke the game open, and New Zealand simply had no answer in the final frame, eventually falling by 22 points.

One of the biggest factors in the match was the performance of Davis, who was electric for his new team and could not be stopped by the opposition in a statement showing following a highly publicized move from the Adelaide 36ers.

Sydney Kings (97) def. New Zealand Breakers (75)

Kendric Davis – 28 points, two rebounds, four assists, one steal

Davis showed why he was an MVP finalist last season, taking over on the offensive end and demonstrating how dangerous he can be if his shots start falling and the opposition allows him to get to his spots.

He opened his account with a nice driving layup after the Breakers scored the first five points of the match, before splashing home a three-pointer and a stepback midrange jumper in the minute that followed to have a quick seven points to his name. Davis rounded out the first term with a tough layup through contact, while also converting the and-one at the charity stripe for 10 points in eight minutes of court time.

Davis was brought back into the match a few minutes into the second frame, but struggled with his shooting, missing five consecutive shots as the star guard went ice cold from the field and the Breakers managed to cut into the lead. However, a pullup jumpshot from midrange broke the drought, and he capped off the half with a second and-one, this time finishing a nice Euro step play through illegal contact.

The guard opened the second half with some nice passes to teammates on the perimeter as the Kings began to re-establish control of proceedings coming out of the main change. Davis nailed a second three-pointer and then a third and-one play as contact seemed to be no distraction when he had a look at the basket. Following another midrange jumper, Davis had helped his team to a double-digit lead and was the most damaging player on the court.

Davis continued to punish the opposition with layups in the paint and jumpshots from midrange in the final frame, leading the charge as Sydney did not give New Zealand a sniff after half time. Despite the defence’s best efforts, they could not slow him down as he led his team to their first victory of the season with more on the horizon.

He finished the contest with 28 points on 11/17 shooting from the field to go with four assists in a masterful offensive performance. There are few better players in the league at finishing through contact, and he showed exactly why he has earned that title against the Breakers.