MELBOURNE United has kept its perfect record intact over the first four weeks of the National Basketball League (NBL) season, kicking off its campaign in the Ignite Cup with a win over the Sydney Kings on Wednesday night.

United travelled north to take on the Kings at Qudos Bank Arena, and were the form team of the competition to start the 2025/26 fixture. Although the Kings were fresh off a win over the New Zealand Breakers last weekend, they were going to need to bring their best if they were to knock off Melbourne for the first time this season.

Although proceedings were tight in the first half, United broke away after the main break, cruising home to a 14-point win for their fourth consecutive win to remain the championship favourites during the early stages of the season.

Sydney Kings (93) def. by Melbourne United (107)

The first quarter lived up to the hype surrounding this heavyweight clash, with the lead changing hands on several occasions as two of the biggest clubs in the land locked horns. Although Sydney got the crowd involved with some impressive shotmaking, United finished the first frame on a 9-2 run to lead by four points at quarter time.

However, the Kings were not going to roll over in the second term, as former United star Matthew Dellavedova gave his new side the lead as half time approached with a nice scooping layup, and Sydney was able to maintain a two-point buffer at the main change. It was one of the strongest challenges Melbourne had faced over the first four weeks in what was shaping up as another cracking instalment in a strong rivalry.

After a hard-fought first half, United came out swinging in the third frame, with the team’s big names leading the way. Tyson Walker was proving a handful for the Kings’ defence, while Jesse Edwards was having his way in the frontcourt against some quality opposition. A smooth stepback three-point bomb from Milton Doyle gave the visitors a 16-point cushion at the final change, and the game had changed in an instant.

The Kings were unable to make any ground in the fourth frame, with Dellavedova and Tim Soares both fouling out as Sydney threw in the towel and United remained the kings of the pack over the first three weeks of play.

Walker was the star of the show on the scoring front with 27 points on 9/15 shooting from the field and 5/9 shooting from behind the arc in an offensive blitz from the import guard, while big man Edwards was a force in the frontcourt, posting 22 points and 12 boards in a dominant display.

Doyle was able to do a bit of everything, producing 16 points, five rebounds and six assists on 6/11 shooting from the field, while Next Star Dash Daniels was rock solid with nine points, four rebounds and two assists in just under 17 minutes of court time.

For the Kings, Kendric Davis finished with 21 points, although it came on an inefficient shooting night, nailing just 28 per cent of his shots from the field, while Xavier Cooks was strong with 21 points and nine boards of his own, although he did make only one of his 10 attempts from the charity stripe.