ESPN随后发了一个戴维斯的最新专访

悉尼国王队刚刚打造了澳大利亚国家篮球联赛（NBL）最引人注目的后场组合之一。

球队在自由市场开启后高调签下马修·德拉维多瓦的墨迹尚未干透，便迅速锁定了上赛季联盟最具天赋与活力的控球后卫作为他的后场搭档——肯德里克·戴维斯。

这是对主教练布莱恩·古德吉安的有力回应——上赛季大部分时间里，古德吉安都在呼吁球队需要一名顶级控卫。而国王队的决策者用“签下两名”给出了答案。

“这很合理，”戴维斯向ESPN表示。

“我和德拉（德拉维多瓦昵称）通了电话，我们认为彼此的球风非常互补……考虑到国王队为我提供的平台，这一切水到渠成；他们反复强调，只要我做好自己、赢下比赛、完成所有要求，他们相信能助我重返NBA。”

加盟国王队的这份一年合同，戴维斯的明确动力正是“冲击NBA”。这位控卫刚刚在阿德莱德36人队度过一个高效赛季（场均25.6分7.8助攻），并在联盟MVP评选中仅次于布莱斯·科顿，位列第二。

但这仍不足以让身高5英尺11英寸（约1.80米）的戴维斯进入NBA大名单。因此，他的重心转向打磨篮球技术的其他维度，而国王队的体系被他视为能助其更上一层楼的关键。从主教练古德吉安、德拉维多瓦，到小股东卢克·朗利（前NBA球员）、新任助理教练兼小股东安德鲁·博古特（前NBA状元），再到CEO克里斯·庞格拉斯，国王队拥有强大的NBA人脉网络与丰富经验，将着力优化戴维斯的赛场表现。

不过，最让戴维斯看重的，是与德拉维多瓦——澳大利亚篮球传奇、上赛季NBL总冠军赛MVP——搭档的机会。

“我告诉古德吉安，我想和马修搭档，”戴维斯说。

“他能帮我成为更好的领袖，场上场下更职业的球员，在训练中推动我进步。比赛中，我们需要更多持球点。我觉得在阿德莱德，我们恰恰缺乏这种‘多持球点’的配置。看看伊拉瓦拉队的泰勒·哈维和特雷·凯尔，他们的后场拥有多个持球手，对手根本无法完全限制其中一人。

“我知道德拉是公认的赢家，他能极大提升我的比赛。所有人都知道他有多无私、防守多积极、领导力多出色……”

“德拉想和我搭档，我也想和德拉搭档。”

德拉维多瓦是签下戴维斯的积极推动者。当球队向他提出这一可能性时，这位四届奥运会选手立刻力挺，并开始思考两位“球权主导型”控卫如何共存。德拉维多瓦联系了国王队助理教练肖恩·罗杰，要求提供一些比赛片段传给戴维斯。

“他给我发了他和凯里·欧文搭档的录像，然后说‘这就是你……和欧文这样的搭档，你也能做到’，”戴维斯说。

“还有乔丹·克拉克森……他说‘这也可能是你’。我们都是控卫，即使在如今的NBA，场上也需要两名控卫……有时我需要推进球让他休息，有时我需要借助定位掩护跑位，获得空位投篮机会扮演得分手，有时则需要为他做球……我们都清楚彼此需要对方。”

在2025-26赛季的NBL赛场上，我们或将看到一个与阿德莱德时期不同的戴维斯。他标志性的精准投射、闪电速度与突破能力仍会保留，但无球跑动会比过去更多。2024-25赛季，戴维斯的球权占有率（29.8%）领跑联盟；加盟国王后，这一数据几乎肯定会下降。

“我会获得更多轻松得分机会，”戴维斯继续说道。“如果对手试图包夹我，德拉给我看了一段10分钟的录像——当年对手试图限制欧文的定位掩护时，欧文却通过后门上篮轻松得分。

“我的比赛会更全面；不会再像过去那样必须不断创造机会……我需要的持球任务可能会减少一些。

“我可以更有针对性地选择进攻时机。伙计，我还有很大提升空间……和德拉搭档，你们会看到我更多无球跑动、借助定位掩护的进攻。赛季末，当杰森·卡迪作为控卫在场时，我们开始尝试这种战术——我通过定位掩护跑位、后门切入，因为今年对手总是过度防守我。

“防守端，看到马修那样积极逼抢……我为什么不这么做？打无球、后门切入、快攻中冲刺跑位接德拉的传球完成打板上篮并造犯规、分球投三分——并非所有进攻都要靠运球变向完成。”

戴维斯透露，国王队在自由市场开启次日便联系了他，从管理层到阵容，他立刻被这支球队吸引。

不过，在接触这位休斯顿本土球员前，国王队动用了所有资源收集信息。NBL圈内人尽皆知，戴维斯在阿德莱德的一年并不顺遂，单赛季里他多次卷入场外风波。国王队对戴维斯在阿德莱德的经历，以及他在勇士发展联盟附属队圣克鲁斯勇士的表现进行了详细调查，以全面评估这位25岁球员加盟后的可能影响。

最终，他们确信悉尼的阵容与体系足以最大化戴维斯的天赋，并助其成长为更职业的球员——后者正是戴维斯加盟的关键原因之一。

“在阿德莱德的经历让我成长很多，”戴维斯谈及这段时光时说。

“我曾被‘宠坏’了。我在南卫理公会大学（SMU）时，和教练是挚友……高中教练像父亲一样。在孟菲斯大学，我和彭尼（哈达威）亲如父子。在勇士，那是顶级团队，我和史蒂夫·科尔及其儿子关系非常好。

“某种程度上，我习惯了‘一切都完美’，但现实并非如此。这段经历教会我，无论身处顶级团队还是成长中的团队，都必须学会在任何环境中保持职业。作为球队最好的球员，我从未真正成为‘领袖’——我更像一个‘专注打球’的人：拼命打磨技术、保养身体，用行动说‘跟我来’——但今年我意识到自己需要更积极发声，而我没做到。

“所以，我明白每支球队需要的东西不同，必须更灵活。或许在悉尼，我不需要当‘发声领袖’；我们有德拉和库克斯，我可以更专注打球。谁知道呢？必须灵活应对，而那些在逆境中最团结的球队，最终会脱颖而出。最紧密的团队、每天做好本分的人，终将达成目标。

“赛季末我们稍微找到了点状态，但关键是习惯。季前赛养成的习惯会决定上限。我们的团队习惯不够好，最终付出了代价——虽然我们天赋最高，但体系不够完善。加盟悉尼后，我知道从第一天起养成好习惯对争冠至关重要。”

戴维斯即将加入的国王队，在连续两年无缘季后赛（此前曾连夺NBL总冠军）后，正寻求复兴。他与德拉维多瓦的后场组合将搭档前MVP泽维尔·库克斯、3D侧翼布尔·库尔，此外阵容还包括库亚特·诺伊、凯利·勒奥佩佩、泰勒·罗伯逊、肖恩·布鲁斯、杰林·加洛韦、杰森·斯珀金（自由市场仍在进行中）。

目前国王队仅剩两个阵容名额。消息人士称，球队与马夸赫·马卢阿赫存在续约意向，另一空位则希望签下一名内线球员。

上赛季大部分时间里，国王队防守效率联盟第一，但进攻始终低于平均水平。戴维斯的加盟有望成为解决这一问题的关键，助球队重返争冠行列。若一切顺利，戴维斯登陆NBA的可能性自然会大幅提升。

“古德吉安告诉我他能帮我进NBA，”戴维斯说。

“国王队的平台能助我实现这一目标，他们相信我是NBA级别的球员。但前提是——他说我们必须赢球。我回答‘当然’。”

The Sydney Kings have just created one of the NBL's most fascinating pairings.

The ink is barely dry on the team's high-profile signing of Matthew Dellavedova to open free agency, and they've already gone and locked in arguably last season's most talented and dynamic point guard as his backcourt partner: Kendric Davis.

It's a vehement response to head coach Brian Goorjian, who was crying out for an elite point guard over most of last season. The Kings' decision-makers responded by getting two.

"It made sense," Davis told ESPN.

"Me and Delly got on the phone, and we thought both of our games complement each other very well... it just made sense for the platform given me; they just kept preaching that, if I do my end and win, do everything we need to do, they believe they can get me to the NBA."

Progressing to the NBA was Davis' unabashed driving force when deciding to sign this one-year deal with the Kings. The point guard is coming off an incredibly productive season with the Adelaide 36ers, averaging 25.6 points and 7.8 assists per game, and was the runner-up to Bryce Cotton for the league's Most Valuable Player award.

That wasn't enough to propel the 5'11 Davis onto an NBA roster, so his attention turned to fine-tuning other elements of his approach to basketball, and the Kings' infrastructure stood out as one that can help guide him to that next level. From Goorjian, to Dellavedova, part-owner Luc Longley, newly-appointed assistant coach and part-owner Andrew Bogut, and CEO Chris Pongrass, the Kings have a substantial NBA network and breadth of experiences to lean on, and will look to refine what Davis brings to the table.

Above all else, though, it was the opportunity to play alongside Dellavedova -- a legend of Australian basketball and reigning NBL Championship Series MVP -- that Davis saw immense value in.

"I told I want to play with Matthew," Davis said.

"To help me become a better leader, a better professional on and off the floor, to push me at practice. In a game, you need an extra ball handler. I think in Adelaide, we kind of lacked that, that extra ball handler. You see Illawarra with Tyler Harvey and Trey Kell; you see that backcourt with multiple ball handlers, where you can't deny one guy.

"I know Delly's a proven winner, who helps my game a lot. Everyone knows how unselfish he is, how willing a defender he is, how great a leader he is..."

"Delly wanted to play with me and I wanted to play with Delly."

Dellavedova was a proponent of signing Davis. When it was broached to him as a possibility, the four-time Olympian championed the idea, and immediately began to assess how the two ball-dominant guards could play alongside each other. Dellavedova reached out to Kings assistant coach Shaun Roger and asked for some clips to send to Davis.

"He sent me film of playing with Kyrie Irving, and picturing, like, this is you... with Kyrie, this could be you," Davis said.

"Jordan Clarkson... this could be you. We're both point guards and, even in the NBA right now, you need two point guards on the floor... It's times where I need to bring it up and let him rest, and there's times where I need to come off pin-downs, and I need to come off to get an open shot and be a scorer, and times I need to be a facilitator for him... We both know how much we needed each other."

"I told I want to play with Matthew," Davis said.

"To help me become a better leader, a better professional on and off the floor, to push me at practice. In a game, you need an extra ball handler. I think in Adelaide, we kind of lacked that, that extra ball handler. You see Illawarra with Tyler Harvey and Trey Kell; you see that backcourt with multiple ball handlers, where you can't deny one guy.

"I know Delly's a proven winner, who helps my game a lot. Everyone knows how unselfish he is, how willing a defender he is, how great a leader he is..."

"Delly wanted to play with me and I wanted to play with Delly."

Dellavedova was a proponent of signing Davis. When it was broached to him as a possibility, the four-time Olympian championed the idea, and immediately began to assess how the two ball-dominant guards could play alongside each other. Dellavedova reached out to Kings assistant coach Shaun Roger and asked for some clips to send to Davis.

We'll likely see a different version of Davis over the 2025-26 NBL season than the one we saw in Adelaide. It'll be the same impressive shot-making, blinding speed, and ability to bend a defence, but he'll operate off the ball more than we're used to seeing. Davis led the league in usage (29.8%) through the 2024-25 season; a number that's almost certain to drop with the Kings.

"I'll get some easy looks," Davis continued. "If a team wants to try to deny me, Delly sent me a 10-minute clip of Kyrie Irving getting backdoor layups because teams wanted to deny him getting pin-downs coming off curling to his midrange or a three.

"You'll just see more versatility in my game; it won't just be me having to create, create, create... I think I'll be asked to do a little less, as far as handling the ball.

"I can kind of pick my spots more. Man, I've got so much room to get better... with Delly, you'll see me in my off-the-ball action, coming off pin-downs. Late in the year, we started getting into that with Jason Cadee on the floor as a point guard... me coming off pin-downs, me doing backdoor cuts, because teams were overplaying me this year.

"Defensively, seeing a guy like Matthew get into the ball... why not ? How can I not do it? I think playing off the ball, getting backdoor cuts, sprinting my lane in transition and Delly throwing it up to me and I'm getting and and-one lay-ups, kick-out threes. Not everything is off-the-dribble, side-steps."

Davis says the Kings first reached out to him the day after NBL Free Agency began, and he was immediately enamoured by the franchise, from ownership down to its roster.

Before the Kings engaged with the Houston-native, however, they sought all the intel they could, using every resource at their disposal. It's an open secret around the NBL that Davis' time in Adelaide was tumultuous, with the point guard often on the periphery of drama over the course of his single season with the 36ers. The Kings did their due diligence in seeking information from Davis' time in Adelaide, as well as his stint with the Golden State Warriors' NBA G-League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, to get the clearest picture of what it would look like if the 25-year-old joined their franchise.

They came away with a determination that the personnel and infrastructure in Sydney was enough to maximise Davis' talent and help to guide his maturation as a professional, the latter of which he cited as a key reason in joining the Kings.

"It's grown me a lot," Davis said of his time in Adelaide.

"I was spoiled. I started at SMU, where me and coach were best friends... my high school coach is like my father. Memphis, me and Penny are super tight, like a dad. Golden State: a first class organisation I was real tight with Steve Kerr and his son.

"You get spoiled in a sense that everything's gonna be upscaled, and it wasn't. It taught me, no matter if it's a first-class organisation or a growing organisation, you've got to learn how to be professional in all manners. For me, being the best player I would say, I never had to be the biggest leader. I'm kind of like a 'just hoop' guy - I'm gonna work hard as hell on my game, and take care of my body, and 'follow me' leader -- but this year I think I needed to be more of a vocal leader, and I wasn't.

"So, I learned every team needs a different thing, and you've gotta be more flexible. Maybe this year on Sydney, I don't ; we've got Delly and Cooks, so maybe I can just hoop more. Who knows? You've got to be flexible, and also the team that sticks together the most through adversity will be the team that comes out on top. The tightest circle, and the people who do right day in and day out, they'll get the job done at the end.

"We figured it out toward the end a little bit, but it's the habits. What habits you build in preseason are going to take you to the top. Our habits weren't great as a team, and it cost us at the end because I think we had the most talent, but we didn't have the infrastructure. Going into Sydney, I know the habits from day one are super important if you want to get the job done."

Davis is joining a Kings team that's just missed the playoffs for the second straight season, which came after the franchise won back-to-back NBL titles. The backcourt pairing of Davis and Dellavedova will be flanked by one-time MVP Xavier Cooks and three-and-D wing Bul Kuol, with Kouat Noi, Keli Leaupepe, Tyler Robertson, Shaun Bruce, Jaylin Galloway, and Jason Spurgin also on the Kings' roster as free agency continues.

The Kings now only have two spots to fill. There's mutual interest in Makuach Maluach returning to Sydney, sources said, while there's a desire to target a big-man for the other vacant roster spot.

The Kings had the league's No. 1 defence for the vast majority of last season, but were consistently a below-average offensive team. The addition of Davis should play a key role in remedying that issue for the Kings, which could well put them back in championship contention. If all of those stars align, then getting on an NBA roster naturally becomes a more distinct possibility for Davis.

" was telling me he can get me to the NBA," Davis said.

" platform can help me get to the NBA, and they believed I was an NBA player. But, with that, he said you know we've got to win. I said yeah."