BIO: Noi was born in Khartoum, Sudan during height of the Second Sudanese Civil War. His family fled the country amid escalations of the conflict, first to Egypt and later to Australia in 2002.

Growing up in Newcastle, he blossomed into a basketball star and would move to the United States to attend high school basketball powerhouse Montverde Academy (Florida).

NBL EXPERIENCE

Kouat Noi made his NBL debut with the Cairns Taipans at 21 years of age. He scored 10 points in his first game.

In 2019/20, Noi averaged 10.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.1 assists as the Taipans finished in third place with a record of 16-12. He narrowly missed out on winning the league’s Rookie of the Year award, finishing five votes behind future NBA star LaMelo Ball

2020/21
In 2020/21, Noi averaged 10.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1 assists, playing a key role in the Taipans rotation, helping the team finish reach a ninth place finish in the regular season with a 8-28 record.

Over his first two seasons, Noi managed just 40 games out of a possible 67 due to injuries which included injuring his PCL against Sydney in round 10 which would see him miss the remainder of the season.

2021/22
The 2021/22 season saw Noi average 8.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 0.8 assists and play a key role in helping the Taipans to a ninth-place finish during the regular season with a 9-19 record.

SYDNEY KINGS
2022/23
After winning the championship, Sydney would lose its star import trio of Jaylen Adams, Jarrell Martin and Ian Clark to larger overseas deals and be forced to revamp their roster. With the improvement from Xavier Cooks, Dejan Vasiljevic and Angus Glover during the team’s’ title run, Sydney chose to build the team around its local talent and sign imports who could complement their Aussie core. Derrick Walton Jr was brought in to replace the scoring of Jaylen Adams while sharpshooting centre Tim Soares (via Europe) and former Defensive Player of the Year Justin Simon (via Illawarra) became the team’s new import trio. Sydney also replaced Makur Maker, who signed with the NBA’s Washington Wizards with Noi (via Cairns) and talented rookie Jackson Makoi.

Sydney started their quest for back-to-back titles defeating Illawarra, Brisbane and Melbourne to start the season (3-0). The twenty-point win over Melbourne (91-71) was particularly impressive, which included a second quarter where the Kings reeled off a 25-0 while holding United to just six points. The win streak saw Sydney notch up their 15th straight road win – a new NBL record, surpassing the mark set by Canberra’s back-to-back championship teams of the mid-80s.

Sydney suffered its first season loss the following game, with the Cairns Taipans delivering a 83-78 upset. Cairns, who played without injured star Tahjere McCall, did everything right on the defensive end while shooting, the Kings shot themselves in the foot with just 14/25 from the foul stripe. Shannon Scott (16 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists) led Cairns in scoring in McCall’s absence, with DJ Hogg (15 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists) influential as well.

Sydney would collect another road win over Brisbane before suffering another home loss against Adelaide (92-88), who had just returned from beating the NBA’s Phoenix Suns in a preseason game.

Sydney had several chances to tie or take the lead in the final minute, but several missed shots and a game-saving defensive effort from Adelaide skipper Mitch McCarron secured the win for the visitors. 36ers import Craig Randall II (24 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists) would finish as the game’s high scorer.

In round five, Sydney were on the verge of losing their third consecutive home game until Noi’s nailed a epic buzzer-beating three-pointer to defeat his former team Cairns, 106-103. Cooks, who nearly recorded a triple-double (18 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 assists), was a integral part in helping Sydney over the line victory, which cemented themselves into the top position on the ladder (8-2).

Next, the Kings drew the New Zealand Breakers in a highly anticipated contest featured first vs second on the ladder. Sydney survived a blistering last-quarter comeback from the Breakers to win the game (81-77) but lost Walton Jr to a ankle injury in the first half (he managed 12 points for the match in only 18 minutes) and a ankle injury to Cooks who would miss the next three weeks of games which included the Australian Boomers World Cup Qualifier game against Kazakhstan.

An epic Shaun Bruce buzzer-beater secured a dramatic win against Illawarra (83-82), who seemed on track to deliver an upset with a four-point lead (82-78) with 10 seconds left.

The Kings received a boost with Cooks returning from injury, albeit in a game where Cairns snapped Sydney’s road winning streak, ending it at 17 in a row. Keanu Pinder (30 points and 13 rebounds) delivered a career-high scoring effort in a Taipans comeback victory that had to be decided in overtime (94-88). Cooks (25 points and 10 rebounds) was to go after being sidelined and scored the first 6 points for the Kings before fouling out in the fourth quarter.

In a heavyweight clash against South East Melbourne, Mitch Creek (46 points) and Derrick Walton Jr (45 points) recorded the first 40-point games by a player this season. Injuries to Phoenix players Gary Browne (calf) and Ryan Broekhoff (hip) and Sydney’s Xavier Cooks (ankle) didn’t detract from the contest as Creek and Walton Jr delivered a game for the ages, a double-overtime loss (112-113) which saw them drop to second on the ladder behind New Zealand.

Kings’ Coach Chase Buford was forced to miss the next game against Tasmania JackJumpers due to poor conduct, and assistant Kevin Lisch filled in as Sydney’s head coach as Sydney was able to get into the paint at will, recording 56 points in the paint while shooting a NBL season-high 69 percent from the field to secure a 97-77 victory.

Sydney locked themselves firmly into the top spot with a 49-point beatdown of Brisbane (116-67). The Kings’ 49-point winning margin was the largest achieved during the 40-minute era, as well as being Sydney’s biggest win in franchise history over the Bullets with Cooks (20 points), Soares (20 points), and Walton Jr (18 points) putting the majority of points on the board.

While New Zealand and Cairns fought it out for second place (both finishing with 18 wins for the season), Sydney ended the season on top of the ladder (19-9) despite losing their last two games heading into the playoffs. Xavier Cooks (16.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists) was named NBL MVP, beating Perth’s Bryce Cotton and South East Melbourne’s Mitch Creek.

Noi would finish the season averaging 7.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 0.6 assists per game.

With Cairns defeating Perth (91-78) and advancing through the NBL play-in tournament, a semi-final series with the Kings was set. A spectacular performance from Cooks (27 points and 14 rebounds) fuelled the Kings to a game one win (95-87) before a drama-filled game two saw Kings’ coach Buford ejected after Kouat Noi and Sam Waardenburg both went down after hard hits to the head, which included Tim Soares also being charged with striking. Amidst the chaos, DJ Hogg (25 points and 8 rebounds) and Tahjere McCall (20 points and 7 assists) caught fire, and Cairns defeated Sydney (93-82), setting up a do-or-die game three.

In the deciding game, Vasiljevic (15 points and 5 rebounds), who had been almost a non-factor in the first two games, delivered when it counted the most, landing three crucial three-pointers and finished as the King’s game-high scorer. Cooks and Noi racked up identical double-double efforts (11 points and 11 rebounds) to propel Sydney to victory (79-64) and onto the championship series.

On the opposite side of the bracket, New Zealand eliminated Tasmania to reach the championship series before marching into Sydney and claiming game one (95-87) in front of 13,145 shocked Kings fans. William McDowell-White (19 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists) starred for New Zealand, while Barry Brown Jr (19 points) and Jarrell Brantley (16 points and 7 rebounds) also kept the scoreboard ticking over. Simon (18 points and 6 steals) finished as the leading scorer for Sydney in a game where Walton Jr suffered a injured leg that would see him miss the end of this game and struggle through the next.

Game two saw Sydney even the series, despite key players Walton Jr (4:50 minutes) and Cooks (9:05 minutes) seeing minimal playing time due to injuries. In their absence, Simon (12 points, 9 rebounds and 6 steals) came up big time at both ends, while Noi (20 points) provided some additional firepower off the bench. Although Brown Jr (21 points) delivered a strong effort, the Breakers struggled on the offensive end of the floor, shooting just 36 percent from the field as a team.

The bench came in, and Noi balled out ????

With no Cooks or Walton Jr, King Kouat dropped 20 in game two to help lead the @sydneykings to a monster win in enemy territory ???? pic.twitter.com/xczOSBnEbV

— NBL (@NBL) March 7, 2023

The Kings returned to Sydney with a 2-1 series lead after defeating the Breakers in front of the biggest crowd in NBL history (91-68). 18,049 fans poured into Qudos Bank Arena to witness Derrick Walton Jr (12 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds) shake off his injury concerns and Xavier Cooks (10 points and 8 rebounds), who signed a NBA contract to play with Washington that same day. McDowell-White (11 points) finished as New Zealand’s leading scorer.

Game four delivered a Breakers win in Auckland (80-70), extending the series to five games. Brantley (23 points), MacDowell-White (19 points) and Brown Jr (20 points) all coming up big in the do-or-die game for New Zealand. Derrick Walton Jr (18 points) and Angus Glover (12 points) finished as Sydney’s leading scorers.

Somehow, Sydney squeezed a few extra fans into Qudos Bank Arena for game five, breaking the record for fan attendance set in their previous home game (18,124). The Kings proved too dominant in the championship deciding game, ripping off a 14-0 run in the final quarter to secure their first back-to-back titles since their 2003-2005 three-peat. Derrick Walton Jr (21 points and 6 assists), who was named the Championship Series MVP, and Xavier Cooks (19 points and 11 rebounds) had outstanding games for the Kings, while Brown Jr (22 points) came off the bench and finished as the Breaker’s high scorer in the King’s game five win (77-69).

67,811 fans attended the Championship Series, the highest Grand Final attendance in NBL history.

It was the last game of the season, and it delivered all sorts of drama.

Re-live the best bits thanks to @HungryJacksAU ⤵ pic.twitter.com/KxOiNZnVDW

— NBL (@NBL) March 15, 2023

2023/24
Sydney were forced to undergo a huge rebuild prior to NBL24, after losing several key pieces to NBA opportunities. First reigning NBL MVP Xavier Cooks and DJ Vasiljevic both headed to Washington, then coach Chase Buford was released to pursue NBA opportunities and eventually joined Milwaukee. Imports Derrick Walton Jr, Justin Simon and Tim Soares all headed overseas, and Jordan Hunter remained with the team as the only starter from the championship squad to return.

Former league MVP Jaylen Adams returned after a season in Europe and joined new imports DJ Hogg (via Cairns), Denzel Valentine and former NBA talent and Australian Boomer Jonah Bolden, who returned to basketball after a 4-year absence.

G-League championship coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah was brought in as Buford’s replacement, and despite the considerable roster turnover, the Kings still entered the season as championship favourites.

After ten games, Sydney sat in second position (7-3) and had lost to only two teams, the Tasmania JackJumpers (twice) and the Cairns Taipans. This was achieved while marquee player DJ Hogg (who missed the first half of the season) and Jaylin Galloway sat injured on the sidelines.

From Round 8 onwards, the Kings looked nothing like the team that had dominated the league for the past two years. They struggled to win games, giving up 100 points on nine occasions, and finished as one of the worst teams in the league at the defensive end.

Much of the team’s success this season came from the pick-and-roll offence of Adams (19.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.1 steals) and Hunter (10.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks). Bolden (8.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.1 assists) delivered some great games but understandably spent most of the season working himself back into basketball form. In comparison, Denzel Valentine (12.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.1 steals) and Dj Hogg (14.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.3 blocks) didn’t deliver as expected at both ends. Sydney finished the season in fifth place and failed to make the post-season after losing to New Zealand during the play-in qualifiers. However, breakout seasons from rookie Alex Toohey (8 points and 4.0 rebounds), Kouat Noi (10.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.0 assists), who came close to winning the league’s best sixth-man award, and Galloway (10.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.2 steals) were the only real highlights of the season, showcasing the individual talent and potential within the team.

Noi’s best performances of the season were his 23 points and 4 rebounds in a win over Illawarra (96-81) in September and his hot shooting night in a loss to New Zealand (101-109) where he went 7-12 from the field, 4-5 from the three-point line and finished with 19 points 4 reobunds in 16 minutes.

Kouat Noi currently plays for the Sydney Kings and has played 120 games in his NBL career. He has averaged 8.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 0.8 assists since entering the league in 2019.

CURRENT CONTRACT:

Sydney Kings – 3 Year Deal (2024-27)
3rd Year Team Option

Dan Boyce (811 Posts)

Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.