BIO: Dejan Vasiljevic was born in Calgary, Alberta (Canada) before moving with his family to Australia. He spent his teenage years in Melbourne, playing his junior basketball with the Diamond Valley Eagles. Vasiljevic received a scholarship to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (Canberra) in 2014. He spent two years year there and played for the program’s state league team (2014, 2015).

NBL EXPERIENCE

Dejan Vasiljevic made his NBL debut with the Sydney Kings at 23 years of age. He scored 15 points in his first game.

Sydney faced a major roster turnover after finishing runners-up to Perth in a Covid induced conclusion to the 2020 Grand Final. The team looked to recover from the loss of both All-NBL First Team forward Jae’Sean Tate and head coach Will Weaver, who both inked contracts with the NBA’s Houston Rockets while veterans Kevin Lisch, Andrew Bogut and Lucas Walker all retired. Kings assistant Adam Forde took up the reigns this season after being with the organisation since 2019 and replaced the outgoing talent with import Jarell Martin, Angus Glover (via Illawarra), and rookie Dejan Vasiljevic (via Miami University). During the preseason, Sydney lost promising forward Xavier Cooks to a foot injury and signed Tom Vodanovich (via New Zealand) as an injury replacement just before their opening game. The team’s injury woes continued when Angus Glover tore his ACL and would miss all but two games for the season.

As the season kicked off, the Kings looked to their young core to step up in the loss of key veterans and struggled early as a result. Losing three of their first four games, the team sat at the bottom of the ladder in seventh place. Mid-season, the league made the decisions to move all teams to Melbourne for a in-season tournament (NBL Cup) created to avoid COVID-related travel issues. It was here Sydney began to find some form, winning as many as they lost during the Cup (4-4) and then once the tournament was over, consecutive wins at home saw Sydney reach the top four by round 12.

Co-captain Casper Ware (17.7 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 4.4 assists) and Martin (17.9 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.0 assists) became the focal points on offence. Martin’s best game coming against New Zealand, where he finished with 29 points.

Dejan Vasiljevic (15.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists) and Jordan Hunter (9.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks) both became major parts of the King’s core rotation, Hunter finishing runner-up in the voting for the Most Improved Player award and Vasiljevic being selected as Rookie of the Year. Xavier Cooks (10.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.0 blocks) also showed what type of impact he could have during the King’s back end of the season win the league, producing a career high 19 points and 11 rebounds against the Hawks in Round 21.

The Kings’ limitations this season were primarily their perimeter shooting, where they were equal worst in three-point percentage (tied with Illawarra with 33.4%) and inability to win on the road, where they lost 50% of their games away from home. With four rounds to go, Sydney was firmly entrenched inside the top four but a stretch of five losses in seven games that included two by over 20 points ultimately saw them fall short. Sydney ended the season on a three-game winning streak but would finish in fifth place (19-17) and fail to qualify for the playoffs.

2021/22
2021 saw the Kings replace Adam Forde with unproven US coach, Chase Buford. Buford, the son of RC Buford, the mastermind of the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA, would be handed a team with a already impressive core in Xavier Cooks, Jarell Martin and Vasiljevic and added former NBA talent Jaylen Adams and fellow import RJ Hunter.

The change in leadership and early-season injuries to RJ Hunter (who would only play in one NBL game), Adams (missed a third of the season) and young big man Jordan Hunter, who would miss the entire season, resulted in a sluggish start for the Kings. After a stretch in January where the Kings lost four consecutive games, Adams was able to make his return, the Kings added a former NBA teammate of Kings co-owner Andrew Bogut, Ian Clark and things began to improve.

Vasiljevic would average 12.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.6 assists as the Kings then finished the year in spectacular fashion, winning 13 consecutive games to end the regular season.

The Kings faced Brian Goorjian and the Illawarra Hawks in the semifinals, but comfortably defeated them in two straight games. On the other side of the bracket, the Tasmania JackJumpers in their debut NBL season, who were lucky to even be in the playoffs, defeated Melbourne United in three games. Tasmania had finished the season in fifth place and only qualified for the playoffs thanks to points percentage after South East Melbourne beat Perth in the final game of the season.

In the Grand Final series, Sydney continued to show their dominance, defeating Tasmania (95-78) in the opening game of the series. Adams, who had been named NBL MVP the previous week, scored 18 points in the win but suffered a left hamstring injury which would see him miss the remainder of the Grand Final series.

Game two saw JackJumpers fan favourite Josh Adams erupt for 36 points in front of a sell-out Tasmanian crowd, but thanks to 20 point efforts from both captain Xavier Cooks and Jarell Martin (who shot 80% from the field) as well as Dejan Vasiljevic, who nailed a long range dagger in the closing minutes clinched game two for the Kings, 90-86. The win was Sydney’s 12th straight road game victory – the most away wins ever during a single NBL season.

Dejan Vasiljevic with the ???????????????????????? ????️
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– ???? Watch the #NBLFinals Live on ESPN pic.twitter.com/XDIgoHVKo9

— ESPN Australia & NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) May 8, 2022

Cooks would be named the MVP of the finals series, averaging 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 assists over the three games and at 33 years of age, Buford became the fourth-youngest championship-winning coach in league history, with Bob Turner (1983), Ken Richardson (1982) and Jim Ericksen (1981) the only coaches to win it at a younger age (Two of those were player-coaches).

17 years in the making ????????#WeTheKings #NBL22 pic.twitter.com/Wz7uIGjTr6

— Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) May 14, 2022

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. With Makur Maker (to Washington) headed to the NBA, Kouat Noi (via Cairns) was signed and the roster finalised with 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. Vasiljevic was at his usual prolific best with 20 points for the Kings, while Cooks (15 points, eight rebounds) and Walton Jr (14 points, nine rebounds, six assists) did their best, but the Kings were almost always held at arm’s length by the resolute Taipans.

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, while all of Adelaide’s starters scored in double digits. Derrick Walton Jr led the Kings with 23 points, while Dejan Vasiljevic followed with 15 of his own.

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.

LIGHTNING STRIKES TWICE ⚡

THE SYDNEY KINGS HAVE DONE IT AGAIN ????

Watch #NBL23 live & free ???? 10 Peach & 10play | Live on ESPN via Kayo & Foxtel pic.twitter.com/CvxWVxOkI8

— NBL (@NBL) November 20, 2022

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 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.

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. Vasiljevic would finish the season averaging 13.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.8 assists.

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 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

Prior to NBL24, Vasiljevic was granted a release from the Sydney Kings to pursue opportunities overseas.

“It was a difficult decision to exercise the option, but when you have won two championships at my age, a opportunity overseas is hard to pass up on,” Vasiljevic said.

“I had a long and in-depth conversation with Chris Pongrass and Luc Longley, and they fully supported the decision as they want me to achieve my goals. When you’ve got people like that pushing you to go and explore these opportunities, along with my family being from Europe, it’s hard to pass up on the opportunity.”

Dejan Vasiljevic currently plays for the Adelaide 36ers and has played 116 games in his NBL career. He has averaged 15.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.9 assists since entering the league in 2021.

CURRENT CONTRACT:

Adelaide 36ers – 3 Year Deal (2024-27)

HIGHLIGHTS:

The set back to the ultimate comeback.

DJ Vasiljevic’s journey to a championship and now a new contract was something else ????????@3jvasiljevic @SydneyKings #NBL23 pic.twitter.com/mts8dm9yBr

— The NBL (@NBL) May 31, 2022

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.