BIO: Jaylin Galloway was born in Marietta, Georgia (USA) before growing up in Townsville (QLD). As a teenager he returned to the US and attended Sprayberry High School first, then Milton High School. As a senior, he averaged 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 blocks per game. Galloway was named to the All-Region team and led Milton to a 2016 Final Four appearance. Galloway received a scholarship to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (Canberra) in 2020. He spent one year there and played for the program’s state league team.

FAMILY: Jaylin’s brother, Kyrin Galloway also played 112 games in the NBL. Galloway has an American father Erin and an Australian mother Kylie, who both played collegiately at Hawaii. His mother also played professionally in Townsville.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Jaylin Galloway made his NBL debut with the Sydney Kings at 18 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

Jaylin Galloway joined the Sydney Kings as a development player in a season marked by significant roster changes after the team’s runner-up finish against Perth in the 2020 Grand Final, which concluded under COVID-19 disruptions. The Kings had to contend with the departures of All-NBL First Team forward Jae’Sean Tate and head coach Will Weaver, who both signed with the NBA’s Houston Rockets. Additionally, veterans Kevin Lisch, Andrew Bogut, and Lucas Walker retired, leaving a sizeable gap in leadership and experience.

With assistant coach Adam Forde stepping up as head coach after joining the Kings in 2019, the team aimed to rebuild around new import Jarell Martin and rookie Dejan Vasiljevic (via college). As the preseason unfolded, Sydney faced an early setback when promising forward Xavier Cooks suffered a foot injury. The Kings signed Tom Vodanovich (via New Zealand) as an injury replacement just before the season opener, only to encounter more misfortune when Angus Glover tore his ACL, sidelining him for all but two games.

The Kings’ season began with a rocky start, as the team’s young core struggled to fill the void left by departed veterans. Sydney lost three of their first four games, finding themselves at the bottom of the standings in seventh place. Midway through the season, the league relocated all teams to Melbourne for the NBL Cup, an in-season tournament designed to mitigate COVID-related travel issues. The Kings found a measure of consistency here, splitting their Cup games with a 4-4 record, and a subsequent pair of home victories lifted Sydney to the top four by round 12.

Co-captain Casper Ware (17.7 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 4.4 assists) and Jarell Martin (17.9 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.0 assists) emerged as the offensive leaders. Martin’s standout game came against New Zealand, where he tallied 29 points. Vasiljevic (15.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists) and center Jordan Hunter (9.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks) also became integral to the Kings’ rotation, with Hunter finishing as runner-up for the Most Improved Player award and Vasiljevic claiming the Rookie of the Year title. Meanwhile, Cooks (10.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.0 blocks) demonstrated his impact potential during the Kings’ late-season surge, highlighted by a career-high 19 points and 11 rebounds against the Illawarra Hawks in Round 21.

Despite these efforts, Sydney’s weaknesses were evident, particularly their perimeter shooting, where they were tied for the league’s worst three-point percentage (33.4%, on par with Illawarra). Road games also proved challenging, with the team losing half of its away matchups. As the season neared its conclusion, Sydney was firmly in the top four but stumbled in a critical stretch, dropping five of seven games, including two losses by margins exceeding 20 points. Although the Kings ended the season on a three-game winning streak, their final record of 19-17 left them in fifth place, narrowly missing a playoff berth.

Galloway, who appeared in eight games during his debut season, scored a total of two points while gaining valuable experience as part of a team in transition.

2021/22
In 2021, the Sydney Kings made a bold coaching change, replacing Adam Forde with the relatively unproven US coach Chase Buford, son of RC Buford, architect of the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs dynasty. Buford inherited a solid core lineup that included Xavier Cooks, Jarell Martin, and Dejan Vasiljevic, while also adding former NBA guard Jaylen Adams and import RJ Hunter.

However, the Kings’ season got off to a challenging start, with early-season injuries impacting their new lineup. RJ Hunter was sidelined after just one NBL game, Adams missed a third of the season due to injury, and promising young big man Jordan Hunter was ruled out for the entire season. Following a tough January stretch where the team lost four consecutive games, Adams returned, and the Kings bolstered their roster by signing Ian Clark, a former NBA teammate of Kings co-owner Andrew Bogut.

With a healthier roster, the Kings began to gain momentum, closing the regular season with a remarkable 13-game winning streak. Galloway, contributing in a limited role, averaged 0.9 points, 0.6 rebounds, and 0.4 assists.

In the semifinals, Sydney faced Brian Goorjian’s Illawarra Hawks and convincingly swept them in two games. Meanwhile, the Tasmania JackJumpers, a debut NBL team, made an unexpected playoff appearance by edging Melbourne United in three games. Tasmania had finished fifth in the regular season and only qualified for the playoffs by points percentage after South East Melbourne’s final-game win over Perth.

In the Grand Final series, the Kings asserted their dominance with a 95-78 victory over Tasmania in Game 1. Adams, recently awarded the NBL MVP, scored 18 points in the win but sustained a left hamstring injury that would keep him out for the remainder of the series.

Game 2 saw Tasmania’s fan-favorite Josh Adams explode for 36 points in front of a sold-out home crowd. However, the Kings held firm, with Xavier Cooks and Jarell Martin each scoring 20 points and shooting 80% from the field. Dejan Vasiljevic sealed the win with a clutch long-range shot, clinching a 90-86 victory and marking the Kings’ 12th consecutive road win — the most by any NBL team in a single season.

Dejan Vasiljevic with the ???????????????????????? ????️

???? Watch the #NBLFinals Live on ESPN pic.twitter.com/XDIgoHVKo9

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

The Kings wrapped up the series in Game 3, ending a 17-year championship drought in front of 16,000 fans at Qudos Bank Arena. Cooks and Martin combined for 45 points and 29 rebounds, securing Sydney’s 19th win in their final 21 games. Cooks was named Finals MVP, averaging 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 assists across the series. At just 33 years old, Buford became the fourth-youngest coach in NBL history to win a championship, joining the ranks of coaches like Bob Turner (1983), Ken Richardson (1982), and Jim Ericksen (1981).

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

— Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) May 14, 2022

2022/23
After winning the championship, Sydney lost its star import trio of Jaylen Adams, Jarell Martin, and Ian Clark to overseas deals, prompting a roster overhaul. The Kings opted to build around their emerging local talent, including Xavier Cooks, Dejan Vasiljevic, and Angus Glover, while bringing in imports Derrick Walton Jr. to fill the scoring gap left by Adams, Tim Soares (via Europe) as a sharpshooting center, and former Defensive Player of the Year Justin Simon (via Illawarra). To bolster the roster further, Kouat Noi (via Cairns) joined the team, and rookie Jackson Makoi was added.

Sydney began their title defense with a (3-0) start, highlighted by a decisive 91-71 win over Melbourne, where they held United to just six points in the second quarter during a remarkable 25-0 run. The victory marked Sydney’s 15th consecutive road win, setting a new NBL record that surpassed the streak held by Canberra’s mid-80s championship teams.

The Kings then suffered their first loss of the season to Cairns in an 83-78 upset. Without star Tahjere McCall, Cairns focused on defense, while the Kings hurt themselves by missing free throws (14/25). Shannon Scott (16 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists) led the Taipans, with DJ Hogg adding 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists.

After securing another road win over Brisbane, Sydney faced a setback with a 92-88 home loss to Adelaide, fresh off their preseason victory over the NBA’s Phoenix Suns. Despite chances to close out the game, missed shots and a strong defensive effort from Adelaide’s Mitch McCarron sealed the Kings’ fate, as 36ers import Craig Randall II (24 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists) led all scorers.

During a tight contest against New Zealand, the Kings survived a furious fourth-quarter comeback to win 81-77 but suffered injuries to Walton Jr. (ankle) and Cooks, who would miss the next three weeks, including the Boomers’ World Cup Qualifier against Kazakhstan.

Upon Cooks’ return, Sydney’s road streak was halted at 17 games in an overtime thriller, with Keanu Pinder delivering a career-high 30 points and 13 rebounds to lift Cairns to a 94-88 victory. Cooks (25 points, 10 rebounds) scored the Kings’ first six points but fouled out in the fourth quarter.

Sydney solidified their dominance with a historic 49-point victory over Brisbane (116-67), marking the largest winning margin in the 40-minute era and the Kings’ biggest-ever win over the Bullets. Leading scorers included Cooks (20 points), Soares (20 points), and Walton Jr. (18 points).

During NBL23, Galloway emerged as a crucial defensive asset, more than doubling his minutes under Coach Buford and significantly improving his stats: he averaged 5.1 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.8 assists per game, becoming one of the team’s primary defenders alongside Justin Simon. His averages increased across the board, going from 0.93 to 5.39 points per game, 0.71 to 2 rebounds, 0.29 to 0.83 assists, and 0.29 to 0.78 steals.

While New Zealand and Cairns fought for second place (both finishing with 18 wins), Sydney secured the top spot (19-9), despite losing the last two games heading into the playoffs. Xavier Cooks (16.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 4.2 assists) earned NBL MVP honors, edging out Perth’s Bryce Cotton and South East Melbourne’s Mitch Creek. Galloway averaged 0.7 points, 0.9 rebounds, and 0.2 assists for the season.

Sydney went on to defeat New Zealand in the Grand Final, claiming back-to-back titles for the first time since their 2003-2005 three-peat. Derrick Walton Jr. (21 points and 6 assists), named Championship Series MVP, and Xavier Cooks (19 points and 11 rebounds) led the team, while Barry Brown Jr. scored 22 points for the Breakers in Sydney’s decisive Game 5 win (77-69). The series saw a record attendance of 67,811 fans, the highest in NBL Grand Final 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
Before the season, Galloway, who still had a year on his contract, re-signed for three more years (third year team option), keeping him with the Kings until 2026. Reflecting on his journey, he expressed his enthusiasm to stay: “I thought [re-signing with the Kings] was the best decision for me,” Galloway said.

“[To be honest] there really isn’t another club I want to play for, especially after such an unforgettable season with the Kings. The club is super special to me, being my first-ever pro team. I aim to win the NBL’s Next Generation Award and help secure a three-peat.”

Sydney underwent significant changes for NBL24, losing key figures to NBA opportunities: MVP Xavier Cooks and DJ Vasiljevic joined Washington, and Coach Buford left for Milwaukee. Imports Walton Jr., Justin Simon, and Tim Soares headed overseas, leaving Jordan Hunter as the only returning starter. Former MVP Jaylen Adams rejoined the squad, with imports DJ Hogg (via Cairns), Denzel Valentine, and Jonah Bolden, who returned to basketball after a four-year break.

With new coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah, the Kings began as title contenders. After ten games, they sat second (7-3), with injuries sidelining key players DJ Hogg and Galloway.

As the season progressed, Sydney struggled defensively, allowing 100 points nine times and finishing as one of the league’s poorest defensive teams. Adams (19.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.1 steals) and Hunter (10.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 0.9 blocks) led the offense. Bolden (8.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists) had notable performances but was adjusting back to form, while Valentine (12.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.1 steals) and Hogg (14.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.3 blocks) didn’t meet both ends’ expectations.

Galloway had a breakout season, especially on defense, while becoming a key contributor on offense with career-high averages of 10.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.2 steals. His season highlights included two 18-point games against Melbourne and Perth, where he showcased his prowess in three-point shooting and rim attacks.

Following the season, on March 3, 2024, Galloway signed a two-way contract with the Milwaukee Bucks, marking the next step in his professional journey.

Jaylin Galloway currently plays for the Sydney Kings and has played 85 games in his NBL career. He has averaged 5.4 points, 2 rebounds, and 0.8 assists since entering the league in 2021.

CURRENT CONTRACT:

Sydney Kings – 3 Year Deal (2024-27)

Dan Boyce (823 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.