BIO: Alex Toohey was born in Canberra, ACT (NSW).

Toohey was part of the 12-person World Team that competed at the 2023 Nike Hoops Summit in Portland, Oregon Toohey received a scholarship to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (Canberra) in 2020. He spent three years year there and played for the program’s state league team (2020, 2021, 2022).

NBL EXPERIENCE

Alex Toohey made his NBL debut with the Sydney Kings at 19 years of age. He scored eight points in his first game.

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. Young tyro Alex Toohey was also added to the roster, under the NBL Next Star program.

“Alex is a elite young talent and is someone we have been recruiting for a while,” Kings CEO Pongrass said at the time of Tooheys signing.

“There is a collective focus to continue developing Alex’s game, allowing him the best opportunity to achieve his NBA aspirations – at the same time, we feel he will have a immediate impact on the court.”

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 Toohey (8.0 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.

Toohey started the season on fire, averaging 9.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals over the King’s first three games. This included a 19 point, 2 rebound, 2 assist game which the Kings lost to Melbourne (87-105) and his 7-8 shooting effort which came in a win over Brisbane (113-102), where he also racked up 18 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals in 22 minutes. Toohey was the winner of the Kings Coaches Award at the end of the season.

Prather’s efforts didn’t go unnoticed either as he was named in the All-NBL First Team, and (147) of the Adelaide 36ers. The Wildcats’ squeezed into the playoffs behind after winning two must win games to finish.

In the semifinals, Perth (15-13) would face Cairns (15-13) at home, where Cotton (34 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists) and Prather (22 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals) led the way offensively for a easy win in game one (91-69). In game two, Perth closed out the series (74-66) with Prather (24 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists) leading the team in scoring and Jesse Wagstaff (20 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals) having a huge game off the bench.

Alex Toohey currently plays for the Sydney Kings and has played 58 games in his NBL career. He has averaged 9.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1 assists since entering the league in 2023.

CURRENT CONTRACT:

Sydney Kings – 2 Year Deal (2023-25)

Dan Boyce (827 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.