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 97 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.

Galloway joined the Kings as a development player amidst 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 and rookie Dejan Vasiljevic (via college). 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 an 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 Kings 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. Galloway would appear in eight games and score a total of two points as the Kings finished in fifth place (19-17).

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 an already impressive core in Xavier Cooks, Jarell Martin and Dejan 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.

Galloway would average 0.9 points, 0.6 rebounds, and 0.4 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 Jarrell 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 ???????????????????????? ????️

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

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

The Kings then closed out the series in game three, ending their 17-year championship drought in front of 16,000 fans at Qudos Bank Arena. Xavier Cooks and Jarell Martin would combine for 45 points and 29 rebounds, and the Kings won their 19th win of their final 21 games.

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 teams’ 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 an 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.

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

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.

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.

During NBL23, Galloway (5.1 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.8 assists per game) more than doubled his minutes under Buford, which saw his averages go from 0.93 to 5.39 points per game, 0.71 to two rebounds, 0.29 to 0.83 assists and 0.29 to 0.78 steals – all while being one of the club’s primary defenders, alongside import Justin Simon.

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.

Gattorna 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 and win 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
Prior to the start of the season Galloway, who already had one year remaining on his contract (team option), agreed to a new three-year deal with the club (third year team option) which would see him part of the club until 2026. After such a successful start to his career with the team, Galloway said it was a easy choice to re-sign with the purple and gold.

“I thought [re-signing with the Kings] I was the best decision for me,” Galloway said.

“[To be honest] there really isn’t another club I want to play for, especially coming off such a awesome and unforgettable season with the Kings. The club is super special to me, being the first-ever professional team I played for and that means a lot to me. I want to improve even more next year and win the NBL’s Next Generation Award, while also helping the club secure its second-ever three-peat.”

Sydney were forced to undergo a huge rebuild prior to NBL24, after losing several key pieces to NBA oppourtunities. First reigning NBL MVP Xavier Cooks and DJ Vasiljevic both headed to Washington, then coach Chase Buford was released to pursue NBA oppourtunities 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 Washington 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.

Despite the chaotic season, Galloway had an incredible season for the Kings, the 21-year-old was one of the team’s best defenders, shoot the three-ball at high percentages and attacking the rim with regularity. Galloway’s best performances of the season were two 18 point efforts he delivered in a win (98-86) against his former team Melbourne, and a loss at home to Perth (98-104).

On March 3, 2024, after the Kings’ season ended, Galloway signed a two-way contract with the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Jaylin Galloway currently plays for the Sydney Kings and has played 76 games in his NBL career. He has averaged 5.3 points, 2 rebounds, and 0.8 assists since entering the league in 2021.

Dan Boyce (798 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.