BIO: Julian Khazzouh was born in Melbourne (VIC).

NBL EXPERIENCE

Julian Khazzouh made his NBL debut with the West Sydney Razorbacks at 18 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

West Sydney underwent a period of transition following their 2004 NBL Grand Final appearance. Longtime head coach Gordie McLeod was replaced by assistant Mark Watkins, who stepped into the role with strong backing from the playing group. Meanwhile, financial instability surrounded the club, with its owners, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, being fined $500,000 and stripped of all 37 NRL premiership points due to major salary cap breaches. These off-court challenges significantly influenced the Razorbacks’ offseason decisions and overall direction.

West Sydney saw key departures, including leading scorer John Rillie (to Townsville), Russell Hinder (to Hunter), and David Pennisi (to Europe), while Brad Williams retired. To fill the void, the Razorbacks brought in Nick Horvath (via Duke University) as their new import, making him the team’s primary scoring option. Returning core players Simon Dwight (15.9 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 3.2 blocks) and team captain Sam MacKinnon (14.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 5.9 assists) remained vital pieces of the squad, while Scott McGregor (12.6 points, 6.3 rebounds) rejoined the lineup after missing the previous season due to injury.

West Sydney opened the season with a 97–120 loss to Perth on October 2, 2004, before bouncing back with a 106–75 win over Brisbane in Round 2. However, the team quickly hit a four-game losing streak, struggling to replace Rillie’s perimeter scoring and overall leadership. A 96–82 victory over Wollongong and a narrow 87–84 win against Cairns provided brief moments of optimism, with Steven Markovic (18 points, 6 assists) showing his development in the backcourt.

Young big man Julian Khazzouh was signed as a development player, making his NBL debut in Round 2 against Brisbane on October 10, 2004. In just under two minutes of action, he missed his only field goal attempt and did not record any other statistics. With the Razorbacks relying heavily on their veteran frontcourt, Khazzouh saw minimal opportunities, making just one appearance for the season.

The team’s struggles deepened during a seven-game losing streak between January 2 and January 29, 2005, including a 123–89 loss to Sydney and a 112–85 defeat to Perth, which effectively ended their playoff hopes. West Sydney finished the season in ninth place with an 11–21 record, missing the playoffs a year after making the Grand Final.

2005/06
Khazzouh did not play in the NBL in 2005/06 after being offered a position at Metro State College in Denver. He later chose to stay in Australia and play for the Razorbacks during the next season.

2006/07
In 2006/07, Khazzouh averaged 9.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 0.6 assists as the Razorbacks finished with a record of 5-28. Khazzouh’s numbers saw him finish second in the NBL Rookie of the Year voting behind Joe Ingles (South Dragons).

2007/08
By the 2007/08 season, the Razorbacks were in the midst of a multitude of financial problems. In a cost-cutting move, they would replace coach Cal Bruton with unproven young coach Rob Beveridge, who had been coaching the Australian junior men prior to his appointment and filled the roster with mainly NBL offcasts and young NBL talent.

Liam Rush was named team captain, and University of Loyola Marymount graduates Damian Martin, and Matthew Knight were added to bring a touch of youth to the squad. Ten games into the season, Martin suffered a knee injury that saw him miss the team’s remaining games, which saw Rhys Carter then elevated into the starting lineup.

West Sydney struggled to matchup against opposition team’s but were still able to double the number of wins from last season from 5 to 10. The team’s young frontcourt of Knight (12.0 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists) and Julian Khazzouh (11.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.2 assists) being the only positives seen during the Razorback’s dismal season.

2008/09
After struggling through the 2007/08 as the Razorbacks, West Sydney changed their name to the Sydney Spirit for the 2008/09 NBL season. The change was influenced by the Sydney Kings folding in 2008 and the Razorbacks ownership hoping to rebrand to Sydney in a effort to capitalise on the Sydney market.

The Spirit struggled to be competitive during the first half of the season, partly due to Damian Martin (5.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.9 steals) playing through a broken wrist suffered during the pre-season. To make things even worse, it became clear the club was in dire financial straits with attendances at the State Sports Centre rarely selling more than 2,000 tickets. A game against the Cairns Taipans in Round 21 made history when only a paltry 920 fans showed up, the lowest NBL attendance since the early 1980’s.

As a solution to keeping the team afloat and the NBL season alive, the Spirit’s ten contracted players and three coaches, including head coach Rob Beveridge, all agreed to live off just $150,000 between them to keep the franchise going—roughly $700 per week for Khazzouh. Shortly after team captain Liam Rush (who left for Sweden), big man Julian Khazzouh (Holland) and import Derrick Low would all leave the team for better deals overseas.

Despite the setbacks Khazzouh would average 15.1 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 1.2 assists as whilst the Spirit finished in eighth place on the ladder (11–19), missing the playoffs before exiting and leaving Sydney without a NBL team.

Khazzouh would finish out the season in Holland with Groningen Hanzevast Capitals.

2010/11
After the Sydney Kings licence was revoked in 2008 after club sponsor Firepower collapsed and the Kings were unable to pay player salaries, new ownership relaunched the Sydney Kings for the 2010/11 NBL season, returning to the league after a two-year absence.

The ‘Resurrection Squad’, the name given to the Sydney Kings roster which had returned to the league for the first time in two years with the team’s first moves being the hiring former Kings player Ian Robilliard as head coach and convincing a number of European based aussies to return to play for the team’s latest reincarnation.

Julian Khazzouh (Israel), Luke Cooper (Latvia) and Damien Ryan (Italy) all signed deals for the 2010/11 season, as was college graduate Ben Madgen (Augusta State University). The Kings then filled the remaining roster with offcast NBL talent, Graeme Dann (via State League), Luke Martin (via Wollongong) and Ben Knight (via Melbourne), who had played for the previous iteration of the Kings, was added and named co-captain along with Khazzouh. Robilliard added imports Taj McCullough and Rod Grizzard for excitement and scoring punch to the roster and the team was ready to return to the NBL.

Grizzard, who had previously put up 19 points per game with Singapore and 13 points per game with Melbourne struggled to produce as a King. He produced a megre 8 points per game on a 36% field goal percentage, resulting in the import axe swinging quickly, as he was released five games into the season.

The axe then fell for fellow import McCullough who after being told his contract was on the line prior to a game against New Zealand he managed only ten points on a lowly 5 from 17 from the field in a 80-94 home loss. After eight games Taj McCullough (11.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per game) would become the second import to be released by the Sydney Kings during the 2010/11 season.

Former NBA talent Trey Gilder (13.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.1 steals) replaced Taj McCullough then Patrick Sanders (13.3 points, 4 rebounds, and 1.7 assists) filled the shoes of Rod Grizzard as Robilliard looked to deliver a team capable of entertaining the valuable Sydney market while it was clear they would struggle to compete against other NBL team’s. The Kings limped home to a last place finish and a record of 8–20, the poor season likely costing Julian Khazzouh (17.4 points, 10 rebounds, and 1.7 assists, 1 steal, and 1.8 blocks per game) a MVP trophy as mid-season he was the hot favourite for the award but ended up finishing second in the voting behind Wollongong’s Gary Ervin.

2011/12
The Kings’ retained their core group of Julian Khazzouh (team captain), Ben Madgen, Luke Martin, Luke Cooper and Graeme Dann and looked to build on their disappointing return to the NBL. Head coach Ian Robilliard was able to bolster the roster by signing former Australian Boomers guard Aaron Bruce (via Adelaide), college grad Anatoly Bose (via Nicholls State) and, after a import roller-coaster the previous season, signed Jerai Grant (son and nephew of NBA stars Harvey Grant and Horace Grant respectively) and state league talent, Kevin Ratzsch.

Additionally, due to the 2011 NBA Lockout, Australia’s highest profile basketballer, former Milwaukee Bucks centre Andrew Bogut, was looking to play in the NBL during the 2011/12 season. He was linked with the Adelaide 36ers, the Gold Coast Blaze and the Kings, whom Bogut had supported when growing up in Australia. Sydney was favoured to secure his services, and Bogut ultimately chose to make his NBL debut with the Kings. However, the insurance to cover his remaining US$39 million contract with the Bucks couldn’t be resolved, leaving the Kings and the NBL without the services of Australia’s highest profile player. It was expected that Bogut’s signing would see a increase in Kings membership and league attendances. Despite not being able to play, Bogut later expressed interest in joining the Kings’ coaching staff during the lockout to help the club. This ultimately did not happen either.

Khazzouh was unstoppable during the first two months of the season was clearly the best player in the competition. This was no clearer than in the Kings 23 point win over the Adelaide 36ers in October 2011 when he filled the box score with 26 points, 13 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 36 minutes, a game which gained the attention of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors. In December 2011, halfway through the season, Khazzouh would leave the team to participate in the Warriors pre-season camp. Khazzouh was then waived on 18 December 2011 and returned to Sydney to finish out the season.

The Kings fared better in their second year back in the NBL, beginning the season by winning half their games each month for the first three months. This saw the Kings jostling between fifth and sixth position, vying for a playoff spot, and having equalled their win from last season by round 14.

It was around this time Aaron Bruce (13.9 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 4.4 assists) suffered a vertical fracture to his tibia which ended his season and created a huge void within the team’s backcourt. With Bruce going down, the team managed only three additional wins for the year, resulting in Robilliard being moved into a executive role and replaced by Tim Hudson as interim head coach until the Kings came to term with club legend Shane Heal who agreed to coach the team on a multi-year deal.

Sydney finished in seventh place (11-17).

Julian Khazzouh (16.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 2.1 blocks) would lead the team in scoring as well as finish the season as the NBL’s leader in rebounds and blocked shots before being named to the All-NBL First team. Jerai Grant (11.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 1.4 blocks) would have a inconsistent season, winning Player of the Week in some rounds and then disappearing totally in others and Anatoly Bose (15.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.5 assists) was impressive in his debut season, earning the Rookie of the Year award. Khazzouh would appear in 26 games and averaged 16.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game.

2015/16
After finishing seventh with a 9-19 record in 2014/15 after a season-ending injury to Josh Childress derailed its campaign, Sydney retained Damian Cotter as head coach. Ben Madgen (to Belgium), Cody Ellis (to Illawarra), Kevin White (to Illawarra), Kendrick Perry (free agent), Josh Duinker (free agent) and Daniel Joyce (free agent) departed, while Childress re-signed and Jason Cadee, captain Tom Garlepp and reigning Rookie of the Year Angus Brandt returned. Steven Markovic (via Townsville), Rhys Carter (via New Zealand), Jeromie Hill (via UTSA), Dion Prewster (via Wellington) and Marcus Thornton (via William & Mary) were added, while the Kings also brought their former centre back from Sagesse after three seasons playing in Lebanon.

Sydney announced the return on June 11, bringing back one of the league’s premier big men to address the interior defence and rebounding problems which had hurt the Kings the previous season. “I always said once my time overseas came to an end, I would only play for Sydney,” he said.

Khazzouh’s best game came in Sydney’s season opener against Cairns at Qantas Credit Union Arena on October 10, where Khazzouh (22 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 5 blocks) made 9-of-14 field goals and helped the Kings defeat the Taipans 87-63. Cadee (19 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals) and Garlepp (8 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists) provided support, while Mark Worthington (13 points) was Cairns’ leading scorer. Veteran commentator Andrew Voss called the returning centre “world class” following the performance and gave him the nickname “The Octopus” because of his ability to protect the paint.

Khazzouh (13.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks across 17 games) started all 17 of his appearances and did not miss a game before suffering a season-ending injury in December. His strong start saw him ranked fifth on Fox Sports’ first NBL MVP Ladder in early November after averaging 17.4 points, 7.9 rebounds and a league-leading 2.1 blocks through the opening weeks. He remained among the MVP leaders during November, with Fox Sports describing him as Sydney’s most influential player before the Kings’ continued struggles and his own quieter performances saw him fall to ninth later in the month.

Development player Jayden Hodgson (via Centre of Excellence) joined Sydney on October 15 after impressing Cotter while training with the Kings during the school holidays, with the arrangement allowing him to retain his amateur status while considering college opportunities. Childress (21 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and 1.7 blocks across 13 games) missed Sydney’s first four games with a foot injury before returning against Adelaide on October 23 and breaking his right hand. Al Harrington (17.7 points and 6.8 rebounds across 6 games; via Fujian) came out of retirement as Childress’ short-term injury replacement after being personally contacted by his former Atlanta Hawks teammate. Harrington’s six-game stint ended when Childress returned in late November, with NBL import restrictions preventing Harrington, Childress and Thornton from all remaining active together.

Khazzouh (22 points, 9 rebounds, 1 steal, and 6 blocks) produced another dominant performance against Townsville at Qantas Credit Union Arena on October 30, making 10-of-13 field goals and recording a season-high six blocks as Sydney ended a four-game losing streak with an 87-78 victory. Thornton (14 points and 4 assists) and Cadee (12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals) provided support, while Jordair Jett (22 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals) led Townsville.

Sydney remained last at 3-9 and released Cotter on November 28, with former Washington Wizards assistant Joe Connelly appointed interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Childress then fractured his left hand against Cairns on December 4 in only his second game back from the previous injury, leading Sydney to sign Damion James (7 points and 7.8 rebounds across 5 games; via Le Mans) as another injury replacement. James played five games before his stint ended on December 29 when Childress was reactivated.

The Kings were preparing to leave the Sydney Entertainment Centre during December after calling the venue home for 25 years, with the returning centre describing the occasion as “a little bit bittersweet” and saying, “I think we owe it to the fans, I think we owe it to ourselves.” Sydney was unable to deliver a final victory at the venue, losing to Perth 87-69 on December 13.

Five days later, Khazzouh (6 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal) fell awkwardly midway through the second quarter against Illawarra at the WIN Entertainment Centre and was left on the court in tears before being helped from the floor. Garlepp (15 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists) and Thornton (15 points and 1 steal) led Sydney after his departure, while Kevin Lisch (23 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals) led Illawarra to a 102-83 victory. Scans later confirmed a ruptured right quadriceps tendon which required surgery and ruled him out for the remainder of the season, costing him Sydney’s final 11 games and leaving the Kings at 4-13. The injury ultimately prevented him from playing another NBL game.

Sydney’s injury problems became so severe that assistant coach Ben Knight (0.5 points across 4 games; via North Sydney) came out of NBL retirement to provide emergency frontcourt cover following the injury and reached his 400th NBL appearance. Craig Moller (training squad) joined Sydney in early January and trialled alongside Jordan Vandenberg for the vacant frontcourt position, with Moller remaining as a full-time training player after Vandenberg (3.1 points across 8 games; via Westchester) was signed on January 7 as the injury replacement for the remainder of the season. Markovic (3 points across 7 games) underwent surgery to remove his tonsils in December and Sydney believed there was insufficient time for him to regain full fitness, leading to Indiana Faithfull (2.6 points across 7 games; via West Liberty) being signed as his replacement. Hill (4.1 points across 23 games) later tore the lateral meniscus in his right knee during practice and missed the final three games.

Cadee (14 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.5 assists across 28 games) developed into Sydney’s leading full-season scorer, while Garlepp (13.9 points and 4.2 rebounds across 27 games) produced the highest-scoring season of his career and was named the Kings’ Club Most Valuable Player. Thornton (12.8 points across 28 games), Brandt (8.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks across 28 games) and Carter (5.6 points across 28 games) provided the other major contributions. Cadee received the Members’ Most Valuable Player and Community awards, Brandt received the Mike Wrublewski Most Inspirational Player award and later earned selection in Australia’s extended Boomers squad, Prewster (3.5 points across 28 games) was named Defensive Player of the Year and Knight received the Laurie Watterson Clubman of the Year award.

Still sidelined following surgery, Sydney finished its season in Townsville on February 13, where Cadee (32 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, and 1 steal) and Childress (31 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 blocks) helped the Kings force overtime, while Omar Samhan (25 points and 13 rebounds) led the Crocodiles to a 126-123 victory after the scores were tied 109-109 at the end of regulation, leaving Sydney last with a 6-22 record.

2016/17
Khazzouh entered 2016 with full intentions to play with the Kings but shortly after the season began, it became clear that tje quadriceps injury from last season would keep Khazzouh off the court for the team’s entire 2016/17 campaign.

Sydney finished in seventh place (13-15) and missed the playoffs in disappointing fashion, and the decision was made by the Kings to move on from Khazzouh due uncertainty around his health.

Julian Khazzouh played seven seasons across three NBL teams. This included the West Sydney Razorbacks, Sydney Spirit and Sydney Kings. He averaged 13.3 points, 8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 146 NBL games.

CAREER RANKINGS:
– 45th in total blocks
– 45th in blocks per game.