BIO: Justin Simon was born in Temecula, California (USA)

NBL EXPERIENCE

Justin Simon made his NBL debut with the Illawarra Hawks at 24 years of age. He scored 13 points in his first game.

In April 2020, the Hawks’ season began with the team falling into voluntary administration, with creditors voting to liquidate the Hawks one month later. The NBL, however, vowed to keep the club alive, and on 17 June 2020, the NBL announced that Dorry Kordahi, Bryan Colangelo and Michael Proctor had been awarded the license for the club.

Under the agreement with the new ownership, the team has renamed The Hawks in a effort to broaden the team’s appeal in New South Wales and shortly after, it was announced the team had added Brian Goorjian as its head coach.

With all players having to renew their contracts with the new ownership, Sam Froling and Emmett Naar were the only players from the previous season’s full-time roster to return as the new ownership looked to build a almost entirely new roster. This began with the signing of Deng Adel, who had just finished a short stint with the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks and Cam Bairstow, who had just returned to Australia after spending a season in Lithuania which was cut short due to COVID-19, who were both part of the Australian Boomers national squad. Justinian Jessup, who had signed a Next Star deal with the NBL, was also added to the roster and was placed in Illawarra on a two-year contract, while imports Tyler Harvey and Simon were also brought in to be the focal points of the team’s offence and defence respectively.

The Hawk’s season began with plenty of off-court drama. First, it was the omission of AJ Ogilvy and Tim Coenraad, both fan-favourite players and key players from last season. As a result of injuries, both players were later added to the squad as injury replacements.

Next was the outpouring of fans calling for the return of ‘Illawarra’ to the team’s name, something which was front page news in Wollongong, clearly outweighing the Hawk’s 4-0 start to the season.

In early February, after a campaign by the new ownership group where more membership numbers and corporate support contributed, the NBL reinstated the Illawarra name ahead of the club’s first home game.

While the Hawks fought for, and retained their name, they faced several further challenges, the first being Bairstow, who after missing nine games with a minor hip issue was ruled out for the rest of the season and Daniel Grida. Add to that the struggles of Adel (5.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2 assists), who was never able to make a impact in the NBL, requested a release from his contract mid-way through the season, in a attempt to prevent any harm to his future NBA chances.

From round 16, the Hawks took flight and won eight of their last 10 matches to cement a spot in the finals, qualifying for the postseason for the first time since 2017.

Scoring didn’t come easy to the Hawks, who fell from averaging 90.5 over the first 10 games to finishing with the league’s lowest points average in the league with 81.5. Only four Hawks players averaged points in the double-digits, Tyler Harvey (20 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.4 steals), Justinian Jessup (13.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.2 steals), Cam Bairstow (11.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.2 assists) and Sam Froling (11.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks). The Hawks also had the worst field goal percentage of the league, sitting at 42.5 percent on the season (47.8 percent from the two-point range and 33.2 percent from deep). Illawarra’s free throw shooting also came in at 69.4 percent.

Simon was a defensive force in his debut NBL season with the Hawks, leading the league in steals and winning the 2021 Best Defensive Player award. He finished the season averaging 8.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.8 steals across 39 games, showcasing his talents in back-to-back games during round one where he put up 23 points, 20 rebounds, and eight assists combined against Brisbane and Cairns.

Despite the challenges, Illawarra didn’t fall below fifth place for the entire season and eventually finished third (20-16).

The club powered through and made their first finals series in four years, a semifinals series against defending champions Perth. In four regular-season meetings against the Wildcats this season, the Hawks won one game – in Round 21 by two points. Otherwise, it was double-digit margins the way of Perth. Illawarra took Game 1 of the series by two points again, but unfortunately for the club, it would lose Game 2 and 3, each by eight-point margins, to end their playoff campaign.

SYDNEY KINGS
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, who was brought in to replace the scoring of Jaylen Adam, signed a one-year deal, while Simon and sharp shooting big man Tim Soares were added. 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.

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.

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 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.

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.

Simon would finish the season averaging 10.6 points, 5 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.5 steals per game.

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. Simon would record a double-double for Sydney with 19 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.

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.

Justin Simon's 6 steals in GF2 was 1 short of the NBL GF record set by Mark Leader in 1988.

Others to have 6 steals in a GF: Josh Magette (2022) – Mika Vukona (2012) – CJ Bruton (2005) – Derek Rucker (2002) – Willie Farley (2002) – Rob Rose (1994) #NBL23 pic.twitter.com/vApG2buHUa

— John Casey (@JohnCasey2880) March 5, 2023

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

Justin Simon played two seasons in the NBL, playing for both the Illawarra Hawks and the Sydney Kings. He averaged 9.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 74 NBL games.

Dan Boyce (815 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.