BIO: Klairus Amir was born in Sydney, where he began playing basketball as a junior with the Hills Districts basketball program.

Amir moved to the US to play his high school basketball in the US at Dream City Christian School in Glendale, Arizona, and spent the end of April on the Nike EYBL circuit. Earlier in 2023. Amir was among those selected to take part in the Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Global camp at the NBA All-Star Weekend in Salt Lake City, Utah.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Klairus Amir made his NBL debut with the Sydney Kings at 18 years of age. He scored two points in his first game.

At only 18 years old, Amir signed a three-year deal with the Sydney Kings, making history as the youngest local player to ever sign a multi-year deal with the club. At the time of signing with the Kings, Amir was a four-star U.S. high school recruit. His three-year deal will seen him be a development player for the first two years of the deal, before being elevated to a roster spot for the 2025-26 NBL season.

During Amir’s first season, 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.

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. Amir saw court time in only five games as a rookie, failing to score a basket.

Klairus Amir played one season in the NBL.

Dan Boyce (829 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.