Sydney Kings reward gifted forward who rattled the Illawarra’s cages with a standout effort against the Hawks’ NBA veteran

Goodrick – who stands at 6’7 – excelled taking on McGee despite the Hawks expressing concern over alleged illegal tactics.

Illawarra coach Justin Tatum alleged Sydney players went at McGee’s legs with questionable off-the-ball tactics – a claim strongly denied by the Kings.

Goodrick, 25, had been playing NBL1 for the Norths Bears following a US college stint with California Baptist University.

He joins the Kings as a Nominated Replacement Player and is expected to provide much needed big man depth following season-ending injuries to Keli Leaupepe (ACL) and Jason Spurgin (foot).

Sydney head into NBL26 as one of the championship favourites, but injuries have already impacted the team’s depth heading into the season.

It’s understood Kings officials will continue to search for another big man – ultimately a third import - on top of securing Goodrick as a rostered player.

It comes as Sydney will unleash a full-strength line-up for Sunday’s blockbuster clash against EuroLeague giants Partizan in a bid to finetune for one of the toughest NBL seasons in history.

Kings coach Brian Goorjian confirmed all players will suit up versus the Serbian heavyweights, including star signing Kendric Davis who sat out pre-season games with groin soreness.

Goorjian is determined to use the Partizan clash as preparation for an NBL season that he is expecting to be as close and competitive as ever before.

“You want to play against the best and make adjustments before the season starts,” Goorjian said.

“This game against (Partizan) is going to be a really tough game and I believe these EuroLeague games are a very good formula, in terms of preparation.

“We play the best and then have a week off before the first game against Cairns at home.”

Sydney has long been the Kings of basketball in the Harbour City as the NBL’s only franchise in the market.

The club is one of the league’s big city marquee teams whose expectation is to add to the five championships already in the trophy cabinet.

On Sunday at Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney face an enormous test against one of the strongest teams in world basketball.

Partizan is a proud Serbian club located in Belgrade and founded in 1945.

In an 80-year span Partizan has won a remarkable 51 trophies and is the holder of 22 national champion titles.

The team budget for last season was over $41 million – a record for the club.

Sydney’s roster – based on player salaries – had a cash spend of approximately $3.48 million – the second highest in the NBL for the 2024/25 season.

The Kings can’t rival Partizan’s big dollars, but coach Goorjian knows effort and smarts will go a long way to helping his team compete.