Last Wednesday, Jalyen Adams was named the most valuable player of Australia’s National Basketball League (NBL). As the starting point guard for the Sydney Kings he has been putting up twenty points a game while also averaging at least five assists and rebounds. The Kings will need Adams outstanding play to continue against Tasmania JackJumpers in the upcoming 2022 NBL Finals.
Before finding success in Australia, Adams first made a name for himself his senior year at St. Bonaventure. After playing some stellar seasons as an underclassmen, he dropped twenty points a game to earn himself a share of the Atlantic-10 Player of the Year. Despite his valuable offensive ability, he failed to get drafted in 2018 and signed with the Atlanta Hawks on a two-way contract.
Splitting time between the Hawks and their G-League affiliate, the Erie BayHawks, Adams struggled to find a rotation spot and was waived following the 2019 season. Upon being released had a stint with the Wisconsin Herd where he had a stellar season averaging twenty one points per game.
At the end of the G-League season, his play got the attention of the Portland Trailblazers who signed him as a replacement for Trevor Ariza in the 2020 Covid-19 restart. Unfortunately for Adams, he was not able to stay long on the roster and was cut after three games. Things continued to look bleak for his basketball season after he was signed then and waived quickly in 2021 by the Milwaukee Bucks.
After feeling like he was not getting the opportunities to display his skillset, he took a chance and signed with Sydney Kings in the fall of 2021. Upon arriving to Australia he told the media, “I’ve done a lot of watching and learning from other guys, but there’s only so much growth you could do just by watching if you don’t have the chance to really apply it.”
Earning a spot in the starting lineup, the 25-year-old experienced a setback caused by an ankle injury. Despite missing the first five games Sydney’s head coach, Chase Buford, felt that Adams was capable of being the league’s MVP in his first season.
“When he came down here we didn’t talk about it much, but I told him that’s what I expected of him, to come down here and be the MVP because that’s what I thought he was capable of,” Buford said.
Upon getting healthy, Adams took the league by storm becoming an offensive juggernaut. While he light up defenses with his elite scoring ability, he also led the league in assists en route to the Kings finishing the regular season with a 19-9 record.
Their record qualified them for the 2022 NBL playoffs which take the four best teams in the league to decide the champion. Entering as the 3rd seed Adams lived up to the hype he created playing stellar in the semifinal against the Illawarra Hawks. In the best of five series, he led the Kings in a two game sweep dropping thirty and twenty nine points in each game.
Kings assistant coach, Kevin Lisch, told the media he’s aware of Adams future saying, “In his short time here he’s already had that much of an impact.I want the best for him, but I want him back in Sydney for sure.”
Even if he comes up short in leading the Kings to their first title since 2005, Adams has definitely caught the eye of potential suitors once the season is over.
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