When Kendric Davis arrived at the Saint Mary's practice gym in Moraga, California for a workout in the offseason, he witnessed a wholly unsurprising sight.
It was his new Sydney Kings teammate Matthew Dellavedova, already in a full sweat at his alma mater, before anyone else had even thought about arriving for the day's session.
"I get in there, and he's already stretching, warmed up," Davis told ESPN. "Okay, I know how this s--- finna go."
The concept of Dellavedova possessing world class work ethic is widely known, and this instance is unsurprising to those who've followed his journey, but that moment was more a microcosm of what the Kings' season will be built on. It was a wildly talented but young professional in Davis seeing, in person, what it takes to achieve success at the highest level; learning from an Australian basketball legend in Dellavedova, whose unlikely rise to an NBA Championship was paved through an unrivalled perseverance.
"I tell him all the time: I learn from him without him saying nothing," Davis said. "It's been great. I watch everything he does, off the court too. What everybody says, he's lived up to it.
"Just to see how prepared and serious he was... this is what I need."
It was late June when Dellavedova and Davis -- as well as fellow Kings teammate Xavier Cooks -- got together to work out at Saint Mary's' campus, which is about a 30-minute drive east of San Francisco. The trio make up a talented 'Big Three' for the Kings heading into the 2025-26 NBL season, and have an understanding that how effective they are as teammates will play a vital role in the team's success.
"The main thing was just to spend time together, work on those bonds, work on those connections, have some of those conversations that are tough, on what it's gonna take to win a championship," Cooks told ESPN on his time in California with his two new teammates.
"Then, working to figure out each other's game styles and our preferences, where we like to have the ball in different spots, things like that... Figuring out what Delly likes to do when he goes right, goes left off screens, or how KD likes to score. With our team, trying to figure out how to play off the ball with each other. We have a lot of ball-carrying guards, and myself, so just trying to figure that out."
The week together was an opportunity for all three to take part in workouts, create social bonds, and set expectations.
Davis recalls one of the first conversations he had with Dellavedova, where the Australian offered him an unambiguous sentiment: "Hey, look, no bull crap. Follow me and you're gonna be fine."
Davis responded: "You got it. Yes, sir."
There was a barbeque at Dellavedova's place, where Davis got an even clearer vision of how far his new teammate's philosophy toward taking care of his body stretches.
"I get to his house the first day, and his son is eating a full steak with his hands, no teeth," Davis said. "Just a bunch of Hulk Hogans running around; I'm like, oh lord. My son just wants candy all day, his son's eating steak; I'm in trouble."
Dellavedova's penchant for things like steak, oysters, Bitcoin, and grounding -- to name just a few things the four-time Olympian is deeply passionate about -- are elements of his life he's eager to share. When Davis first signed with the Kings in the offseason, Dellavedova shared "a 20-page bitcoin article first, and then five film videos of what he likes: Kyrie [Irving], Jordan Clarkson," the American guard said. Dellavedova was a big proponent for signing Davis; on one hand, because of the opportunity to play alongside one of the NBL's premier talents, but also to play a role in helping the 26-year-old's career.
And, from all indications thus far, Davis has been equally eager to be a sponge for those messages.
"It's nice to hear," Dellavedova told ESPN of Davis embracing the opportunity to learn from him.
"I'm always looking for ways to improve, and continually adding things. I looked up to other guys when I was younger and tried to absorb how other guys took care of their bodies. KD's been showing me a few tricks as well: off the dribble moves. It goes both ways.
"He had an unbelievable season last season. I think, almost the humbleness to know that, to achieve his goals, he's got to get better and show what he can do in some other areas. I'm here to help in whatever way I can, because I want him to reach his goals of having a long career in the NBA.
"I know if we have a successful season in Sydney, he's gonna be able to go and do that. Part of how I'm gonna grade the season is: have I helped him achieve his goals as well?"
It was very early in the offseason when the Kings swooped on arguably the two best point guards on the market. Dellavedova was the first to sign, with the one-time NBA champion reuniting with former Australian Boomers head coach Brian Goorjian in Sydney, giving the Kings its new floor general for the next three seasons. The plan was always to sign a dynamic scoring guard next to Dellavedova, and it didn't take long for the Kings to zone in on Davis, who averaged 25.6 points and 7.8 assists per game last season for the Adelaide 36ers.
So, all of a sudden, the Kings went from having a dearth of traditional ball-carrying to signing the top-two leading assist men in the NBL. And while there'll be a focus on how much of an influence Dellavedova will have on Davis' growth as a professional, the backcourt partnership has the potential to be as mutually beneficial as they come.
"Delly needs Kendric, and Kendric needs Delly," Goorjian told ESPN.
"Delly's not the kind of guy that's gonna score 40 points; he's gonna do what Delly does. Kendric can cover Delly and be that guy that scores the ball.
"In the little bit they've played together and the little bit of practice we've had... was energised by those two as a combo defensively. Adding the guys behind them, I know what they do. When you talk about backcourts in the league, and the strength -- and I think it's amazing this year in the league -- if you add the defensive aspect to it, wherever you had those two, it climbs. I just think they take it very seriously and they're pretty good at that end of the floor."
The pairing is fascinating, because Dellavedova and Davis both excel with the ball in their hands. How will two ball-dominant guards be optimised playing alongside each other? Davis is an elite scorer at the NBL level, but he's not someone who traditionally does it off the ball, which is why developing chemistry as early as possible was a priority for both players.
In the short time they've spent together -- both in California during the offseason, and over the preseason in Sydney -- Dellavedova has been impressed with how Davis has approached the partnership.
"He's an extremely willing passer, and he sees the game really well," Dellavedova said of Davis.
"For such an explosive scorer and, obviously he's at the top of the scouting report when you play him last season; getting to play with him, seeing his feel for the game, we already have built a good connection on the court in such a short amount of time, just from talking about the game.
"We both bring different strengths to the game that complement each other really well."
Dellavedova, Davis, and Cooks are the heads of a snake for a Kings team that, once again, has real potential to compete for a title. A revitalised Jaylin Galloway comes back into the fold after missing the majority of last season with a shoulder injury, while the Kings brought in import centre Tim Soares, recreating the frontcourt with Cooks that helped the team win the 2023 title.
Throw in what the Kings are hoping to be a bounce-back season from Bul Kuol, the reigning Sixth Man of the Year in Kouat Noi, and returning players in Shaun Bruce, Makuach Maluach, and Tyler Robertson, and it's a roster that has a good mixture of top-end talent, wing depth, and defensive potential to make some noise this NBL season.
Then, there's the understated element of the Kings, which is the Boomers flavour on the roster. It naturally begins with bronze medallists in Goorjian and Dellavedova, then stretches to new assistant coach Andrew Bogut, as well as Cooks and Galloway, both of whom are coming off impressive showings for the Australian national team at the FIBA Asia Cup.
Can these Kings bring components of the Boomers' culture to how they operate over an NBL season?
"That was the first thing me and Jaylin talked about on the bus after we won the gold medal," Cooks said.
"If we can play to this level of intensity, and this togetherness, and this bond, we'd be untouchable in the NBL with our talent level. That Boomers connection is very hard to replicate for a whole season, but we're gonna try."
So, with the talent level of the roster, which has players and coaches who've been primary pieces in winning at the NBL, NBA, and Olympic level, the expectations are naturally high. The Kings aren't perfect -- no team is -- but the group wouldn't want those expectations to be anything but being among the favourites to win the franchise's third title in five years.
The depth, coaching, and a talented local contingent lift the floor of the team, but how the star trio of Dellavedova, Davis, and Cooks mesh will determine its ceiling.
That's why Davis has one marker of success for his season in Sydney.
"Winning a championship," Davis said.
"I hate when people try to judge you off numbers, because numbers can lie to you. You can average 30 on a bad team... and the way you got them... for us, for me, taking that next step is continuing to cement dominance, but through winning at a high level. Like, 'they won big'. Kendrick Nunn, for example, he's putting up numbers but he won a championship in the EuroLeague, that's huge.
"It's not about averaging more than what I averaged last year; I can average five points less, holding up a championship, and that's a huge success... Everyone eats, not just me. You might see JG get another two-way, X might get another contract. That's success for me: winning at a high level, a championship. I know coach has a bad taste in his mouth from last year, too, so making him happy, making the front office happy.
"That would be success for me; everybody reaching their goals."