{"id":427220,"date":"2026-01-21T07:13:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T07:13:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/427220\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T07:13:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T07:13:14","slug":"torrey-craig-returns-to-nbl-with-sydney-kings-after-eight-year-nba-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/427220\/","title":{"rendered":"Torrey Craig returns to NBL with Sydney Kings after eight-year NBA career"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been 3,267 days since Torrey Craig last stepped onto an NBL court. <\/p>\n

His final game before the long hiatus came against the Illawarra Hawks, where he delivered an impressive 30 points and 18 rebounds. Now, at 35 years old, Craig has returned to the league, signing with the Sydney Kings.<\/p>\n

Watch live coverage of NBL and WNBL 2025-26 seasons with ESPN on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n

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Craig began his professional career in the NBL, spending his first three seasons in Australia with the Cairns Taipans for two years before joining the Brisbane Bullets ahead of the 2016\u201317 season. <\/p>\n

Over 88 games in the league, he earned the NBL Defensive Player of the Year Award with Brisbane that season. Since then, Craig enjoyed a successful NBA career, appearing in over 500 games across multiple teams, including the Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns, Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls, and Boston Celtics.<\/p>\n

During his press conference unveiling with the Kings on Tuesday, Craig reflected on returning to the league that helped launch his career.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was talking to my family and friends about it. It\u2019s just crazy how it all started here. It is definitely a full-circle moment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels good. I have seen a couple of familiar faces. Back to a league where it kind of all started for me. So it\u2019s exciting. I\u2019m just happy to be back here and contribute to the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of those familiar faces is teammate Shaun Bruce, with whom Craig played at both Cairns and Brisbane a decade ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know Shaun Bruce, we played together in Cairns and Brisbane. So he follows me everywhere I go. It\u2019s been good catching up with him and seeing his little one and his wife,\u201d Craig said.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Championship favourites face reality check; dark horse suffers brutal blow: NBL Run Home<\/a><\/p>\n

Shaun Bruce and Torrey Craig with the Brisbane Bullets in 2016.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n

Craig, who has not played professionally since departing the Boston Celtics, shared insight into his decision to return and how other NBL teams approached him during the pre-season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t sure what I wanted to do because I had turned down a lot of other teams,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cPrior to the season\u2026 Europe, a couple of teams in the NBL, and when this opportunity came, I thought about it for a few days with my agent and my friends and it kind of made sense.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy not? Good group of guys, great coach, a great team, great organisation. I figured it was a good opportunity to come and try to help this team win the championship.\u201d<\/p>\n

With over a decade of experience in one of the best leagues in the world, Craig emphasised the leadership he brings to the Kings and his commitment to helping the team chase a title.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the leadership I bring to a team and leading by example. I\u2019ve been doing that my whole career, especially in the NBA. I\u2019ll bring that here for the guys, share my experience, and try to win a championship,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever they need me to do, I\u2019m a guy you can plug in anywhere, and I\u2019ll do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE: 7\u20196 Aussie phenom Jongkuch Mach is taller than NBA freak Victor Wembanyama. He is facing a $1m decision<\/a><\/p>\n

Head Coach Brian Goorjian revealed that Craig\u2019s signing came while searching for a replacement for injured star Bul Kuol.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe needed another player down this back stretch of the season to help us get where we want to go,\u201d Goorjian said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Torrey\u2019s name came up, it was really exciting. He\u2019s played in Australia before, is very respected here, won Defensive Player of the Year, and has done a tremendous job in the NBA. He can do multiple things on the court, play multiple positions, and has fit in perfectly since his arrival. It was a no-brainer, and I\u2019m excited to have him here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Craig is set to make his debut off the bench for the Kings during their Round 18 clash with Tasmania tomorrow night at Qudos Bank Arena, tipping off at 7:30pm AEDT.<\/p>\n

Brian Goorjian at the press conference debuting Torrey CraigSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s been 3,267 days since Torrey Craig last stepped onto an NBL court. His final game before the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":427221,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85],"class_list":["post-427220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=427220"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427220\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/427221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=427220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=427220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=427220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}