The coach who left Sydney heartbroken returned to chase the ultimate redemption story<\/p>\n
Brian Goorjian wouldn\u2019t be coaching the Sydney Kings<\/a> without Luc Longley <\/a>\u2013 a seed first planted over a game of backgammon in China 10 years ago, writes Matt Logue from CODE\u00a0Sports Basketball<\/a>.<\/p>\n As Goorjian prepares to win a seventh NBL ring on Sunday, he revealed the role Longley played in luring him back to the Kings after a 16-year hiatus. <\/p>\n The year was 2016 and \u2018Goorj\u2019 was coaching in Guangzhou when he caught up with members of an All-Australian NBL team touring China. Longley was an assistant coach under Andrej Lemanis and the former NBA big man went out of his way to connect with Goorjian. <\/p>\n The pair built a bond over late night games of backgammon, before the legendary Chicago Bull made an off the cuff comment about \u2018Goorj\u2019 finishing his career with the Kings.<\/p>\n \u201cBut at the time Sydney wasn\u2019t on my radar and I wasn\u2019t thinking about that at all,\u201d Goorjian reflected.<\/p>\n Goorjian kept in contact with Longley when he got the Boomers job in 2020, and later when he returned to the NBL with the Illawarra Hawks.<\/p>\n Flash forward to early 2024 and Goorjian had multiple opportunities in the background prior to the Paris Olympics with the Boomers, including Adelaide, the Phoenix and a potential future coaching gig at a new Newcastle franchise.<\/p>\n But when Longley came calling one random night while Goorjian was sitting on the couch with his wife Amanda, he felt compelled to accept his offer.<\/p>\n \u201cYou get to that age where you have a feeling and what was out there I didn\u2019t really have any energy towards,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut when Luc called about the opportunity of going back to the Kings, I was like, \u2018wow\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d remembered Luc\u2019s initial comment about finishing my career with Sydney all those years ago and it really hit me.<\/p>\n \u201cHe said, \u2018remember we talked about you coming back to the Kings\u2019 and I was going to come and knock on your door.<\/p>\n \u201cLuc then asked if I could talk to owner Robyn (Denholm) and once I got on the phone to Robyn and saw her vision around community and growing the brand, it just felt like the right decision.\u201d<\/p>\n