King Spurgin making up for lost time at Sharks

Featured image: @larasullivanphotography

A serious foot injury derailed Jason Spurgin's NBL26 before it started but he still was part of the Sydney Kings championship, continued to develop with help of Andrew Bogut and Luc Longley, and now his immediate focus is an NBL1 East title with Sutherland Sharks.

On the back of a strong NBL1 East in 2025 with the Sharks on a team that reached a preliminary final, Spurgin looked set to build on his rookie NBL season with a bigger role at the Kings in NBL26.

However, a foot injury that required surgery soon ended those hopes and it wasn’t until Game 1 of the Championship Series against the Adelaide 36ers that Spurgin made it out onto an NBL floor.

He had an immediate impact too to the delight of his teammates and then went on to celebrate the championship triumph and is now making up for lost time this NBL1 East with the Sharks who are entering the finals as the hottest team in the competition.

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Spurgin has now played 14 of the 20 games this season with the Sharks with the 24-year-old emerging centre showing that his game did continue to grow even while injured most of the season at the Kings.

He is delivering 18.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists a game with Sutherland on shooting 56 per cent from the field including 40 per cent from the outside and 71 per cent at the free-throw line.

That included hitting the game winner last Saturday night to close the regular season with the 63-62 win at home over the Norths Bears.

"It is always good to end the season on a win against a top team like the Bears," Spurgin said.

"I think it just shows to us as a group we can hang and compete with great teams and it gives us a lot of confidence going into finals."

Feeling heading into the finals

That result saw the Sharks finish the season with nine straight wins in third place at 14-6 with Spurgin and the rest of his team including Kings championship teammate Tyler Robertson rightfully feeling good about themselves.

They now take on Norths once again this Saturday night in a qualifying final at North Sydney Indoor Sports Centre.

Even though they have beaten the other top six teams Canberra, Centre of Excellence, Manly Warringah, Illawarra and the Bears to close the season, Spurgin knows nothing stays the same come finals time.

"Yeah obviously it's no secret we have been playing well leading into finals but you know finals is a whole new beast," Spurgin said.

"So I think the teams ready to tackle the challenge and continue to build on previous weeks performances."

Another battle with ex-Kings teammate

One player that Spurgin also enjoyed an NBL championship with at the Kings was Hunter Goodrick, but they once again turn rivals on Saturday night with Goodrick back playing with the Bears in the back end of the NBL1 East season.

They will also be rivals for NBL27 with Goodrick having now joined the South East Melbourne Phoenix, but Spurgin still has nothing but good things to say about him.

"Yeah Goodie was great to have with us last year sad to see him go to another team," Spurgin said.

"But no he's a great guy and one of a kind competitor so I know he wants to win as much as I do and I think that brings the best out of us both so I'm definitely excited to match up against him."

Playing alongside a Kings teammate with Sharks

Another of those Kings NBL championship teammates who Spurgin is also playing alongside with Sutherland is Tyler Robertson.

While he had become an important part of the Sydney back court throughout NBL27, he injured a shoulder to start the playoffs against the Perth Wildcats and wasn’t able to get back during the Championship Series.

He still got his ring, though, and had played a significant part in the Kings getting there and now Spurgin is also loving playing alongside him as they attempt to do something special with the Sharks together.

"Yeah was a real shame I wasn't able to share the court with Robbo during the season last year," Spurgin said.

"But he's been amazing for the team since he's been back and really has become a part of the team and helped to get us where we are now."

Wanting to make up for lost time

The foot injury suffered on the eve of the NBL season last year that required surgery wasn’t what Spurgin was hoping for obviously and it was frustrating to be sidelined for so long.

At the same time, he can't fault the help and support in his rehabilitation he received at the Kings and now can't wait to get stuck into pre-season training at the Kings again.

And with plenty of that championship team locked in to return including Kendric Davis, Matthew Dellavedova, Makuach Maluach, Torrey Craig, Xavier Cooks and Robertson along with the return from injury of Keli Leaupepe, and Spurgin is already excited for NBL27.

"Yeah looking to build off this NBL1 season into preseason and then to the season this year, we have an exciting group and I'm looking forward to see how we go," Spurgin said.

"It was a long time away from the court with my injury something that I have never really had before but the teams ready was nothing but supportive of me during the time.

"They made sure to check in on me and always made sure I was good and to then finally score my first points in the finals it was an amazing feeling."

Working with Australian basketball royalty

While it was frustrating for Spurgin to be sidelined as long as he was during NBL26, it was impossible for him to not continue to grow as a big man with who he got to spend so much time around with the Kings.

When he has Andrew Bogut as his assistant coach and getting to work with him day in and day out, and then having Luc Longley around to help out as often as possible too, and he couldn’t possibly be anywhere better to keep developing as a five man.

"Yeah Bogues has had a huge impact on me, helping me from things on the court to making sure I stay focused on what needs to be done while I'm hurt to make sure when I'm back I am healthy and ready to go," Spurgin said.

"He has really been amazing so far and I know there is a lot more to learn from him.

"Luc also has been nothing but good to me always checking in and making sure I am good, and he is one to make sure if I ever need anything I just need to give him a call.

"It been amazing to know that two legends of the game are just one phone call away and I am pretty grateful for that."