"Fireworks" expected for Vasiljevic v Kings

Dejan Vasiljevic will face his former side the Sydney Kings for the first time on Thursday night, and NBL analyst Damon Lowery says things may get heated between the two. 

“I’m expecting fireworks out of DJ,” Lowery said on NBL Now.

Vasiljevic returned to the NBL in October to play for the 36ers, but made it clear he was unimpressed with the way the Kings handled his move.

Sydney held Vasiljevic's rights of first refusal when he decided to return from the USA after chasing his NBA dream. While the Kings let Vasiljevic go to the Sixers, Sydney CEO Chris Pongrass said in a statement at the time, "we are disappointed with how this has been handled and another NBL team's role in this process".

Vasiljevic was quick to hit back at his former club, saying "they made me look like a villain". He would later tell Newscorp, "I wanted to have a good personal relationship with Sydney...I want to get to the semis and beat these guys".

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Lowery expects all that emotion to make a major impact in Thursday night's clash. 

“I think that DJ hates their guts, their basketball guts. DJ probably felt they wronged him, the whole offseason thing,” Lowery said.

“There’s been some words exchanged previously by Kings management.

“DJ will love nothing more, I wish this game was in Sydney to be honest, but he’s going to have to do it in Adelaide, and Scott Ninnis has to let him loose.

“[DJ] he’s been playing with that chip on his shoulder ever since he got into the league, this is who this guy is.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">36ers take down the ladder-leaders ?<br>Is United’s recent form a concern? ?<br>Who is the front-runner for Coach of the Year? ?<a href="https://twitter.com/DamonLowery8?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DamonLowery8</a> joined <a href="https://twitter.com/joelbpeterson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@joelbpeterson</a> to discuss all the latest news on today’s episode of NBL Now ??<a href="https://t.co/CB6z7bX86l">https://t.co/CB6z7bX86l</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1744490267183591638?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

With that chip on his shoulder, the two-time NBL champion quickly fitted into Adelaide’s system as he became their go-to man.

Vasiljevic has been the leading scorer for the 36ers, and in his most recent outing against ladder leaders Melbourne United, he scored 30 points in a massive win.

Vasiljevic and the Sixers will face the Kings on Thursday night at 7:30pm AEDT, live on ESPN via Kayo.