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Washington Wizards to sign 6-foot-8 Australian National Basketball League MVP Xavier Cooks from Sydney Kings
The Washington Wizards are signing National Basketball League MVP and Sydney Kings forward Xavier Cooks to a two-year deal, according to his agent Daniel Moldovan of Octagon Sports.
Cooks will join the Wizards as soon as Sydney is finished competing in the NBL finals this week. He will be the fifth player in five years from the organization to the NBA.
The 6-foot-8 Australian is well regarded as a versatile defender with excellent switching ability and top of the line passing skills.
Through 26 games he averaged 16.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 4.2 assists, while also shooting a career-best 59.6% from the field. He received 120 votes in the MVP race to beat out the runner-up Bryce Cotton by almost 30 votes.
He was also named Finals MVP of the 2021-2022 NBL Finals.
The Washington Wizards are set to sign National Basketball League MVP Xavier Cooks
Cooks has averaged 16.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 4.2 assists for the Sydney Kings
He originally went undrafted out of college after a stellar career at Winthrop University, and has turned into one of the NBL’s best player development stories.
The Kings’ front office includes former Memphis Grizzlies executive Chris Pongrass along with former NBA players Andrew Bogut and Luc Longley.
The trio have long wanted to turn the franchise into a springboard for players to be able to make the leap from the NBL to the NBA.
Former University of Kansas star Chase Buford is also the coach of the Kings and has oversaw Cooks development.
Buford spent also time as head coach of the NBA G League’s Wisconsin Herd where he won G League coach of the year during his one season with the team.
The Wizards are currently 10th in the NBA Eastern Conference with a record of 30-33.
Seeing as though Washington is barely hanging on to the final play-in spot in the conference they are hoping Cooks can provide a much-needed boost to ensure they can make the postseason.
Cooks poses with the 2023 NBL Championship trophy during a media event on March 2nd
