16

Aug

Breaking News

Two-time NBL champion Buford joins Nuggets

Written By

Peter Brown

basketball.com.au

Two-time NBL champion Buford joins Nuggets
Two-time NBL champion Buford joins Nuggets

Former Sydney Kings star Andrew Bogut celebrates with Kings head coach Chase Buford after winning game five of the NBL Grand Final series between Sydney Kings and New Zealand Breakers at Qudos Bank Arena on March 15, 2023 in Sydney. Photo: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

Back-to-back NBL championship coach Chase Buford joins Denver Nuggets as an assistant coach

The man now Sydney Kings assistant coach and FIBA Hall of Famer Andrew Bogut declared the Brisbane Bullets should go after before appointing Stu Lash head coach has signed with the NBA’s Denver Nuggets as an assistant coach.

Buford, just 36, led Bogut’s Sydney Kings to back-to-back NBL championships in 2022 and 2023 and was an assistant coach at his alma mater Kansas Jayhawks before agreeing to move to Colorado for the 2025-26 NBA season.

“We had a great run with Chase, probably, our best two years we've had in a long, long time,” Bogut wrote in an exclusive column for basketball.com.au on February 27, 2025.

“We won back-to-back championships, and we were hoping he’d return. It didn’t work out that way but if we can get him back in the NBL, I think it's a net positive for the NBL and I think Brisbane needs a strong personality.

“It would be a great get for the Bullets.”

Kings head coach Chase Buford celebrates after winning game five of the NBL Grand Final series between Sydney Kings and New Zealand Breakers at Qudos Bank Arena on March 15, 2023 in Sydney. Photo: Matt King/Getty Images

It’s unknown whether the Bullets tapped Buford before appointing Lash in early April 2025.

Bogut said Buford was a winner and had his own distinct style.

“Everyone's got a different opinion on his personality, some enjoyed his passion and at times over the top antics, some didn't,” Bogut revealed.

“I think it's a mix, obviously kicking LED signs and stuff is not ideal and that's where it goes too far but look, I'd always take the side of someone who's passionate and overly passionate and sometimes has to be reared back than someone who's not, right?

“He was passionate, yes, he overstepped the mark numerous times and I think he'd be the first one to tell you that. But he was worth the price of admission on coaching alone and just watching him on the sideline, right? He's passionate, he's engaged, he's in the refs, he's in the crowd.

“Maybe that’s what the Bullets need right now.”

Buford, who won a NCAA National Championship as a player with Kansas in 2008, joins a Nuggets team that has rebuilt itself and around the best player in the world Nikola Jokic during the 2025 NBA off-season.

Chase Buford, head coach of the Kings reacts during the round 11 NBL match between South East Melbourne Phoenix and Sydney Kings at Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Stadium on December 18, 2022 in Gippsland. Photo: Kelly Defina/Getty Images

Lash told basketball.com.au in an exclusive interview on August 2, 2025: “(The transition) has been great,” Lash said.

“There’s always a transitional period, and we don’t get started right away when a move like this happens… but I have been part of the club for a number of years now.

"So, it was like the relationships were already there.”

Lash had been part of the Bullets front office for the past several NBL seasons.

2025-26 Brisbane Bullets (Roster Complete)

Head Coach: Stu Lash

Potential Line-up

  1. PG: Jaylen Adams (IP) | Mitch Norton
  2. SG: Javon Freeman-Liberty | Taine Murray | Tristan Devers (DP)
  3. SF: Alex Ducas | Sam McDaniel | Jack Purchase
  4. PF: Casey Prather (IP) | Jacob Holt | Jensen Bradtke (DP)
  5. C: Tyrell Harrison | Tohni Smith-Miller | Callum Dalton (IRP)

IP: Import
DP: Development Player
IRP: Injury Replacement Player

Incoming Players

  • Callum Dalton (Injury replacement player)
  • Javon Freeman-Liberty (from Windy City Bulls)
  • Jaylen Adams (from Sydney Kings – Import)
  • Alex Ducas (from Oklahoma City Thunder – NBA)
  • Jack Purchase (from Melbourne Tigers - NBL1)
  • Taine Murray (from University of Virginia – NCAA)
  • Jacob Holt (from Sacramento State University – NCAA)
  • Jensen Bradtke (from University of Montana – NCAA)

Departed Players

  • Isaac White (to Adelaide 36ers)
  • James Batemon (to Hiopos Lleida – Spain)
  • Josh Bannan (to Tasmania JackJumpers)
  • Keandre Cook (to CB Breogán – Spain)
  • Kye Savage
  • Rocco Zikarsky (to Minnesota Timberwolves – NBA)

IP: Import
DP: Development Player

Stay in the Loop with the latest Hoops

Related Articles

See all articles