Sacrifice first, titles second: 36ers’ Championship mantra

Zylan Cheatham set the tone earlier in the week and DJ Vasiljevic echoed the message. The Adelaide 36ers are chasing a Championship and anything less will be seen as a failure.

On paper they have assembled one of the most talented rosters in NBL history, with expectations soaring among both players and fans.

With memberships already sold out for the Hungry Jack’s NBL26 Season, anticipation is peaking and the stars are ready to embrace the pressure.

“It’s Championship or nothing for us now… (but) everyone’s got to sacrifice some,” Vasiljevic said via SEN’s Straight Shooter podcast.

“We know Bryce Cotton is the best player in this league, and I think he’ll get a lot of the attention, which will open things up a little bit more for myself, for Isaac Humphries, for Zylan.”

Vasiljevic drew parallels between Adelaide’s roster and Sydney’s Championship-winning squads of 2022 and 2023, pointing to their all-round depth and the ability for anyone to step up when required.

“Everyone calls us Championship favourites, but we’ve got to do the work behind-the-scenes,” Vasiljevic said.

“Having guys like big Monsta (Montrezl Harrell) back, we have got Zylan now who is an athlete, but is also shooting the three-ball well and someone like Flynn Cameron who was with (Melbourne) United the last few years and has a kind of Championship feel – he is going to bring that into our group.

“We called this a ‘death lineup’ when we had it at the Sydney Kings when we had Ian Clark, myself, Jaylen Adams, Jarell Martin, and Xavier Cooks, in that anyone can get theirs on any night.

“We were able to sacrifice to make sure we were getting the win.

“Obviously, we did not start great during that year (in Sydney in 2022) but we ended up winning 13 in a row and you end up winning the Championship so I think, (for the 36ers), anyone can get theirs on any given night as long as we stick to the coach’s principles, the basics and we play hard.

“At the end of the day it is all about winning for us.”

Adelaide will launch its pre-season campaign on September 11 against an NBL1 South Select Team, with the match streamed live and free on NBL.com.au and the NBL App.