Rd 7 Preview | JackJumpers v Kings

A massive weekend of NBL and WNBL basketball in Launceston gets underway with the Tasmania JackJumpers playing host to the defending champion Sydney Kings in a mouth watering top-of-the-table match up.

On the back of a stretch of three games at MyState Bank Arena in the space of six days, the JackJumpers have now had time to regroup since last Wednesday night ahead of Friday night's trip to Launceston.

The JackJumpers will host the Kings at the Silverdome in their first of two games in Round 7 of NBL27 with the game tipping off at 7:30pm.

Tasmania also remain in top spot of the NBL coming into the game with a 6-2 record on the back of that stretch of three home games in Hobart where they beat the New Zealand Breakers and Brisbane Bullets to hit back from the loss to the Adelaide 36ers.

Now the JackJumpers host a Kings team who are also playing their third road game in a week having lost to Melbourne United on Sunday before hitting back on Wednesday night beating the Wildcats in Perth.

That improved the Kings to a 6-3 record on the season and as they come up against the 6-2 JackJumpers, that means top spot in the NBL goes on the line at the Silverdome on Friday night.

Traditionally the games in Launceston haven’t been too kind to the JackJumpers despite the remarkable support they receive from the locals with Tasmania winning just two of 10 games in the Silverdome over the previous five seasons.

JackJumpers assistant coach Nate Brereton is glad that the team has had a bit of time to regroup after that hectic three-game stretch, but is fully aware they can't take anything for granted against a Kings team featuring Kendric Davis, Xavier Cooks and Torrey Craig.

"I suppose it's a little bit of an advantage that we've had a little bit more time to recover after our three games in six days, but you can't rest or relax at all when you're playing the Kings. So we have to be on point," Brereton said.

"We've done different things going up there in the past, we've gone up the day before previously and we've gone up the day of, and back that night.

"For this game we're going up the day before to get a good night's sleep, have a shootaround and then play, and then get ready to fly to Melbourne the following day. That's something we've done in the past, but we haven’t spoken about our previous record up there.

"It's only two games a year over five or six years, so it's not that many games to look at. We're more about the process and just continuing to improve on what we want to get better at, particularly defensively. If we do that we'll be in a good spot to get the win."

JackJumpers star David Johnson is having a standout to his second season in the NBL and settled nicely into the role as the team's Sixth Man delivering 17.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists a game while shooting the three ball at a phenomenal 48 per cent.

Johnson is now looking forward to the chance to play against the Kings and doing it in Launceston, but he knows it's a significant challenge for the JackJumpers.

"Every atmosphere in Tasmania has been pretty good so far, so I'm excited to finally go up there and get to play," Johnson said.

"I'm super excited to be playing them too. We kind of got a chance to look at them a couple of times in pre-season, and obviously they were without Kendric Davis, but we got a pretty good taste of what we're going to get in this upcoming game. We're super excited about it.

"Regardless of who's playing, when you're playing against an organisation like that, defending champs, it's always going to be a dog fight and that's what we're expecting."

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL SEASON 2026/27 | ROUND 7

TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS v Sydney Kings

The Silverdome (Launceston), Friday October 30, 7:30pm

Watch live on ESPN via Disney+, Foxtel, Kayo or Fetch