NBL26 Round 16

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New Zealand Breakers vs Sydney Kings NBL26 Round 16 Tips - Breakers stun the vulnerable Kings

Jeremy Darke

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Last updated: Tue 06 Jan 2026 13:46

Jeremy Darke 06 Jan 2026

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New Zealand Breakers vs Sydney Kings expert predictions for Friday’s Round 16 NBL matchup
Tip-off is at 5:30 PM AEDT at Spark Arena
Parker Jackson-Cartwright predicted to excel with 20+ points.
Breakers have a strong recent home record against Sydney.

New Zealand Breakers vs Sydney Kings NBL26 Round 16 Tips

New Zealand Breakers vs Sydney Kings NBL25 Round 16 Expert Tips

New Zealand will even up their NBL26 season series with Sydney at two-a-piece, when they take advantage of the injury troubles riddling the Kings squad at the moment.

New Zealand Breakers vs Sydney Kings NBL25 Round 16 Expert Tips
Head to Head
New Zealand Breakers Form & Team News
Sydney Kings Form & Team News
New Zealand Breakers vs Sydney Kings Frequently Asked Questions

Bul Kuol has been ruled out for the season and Xavier Cooks fitness is also under cyclonic injury cloud as the Kings head back to New Zealand where they lost to the Breakers in the beginning of December.

The Kings were poor on the defensive side of the ball against South East Melbourne without Kuol in the line up and Cooks leaving early after his injury. The Breakers do not have the scoring power like the Phoenix, however, they have enough to trouble the Kings who do not often enjoy the trip over the Tasman.

With Kuol’s lock down skill missing, this opens the door for Parker Jackson-Cartwright even more, with the Breakers guard averaging 23.42 points against Sydney in his last 7 games against them. Expect PJC to have another 20+ point game against the Kings, however, don’t expect the big game total.

With their injuries, expect Sydney to slow down the pace of this game wanting as few possessions for New Zealand as possible.

The Breakers have won 2 of their last 3 games in New Zealand, including a victory over Sydney.
New Zealand have won 3 of their last 5 home matches against Sydney.
Parker Jackson-Cartwright has scored 20+ points in 6 of his last 7 against Sydney
3 of the last 4 games between New Zealand and Sydney have gone under the game total.

Head to Head

Last 5 Match Results

Date	Home Team	Score	Line	Total Points
03/12/2025	NZB	NZB 95-90	NZB +3.0	O 180.0
09/11/2025	SYD	SYD 79-72	NZB +7.5	U 180.0
04/10/2025	SYD	SYD 97-75	SYD -10.0	U 181.5
20/12/2024	NZB	SYD 92-84	SYD -7.5	U 177.0
07/12/2024	NZB	SYD 98-83	SYD -5.0	O 170.5

Offensive & Defensive Rankings

NZB Off	Rank	Stat	Rank	SYD Def
88.6	7	PPG	4	86.8
42.6	4	RPG	8	42.5
44.7%	6	FG%	3	43.8%
29.5%	9	3P%	7	33.1%
11.9	6	TOV	3	13.3

NZB Def	Rank	Stat	Rank	SYD Off
89.4	6	PPG	2	95
41.8	5	RPG	7	42
45.4%	7	FG%	1	46.5%
30.7%	3	3P%	3	33.6%
12.4	4	TOV	1	9.1

New Zealand Breakers Form & Team News

New Zealand are on their worst stretch of the season since the opening couple of weeks, losing 4 of their last 5 matches, with a 1 point win against the JackJumpers the only joy they had over the holiday season.

Losses to SEM and Perth are understandable but defeats to both Brisbane and Cairns, who are underneath them on the ladder, has been hard to swallow for coach Petteri Koponen.

New Zealand have not been able to find any rhythm or consistency on offence averaging just 86.2 points per game over their last 5 matches, while their defence has also slipped, despite playing some fairly soft opposition, giving up 93.8 points, 4 points more than their season average.

Sydney Kings Form & Team News

Sydney are coming into the contest on the back of two losses to Adelaide and South East Melbourne and will need to make some adjustments after losing their key defender Bul Kuol for the rest of the season due to a knee injury he suffered in the loss to the 36ers.

The loss to Adelaide was a flip of a coin, but the 7-point defeat against the Phoenix is a concern with S.E.M scoring 124 points without their lockdown defender on the court. Makuach Maluach came into the starting 5, but despite his 15 points and 6 rebounds it was the defensive reshuffle that hurt the Kings who were unable to shut down Nathan Sobey and Angus Glover.

Making matters worse, Xavier Cooks left the court after just 4 minutes and did not return to the match. The extent of his injury is still uncertain.

New Zealand Breakers vs Sydney Kings Frequently Asked Questions

What time does New Zealand Breakers vs Sydney Kings start?

Tip-off between New Zealand Breakers vs Sydney Kings is at 5:30 PM AEDT, Friday, January 9

What channel is New Zealand Breakers vs Sydney Kings on?

You can watch New Zealand Breakers vs Sydney Kings on ESPN via Kayo and Foxtel.

Verdict

New Zealand Breakers v Sydney Kings

Parker Jackson-Cartwright will score 20+ in a Breakers victory that has a game total under 181.5 points.

New Zealand Breakers

Money Line

$2.20 - 2 Units

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P. Jackson-Cartwright

20+ Points

$2.45 - 3 Units

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Under 181.5

Game Total

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