Prize recruit Andrew Bogut says Sydney can take confidence from their battling display against NBA side Los Angeles Clippers but has warned against expecting a Cinderella-type NBL campaign for the Kings.
Sydney lost 110-91 to the Clippers in a pre-season game in Hawaii earlier this week.
The Kings fought back on a number of occasions during the match before the NBA team finally pulled away in the closing minutes.
"It was a steep learning curve for us, but we battled and that was the most important thing for us," Bogut told AAP on Thursday.
"We turned the ball over a hell of a lot and it hurt us a little bit to stay within striking distance.
"But the thing I was most proud of is that we didn't give up and we kept battling.
"We were down 10 or 15 early and then we got it back and we easily could have had that game go the other way and went down by 30 and everyone would have gone 'oh well, it's an NBA team,' but we didn't do that."
Bogut felt Sydney's performance contained positive signs heading into their first NBL game at home to Adelaide on October 13.
'Obviously, it's a different game with different rules and a different kind of flow, but it gives some guys confidence going into our first game," Bogut said.
While star-studded Sydney has been widely installed as NBL favourites, Bogut said it would take time for the new-look side to develop chemistry.
He dismissed some of the more fanciful predictions, such as Sydney going through the season unbeaten.
"Cinderella story, it's not going to happen. Let me tell you right now," Bogut said.
"There's going to be times where we go on a two-game losing streak, or whatever it is, but the most important thing is how you bounce back from it."
Bogut suggested some reasons for Sydney's abnormally high tally of 25 turnovers against the Clippers.
"A lot of our guys haven't played against NBA length and athleticism before, so passes that are there in an NBL game aren't there in an NBA game," he said.
'Guys are much quicker and more athletic and can get to stuff and recover quicker. And experience; they play 82 games a year, some teams play 100 with finals. You can't buy experience."
