During the six seasons in which franchise cornerstones Jeff Newton and Anthony McHenry have teamed up to lead the Ryukyu Golden Kings to extraordinary success, the Okinawan powerhouse is the undisputed model franchise for the bj-league.
Consider the following: 1. The Golden Kings are 91 games over .500 in the past three regular seasons alone, including 85-19 in the past two campaigns. 2. A missed Final Four appearance last May is, more or less, viewed as a disastrous occurrence within the organization, not a fluke.
The two-time champion Golden Kings marched through the regular season in spectacular form, going 24-2 at home and drawing a league-best 3,219 average attendance.