The West Sydney Razorbacks have changed their name ahead of the 2008/09 season and will now be known as the Sydney Spirit.
With the Sydney Kings losing their licence, the Razorbacks were set to be the only NBL team in the Harbour City. In order to capitalise on the entire market, Razorbacks CEO, Steve Aquilina said it was time for a name change.
"We want to unify the game of basketball in Sydney," Aquilina said. "We have been given a huge responsibility as the face of basketball in this city and we are determined to offer all Sydney sports fans a team that they can be proud of, irrespective of where they live."
"By evolving into the Sydney Spirit, we believe we are offering all basketball fans in this city a team to call their own. It is now our job to go suburb-by-suburb, community-by-community and association-by-association to build our supporter base."
Former Sydney Kings coach Brian Goorjian said it was important for the NBL to have a strong team in Sydney. He agreed with suggestions the city was only large enough for one NBL side.
"When I was there, never were the both teams going," Goorjian said. "It might be time to tighten it up and get a strong team in Sydney on and off the court. Hopefully that's happening now."
The club is likely to move some of its home games to the Sydney Entertainment Centre. Its home court, training facilities and offices will be at Sydney Olympic Park.
"The Razorbacks have been synonymous with Western Sydney since they entered the competition so by continuing to use that name, we would disenfranchise many other Sydney residents," Aquilina said.
"We looked at over 2000 different names before settling on Sydney Spirit. We have also canvassed both Razorbacks and Kings supporters to get their combined feedback on the name and it has been overwhelmingly supported."
Meanwhile, the club has signed former Kings captain Jason Smith.
"Jason Smith is a legitimate superstar and was the face of the Sydney Kings for years. Not only will he bring championship experience and fantastic talent to the Spirit, but he will also help us build bridges with former Kings fans."
The team will hope it does better than the last team to don the Spirit moniker in Sydney. Northern Spirit played in the old National Soccer League but lasted just five seasons.