He got a wooden spoon as an NBL player and Andrew Gaze is keen to avoid a similar fate as a coach as his club faces a critical two-match stand against its rival for the despised position.
The eight and last-placed Kings host seventh placed Brisbane Bullets on Saturday.
The teams meet again in Brisbane the following Thursday at the start of the final round.
"We're treating it as our version of the finals for this season for us," Gaze said.
He was part of the Melbourne Tigers team which finished bottom of the NBL in 1987 with a 3-23 record.
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For three seasons either side of that year the Tigers flirted with the spoon, finishing second from bottom.
"We never had the resources and trying to compete at this level was tough, so I know first-hand what that feels like and experiences you go through," Gaze said.
'It's not pleasant and we're doing whatever we can to avoid that circumstance."
Gaze said Brisbane's record was not indicative of the way they had played.
He remained wary of the Bullets even after they released high scoring import Perrin Buford earlier this week.
"They've been highly competitive, they've had some big scalps throughout the course of the season and they are a very talented team," Gaze said.
"We know ourselves that sometimes when you make some changes to your lineup it can have a very positive impact on the group.
"Perrin Buford was a fantastic fellow but from what I read and hear from internally from the Bullets, there were some issues there."
