Illawarra Hawks re-sign Justin Tatum as NBL coach after stunning season revival

Justin Tatum might have just signed a three-year deal as coach of Illawarra but long before their fairytale run to the NBL finals, he says he knew this group of Hawks was special.

Illawarra has acted swiftly to crush rival bids for interim coach Justin Tatum, locking away the inspirational mentor on a multi-year deal.

Less than 48 hours after Tatum revealed to Codesports he was yet to sign a contract and was open to offers from other teams, the Hawks swooped in with a three-year pact that will keep the father of Boston Celtics NBA superstar Jayson Tatum in the Illawarra through the 2026-27 season.

Appointed caretaker when Jacob Jackomas was sacked in November, the 44-year-old spearheaded a remarkable turnaround, powering the struggling Hawks from a 2-7 start to what was, at the time, an unlikely top-four finish, winning 12 of the next 19 games to book a Play-in date with Tasmania.

Justin Tatum has led a remarkable revival from the Hawks. Picture: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

It was a surprise promotion, initially, but it’s been nothing short of a fairytale from there.

“I was on my third glass of wine when I found out that I had to come take over the team, so I had to get it together quick,” Tatum joked, earlier this week.

“Even before the season and not seeing the whole rest of the league, when I got there and saw our team practice and play, I’m like ‘these f***ing guys are good’.

“Then, when we were 2-7, just when I took over, I talked to the guys, told them ‘everybody starts with a clean sheet, everything we’ve done the prior seven weeks, we just throw it out the window and let’s just rewrite our own story’.

“They see how we’ve blossomed. I always tell them there’s no going back. What we’ve been doing, we’ve got to keep elevating off of it.”

Justin Tatum has helped restore pride in the Hawks. Picture: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

Every Hawk who has spoken publicly has praised Tatum — he’s already a beloved figure in the ‘Gong, putting bums on seats and restoring legitimacy to a club that won just three games a season ago and finished on the bottom of the ladder.

“Once JT took over and the guys brought into what he wanted and how we wanted things to go, it was more of a fluent flow of what the expectations are and I think just communicating,” star Gary Clark said, earlier this week.

Illawarra chief executive Stuart Taggart said Tatum’s long-term appointment brought the “stability and continuity, as well as performance” that was “critical” to the Hawks’ rebuild.

The Tatum news was delivered to a room of 180 players, staff, members, sponsors and supporters at the Hawks’ MVP Awards night at the Sage Hotel, where the brilliant Clark scooped the pool, winning both the MVP and Member’s Choice Award for his stellar season.

Tatum said: “We have some strong momentum now that we will carry into the Finals, and I am just happy that all the people of the Illawarra will have the opportunity to support their team in a (finals series).”

Originally published as Illawarra Hawks re-sign Justin Tatum as NBL coach after stunning season revival