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NBA superstar Jayson Tatum has recently signed a mᴀssive $195million contract extension with the Boston Celtics but he remains humble, speaking glowingly about the success of his father in the Australian NBL.

Wollongong, a regional city with a population of about 300,000 people an hour south of Sydney, is a long way from the bright lights of the NBA.

It is where Justin Tatum calls home, creating his own basketball legacy in a region without the big paycheques of the NBA in a humble gym called the ‘Sandpit’ that usually only seats about 4000 loyal Illawarra Hawks fans.

While his son chases an NBA championship ring and rakes in eye-watering amounts of money, Justin started the year for a side struggling to make ends meet as an ᴀssistant coach.

The Hawks were running stone, motherless last four months ago and their coach Jacob Jackomas was unceremoniously sacked.

Justin Tatum is a rookie coach in the Australian NBL while his son Jayson is an NBA superstar with the Boston Celtics

The father and son have always enjoyed a тιԍнт relationship, pictured when Jayson was drafted to the NBA in 2017

Since then Tatum has turned the ship around in a big way, taking the Hawks all the way to the NBL playoffs, fourth spot on the ladder, a real chance at a championship while being nominated for Coach of the Year honours.

Tatum, in his first professional head-coaching job, inherited a team that had won only two of its first nine games but finished the season in fourth place on the ladder.

The Hawks have posted a 12-7 record under Tatum and will face Tasmania JackJumpers in a fairytale finals clash on Wednesday.

44 year old Justin Tatum, father of Jayson Tatum, showed off his post moves & inside game in a recent pickup run! 🪣Justin, who played professionally overseas, is now the head coach of the Illawarra Hawks in Australia’s NBL! Like father, like son! Via. @NBL / @Ballislife pic.twitter.com/znNtrX0yj5

— Courtside Buzz (@CourtsideBuzzX) February 24, 2024

While his hard work at the regional Australian club pales in comparison to what his son is achieving at Boston, Jayson was genuinely humbled when asked about his father’s season at Wollongong.

‘I got to talk to him right before the [NBA All-Star] game started, you know the time difference is a little crazy,’ Jayson said.

‘He’s a finalist for Coach of the Year, started off as an ᴀssistant coach and you know, the head coach got let go halfway through the season.

‘They were in like the 10th or 11th seed and now he kind of turned it all around. They’re in the fourth seed going into the playoffs.

‘Extremely, obviously, happy for him. Happy for what he has been able to do over there and kind of turn that organisation around.’

Tatum was thrown in the deep end at the Illawarra Hawks when the head coach was sacked after a horror start to the season

Tatum has since steered the Hawks into the NBL finals, been nominated for Coach of the Year and has earned a three-year contact extension

And Jayson said his father had no intentions of returning home to the United States permanently anytime soon. 

‘He loves it, he loves it over there, he loves being in Australia,’ he said.

‘He says the games are extremely compeтιтive, the atmosphere is crazy, so hopefully they can continue and go all the way.

‘It’s been great to see him turn that thing around and have a lot of success over there.’

In a boost for the Hawks, Justin Tatum has signed a three-year extension to remain as head coach.

‘I am grateful to the team, my ᴀssistant coaches and the management team at the Illawarra Hawks who have trusted in me since I took over in November,’ he said.

Tatum will continue weaponising Illawarra’s underdog status to inspire his players on their finals tilt.

‘People just don’t give us the respect that we worked for – I’m not going to say (the respect) we deserve, we worked for this,’ he told AAP.

‘We were at the bottom and we figured out a way for the guys who were all on different pages, to find a way to fix it and be one of the top four teams.

‘We still feel slighted. But at the end of the day we’re OK with that because we have our self-respect.’