Justin Tatum is doing everything in his power to avoid a championship hangover.
Asked about his Illawarra Hawks beginning their hunt for a title repeat, he interjected.
"I'm gonna stop you there," Tatum told ESPN.
"We're taking the word 'repeat' out. We're not using the word 'repeat' in our organisation.
"We're gonna get another one. We wanna stay hungry. Everything we did last year... we wanna add more to it... I feel like if we use the word 'repeat', we'll be content.
"At the end of the day, we did it last year... Everyone's gonna give us our best shot, so we have to be ready. So, we have to find a way to not be content like that, so we're taking the word 'repeat' out."
The sentiment comes from Tatum's very unique offseason.
The Illawarra Hawks head coach could have returned to his home in the U.S., or even hit the road to watch his son Jayson's NBA title defence. Instead, he jetted off to Southeast Asia.
The defending Indonesian Basketball League champions Pelita Jaya saw what Tatum did with the Hawks -- leading them to the 2025 NBL title -- and wanted to secure him. Tatum, fresh off a successful NBL Championship Series, was approached with the opportunity and felt he could carry his winning momentum overseas.
"If you're hot at one time in your career, try to stay on top of it," Tatum said. "In the back of my mind, let me keep pushing myself and see where I can go."
Pelita Jaya carried a 'repeat' theme over the course of their season as they hunted the 2025 title; unfortunately, it wasn't to be, with Tatum's falling in a close-fought final series.
As the Hawks prepared to begin their title defence, Tatum had no desire to, in every sense of the word, repeat the 'repeat' tag.
"I think JT's message to us was spot on," Hawks guard Tyler Harvey told ESPN.
"I feel like you have to put the championship on a shelf, you've got to close that, and you're basically starting back over, because everyone's reloaded."
Hawks forward Mason Peatling concurred: "Getting so close to the end and almost getting it, I don't think he wanted to persist with that going into our season," he told ESPN.
"He wants our foundation to be hard work. Obviously, we want to win the championship again; no team in the NBL doesn't. But we want it to be built on the right things. Not a sense of entitlement, but a sense of hard work, going about it the right way, and earning it."
A part of keeping his team from complacency has been to continually challenge them.
Tatum has had a really clear elite skill since joining the Hawks in 2023. Speak to any Hawks player, and they would praise their head coach's ability to communicate; whether it's role clarity, the empowerment of his assistant coaches, or holding people to account.
It's the thing he wants to channel as he works to keep his players hungry.
"The league got really good. We know people are hunting for us," Tatum said.
"My main thing has been film, and calling them out in film... You don't want Tyler [Harvey] to let three blow-bys go by and not say anything to him, but then you wanna say something to Davo or Peatling? I think I challenge my captains and best players first, set the tone, and that respect goes down to everybody else."
A very important part of the Hawks' roster build that Tatum made sure to clear up was Will 'Davo' Hickey's role going into the new NBL season.
For much of free agency, the Hawks had been looking to follow a similar formula that won them the 2024 title. That meant, among other things, finding a high-level import point guard to replace Trey Kell III.
It seems, though, that the Hawks are ready to pivot. The team has JaQuori McLaughlin on their roster for the NBL Blitz, and are putting serious consideration into signing him for the season. McLaughin is a 6'4 American combo guard who played under Tatum at Pelita Jaya; someone who could be better suited as an import who could come off the bench.
Naturally, that leaves the starting point guard position vacant, and Tatum, in no uncertain terms, made clear who would fill it.
"Davo is my starting point guard," Tatum said.
"He earned it, deserved it... It's his spot, as of now, to lead our team.
"[Any import] we fit has to understand that they have to complement [Hickey] and Tyler, and JaVale [McGee], and want to come off the bench and be like an Ian Clark, or somebody who's a spark plug... Right now, Davo's my guy at that position.
The elevation of Hickey's role wasn't initially on the cards, but shouldn't be a surprising development. The 26-year-old averaged 10.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game last season, and was a standout player in the 2025 NBL Championship Series; he was famously handed the series' MVP trophy in a ceremonious fashion by Matthew Dellavedova.
While Hickey wasn't a starter last season, he was still a big minutes guy -- 21.2 a game -- and would generally be in closing lineups for the Hawks, so a larger role isn't completely foreign to the Sydneysider.
"There's no one more deserving than Davo to have that spot," Harvey said.
"His growth as a player, I've seen it from day one for him coming into practice; when he's not playing, he's still competing and kicking all of our butts like he's about to play in the next game. This is four years ago.
"You look at his growth now. It's a testament to his hard work, his passion for the game. When those lights turn on, I know Davo is gonna be there, and there's nobody you would rather go to war with than Davo. He is gonna show up every single game. I don't care what the situation is; that man is gonna play his heart out, and he's a winner. That's all you want as a backcourt mate.
"We're rocking with Davo no matter what, but he's deserved that. He was the MVP of the finals, man. If that doesn't tell you he deserves it, I don't know what does."
The Hawks will bring some continuity to the 2025-26 season, but also have some new faces. Most notably, there'll be a different look in the frontcourt, with 16-year NBA veteran JaVale McGee and experienced Australian forward Jonah Bolden signed for this campaign. The pair ostensibly replace Sam Froling -- who told ESPN he's hoping for a January return from his Achilles injury -- and Darius Days, who signed in Japan.
"It's gonna be scary," Tatum said of the duo. "They can switch between the four and the five, and Jonah has some s--- about him.
Both are coming off seasons in Puerto Rico, with McGee regarded as one of the biggest signings of free agency; the 7-footer winning three championships over his long NBA career, known for his size, length, and athleticism.
"Just a dominant presence," Tatum said of McGee.
"There's no illegal defence here, so he's gonna clog the lane, he's gonna sit up there and make difficult shots for everybody else.
"Then, on the offensive end, we can just put the ball up anywhere as we break defences down, and hopefully he can just catch a lob or be on the back-side. I'm really excited for how he's gonna be the communicator on the defensive end.
"I'm really excited about him and Jonah working together, with their height and wingspan, and potential. It just goes with Swaka [Lo Buluk's] ability to guard, and Davo's toughness, and [Harvey's] ability on both ends, so I'm excited how he's going to be the vocal person on that first five."
McGee is more than just someone who's replacing Froling until the Australian big-man gets back to full health, but he provides extra frontcourt insurance, with the Hawks' backup centre from last season, Lachlan Olbrich, drafted by the Chicago Bulls with the 55th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
"He's played at the highest level for so long," Harvey said of McGee.
"He's won championships. He knows what it takes. To play with such a high-flyer... will be fun. Just learning from him. I know the Wollongong community will immerse him and show love to him. We're looking forward to building that connection."