As Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics attended the 2024 NBA Championship ring ceremony and banner raising on October 22, the Illawarra Hawks head coach took an apparent break from his team’s training in Australia to observe the sport on his cell phone.

Yes, Justin Tatum was on the opposite side of the world holding back his completely happy emotions, nevertheless it was essential to him to see his son and the Celtics – who play the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday (ESPN, 7:30 p.m. ET) – have fun in real time .

“I couldn’t miss this moment if my life depended on it,” Justin Tatum told Andscape. “My team and the organization understood that. I felt nothing but happiness and it was a sign of success that I used to be completely happy to see my son and his teammates succeed. I hope he has the chance to experience this over and over during his NBA career. I used to be just so completely happy for him.

Justin Tatum is attempting to win a championship as head coach of the Illawarra Hawks. He got here to the Illawarra after serving as probably the most successful highschool basketball coaches in Missouri, winning three state championships and 10 conference titles in 16 seasons at Christian Brothers College High School in St. Louis and Soldan High. His biggest highschool basketball challenge was coaching against his son — Justin Tatum went 1-9 against Jayson’s Chaminade High School.

Following a successful career as CBC Head Coach, Justin Tatum left on February 28, 2023 to grow to be a North American Scout and Special Advisor for Basketball Operations on the Illawarra. Illawarra Hawks majority owner Jared Novelly is from St. Louis, who like Justin Tatum also attended CBC and St. Louis University.

However, what began as a front office position evolved into an assistant coaching position on the Hawks staff under head coach Jacob Jackomas.

“If I wanted to challenge myself, this was my opportunity,” said Justin Tatum, 45. “I desired to be certain every little thing was OK with the pinnacle coach first. I didn’t want them to throw me out and say, “Hey, you’ve got to take this man.” We talked about it with the pinnacle coach and we felt that it might be a good opportunity for me to be here because I can be a mediator for the American players.

The Hawks parted ways with Jackomas after starting last season 2-7 and replaced him with Tatum. Under Tatum’s leadership, the Hawks finished the regular season with a 12-7 record, moving as much as fourth place in the NBL standings and securing a playoff spot. Last season, the Hawks had the 4th best offensive stats (118.0 offensive) and 2nd best defense (109.6 defensive). The Hawks advanced to the semi-finals of the 2024 NBL Playoffs before losing a three-game series to Melbourne United in late March.

“They released (Jackomas) in mid-November. I was the only person on our staff who had head coaching and playing experience,” said Tatum, who played professionally in the Netherlands. “It’s not that I used to be going to vary every little thing, but I used to be going to take a higher take a look at it then…

“I learned the league on the fly. When I got here, I did my homework. But when I found myself in a difficult situation, I had two solid assistant coaches who had coached in the league for a while. I spent nights with them, learning the names of the referees, other teams’ players, and what they ran. I had to learn the FIBA ​​rules.”

Said Jayson Tatum proudly: “They tagged him on interim and he went on a crazy run, making it to the playoffs and what would have been sort of our conference finals.”

Tatum also finished second in this season’s NBL Coach of the Year voting, just a few votes behind Melbourne United’s Dean Vickerman. Tatum was rewarded with a three-year contract with Illawarra before the beginning of the playoffs.

“He has earned the respect of his team, coaching staff and fans in a relatively short period of time, so I look forward to seeing what he is able to accomplish in the long term,” Hawks general manager Mat Campbell said in a statement regarding Tatum.

While away from the States, Justin Tatum at all times keeps an eye fixed on his son and the Celtics.

The Hawks are headquartered in Wollongong, a city of roughly 300,000 people positioned in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia, roughly 50 miles south of Sydney. From St. Louis flight to Sydney and before departure to Wollongong takes roughly 21-28 hours and takes roughly 21-28 hours.

In Australia, Celtics games normally start at 11:00. On training days, Justin Tatum will watch the primary half at work and the second half at home. Time allows him to observe most Celtics games.

However, it’s much harder for Jayson Tatum to observe his father’s games as a result of the time difference.

“If we play at 2pm on a Sunday, on the East Coast where he is, it’ll be around 11am or midnight. It’s rolling the dice. But he’s at all times supportive. If he wakes up and sees that we won, he’ll re-tag or post that the Hawks won or dad was successful. He’ll watch the highlights and he knows we’re doing well,” Justin Tatum said.

After the top of the Hawks season, Justin Tatum was capable of see firsthand how his son “gets the monkey off his back” because the Celtics win a “well-deserved” NBA championship. Weeks after winning the NBA title, Jayson Tatum signed a five-year contract extension price as much as $315 million. However, Jayson Tatum also played sparingly for Team USA Basketball when it won the gold medal on the 2024 Paris Olympics and missed two contests.

Justin Tatum was in Paris for the Olympics and was confused by his son’s lack of playing time.

“It didn’t trouble me, if that made sense. If it made sense to not play it like a matchup,” Justin Tatum said. “But should you cannot make time for him or something, (US head coach) said Steve Kerr. This doesn’t make much sense. (Jayson) had a long season and a long summer, and I just desired to be certain he was healthy. I just desired to be certain that at the top of the day you already know that you simply are still among the finest players in the world. So whatever the coach’s decision or whether or not they determine they do not need you, as coaches we should not at all times right. We hope you are taking this as a sign of motivation, not disrespect. You are certainly one of the five best players. Keep your head up.

“He wasn’t good at not playing. But he wasn’t in the room sulking or throwing chairs, or it wasn’t a topic of dinner conversation. He said he could have stayed along with his family, stayed home or done what was true. But he was completely happy to win gold and never actually played with LeBron (James), Steph (Curry) or KD (Kevin Durant). Being around these guys was a great experience and a very powerful thing we talked about.

Justin Tatum says he misses his three children, two grandchildren and the straightforward things that family and residential offer.

“I definitely miss barbecues and home-cooked meals,” Tatum said. “Besides my family, I miss being lively doing something day by day. After training, if the weather is nice, I’ll play some golf, a quick nine holes. The remainder of the time there is downtime. There is not much to do. The food is great here. I do not really miss anything from home-cooked food except Pizza Hut.

“I’m in a good position going from the top of winter into spring. And then I come home and the top of spring turns into summer. So I actually have spring and summer all yr round. I only wear shorts and a sweatshirt here and there. My family comes here periodically. My daughter comes in December. Jayson cannot come because he’s playing at the identical time. But life is good here.

Said Jayson Tatum: “I talk to him every few days. He likes it there very much.”

Justin Tatum said there are “high-level talented guys” in the NBL. Former NBA players in the NBL include Montrezl Harrell, Ian Clark, Matthew Dellavedova, Matthew Hurt, Rob Edwards, Bryce Cotton and Derrick Walton Jr. NBL alumni in the NBA include Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball, Chicago Bulls guard Josh Giddey, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Ousmane Dieng, Milwaukee Bucks guard AJ Johnson and Washington Wizards forward Alexandre Sarr. Moreover, 17-year-old New Zealand Breakers forward Karim Lopez is a candidate for the 2026 NBA draft.

“And I’m not just talking about the former, current or wannabe NBA players that are here,” Justin Tatum said. “Australian players are unbelievably good. It’s very physical. There are a lot of things you’ll be able to’t avoid in the States, but here they let you might have fun.

Jastrzębie entered on Wednesday with the second-best record in the 10-team NBL league at 6-3, averaging 98.5 points per game. Justin Tatum said Illawarra’s offense and camaraderie were key to the Illawarra’s early success this season.

Justin Tatum dreams of sooner or later becoming an NBA coach. But now his biggest goal is for the Hawks to win their first title since 2001 after they were the Wollongong Hawks.

“He wants to educate in the NBA sooner or later as an assistant or at some level. It’s a stepping stone to the goal he was trying to achieve,” Jayson Tatum said.