ST. LOUIS – Justin Tatum, father of NBA Superstar Jayson Tatum, led his team to a National Basketball League (NBL) Championship win as the coach of the Illawarra Hawks in Australia.

Tatum led the Illawarra Hawks to a 114-104 victory over the Melbourne United on Saturday in a Game 5 winner-takes-all matchup. After losing two of the first three games of the series, Tatum was able to rally his team in Games 4 and 5 to secure the Hawks’ first championship in 24 years and second in franchise history.

The championship win builds on a big year for the Tatum family, after Tatum’s son, Jayson, won his first NBA Championship with the Boston Celtics in June 2024. Ahead of the Hawks championship game, Jayson reportedly sent a video to his father, which Tatum showed his team for extra motivation.

“I think it enlightened them a lot,” Tatum said. “Like, the whole 2023-24 Boston Celtics are about to watch our game right now. And then those guys say, ‘If they can do it, we can do it.’ So, you know, hearing from him and him sending that message on his own was unbelievable and was meaningful to my players as well.”

During a postgame interview after the championship win, Tatum, a former player at Christian Brothers College High School and St. Louis University, shared love and appreciation for his hometown of St. Louis.

“I’m bringing the ‘chip back home, St. Louis,” Tatum said. “I love you. I miss you. Here I come.”

The championship win showcased Tatum’s rise as a coach in Austrailia. After stepping down as the head coach of the CBC basketball team in 2023, Tatum moved to Australia to build on his coaching resume by becoming an assistant coach for the Hawks before he was elevated to head coach in Nov. 2023 after a 2-7 start.

In his first full season as head coach of the Hawks, Tatum was able to lead his team to the NBL’s best regular season record and capped off the season with a championship win.