At the start of this year's NBL season, the Southland Sharks were written off after finishing second-to-last in 2024.
There were few expectations on them to make the NBL finals, but tomorrow they will prove everyone wrong when they take on the Wellington Saints.
At the heart of their stunning turnaround is a new head coach with serious pedigree. Johnathan Yim has spent nearly a decade with the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers as an assistant coach and has previously worked as a video analyst for the LA Clippers.
But the American's move to New Zealand was driven to do something different, have a chance to lead.
"I saw the job advertised and I thought it was perfect," Yim told 1News.
"The opportunity to be a head coach was something that I was really seeking. I didn't want people to only look at me as an assistant coach or a player development coach or a video coordinator or anything."
That opportunity is now paying off. In his first season as a head coach, Yim has made an immediate impact.
"I wanted to win a championship, and everyone was probably like, 'Nah, Southland can't win it, right?' But that was our goal.
"Every day we approached it with 'we've got to keep on getting better and taking steps toward that goal', and, you know, we did that."
Their run to the NBL final has caught attention far beyond New Zealand. Yim received a call from NBA star CJ McCollum, a former player from his Portland days, who phoned during a team film session.
"He just wanted to congratulate him on reaching this far in the playoffs," said Sharks centre Sam Timmins. "He asked to speak to us, and it was cool."
Yim's success hasn’t come by chance. His player recruitment has been crucial, headlined by American import Josaiah Allick, now crowned the league's Most Valuable Player.
"I knew that coming to this, I'm gonna have to prove myself from day one," Allick said.
"So we've all just had that kind of underdog chip on our shoulder the whole season. And luckily, we're starting to play like the team that we thought we would at the right time."
Tall Black Timmins is also one of Yim's great gets, providing him the chance to return to the NBL midway through the season following his time playing in the Japanese league.
"The first half I spent a lot of time just knowing that we were going to have him and Brayden Inger come in late and I just kind of built our offense and defence around the fact at some point we're going to have a Tall Black coming in," Yim said.
Southland come into the final off the back of nine straight victories. In their latest win, they dismissed defending champions the Canterbury Rams.
But the final won’t be easy. The Saints are the most decorated team in NBL history, chasing a record 13th title while the Southland Sharks are chasing their fourth.
"It just makes you a little bit more motivated to know that a win over this team, it won't be looked at as a fluke," Allick said.
"I mean, this is a very respectable team, a very proven team that's just been playing a lot better throughout the whole season as we have. So, I mean, no one's taking this lightly."
Yim is also embracing the fight.
"Two heavyweights going at it and trying to knock each other out," he said. "We'll see who's standing at the end."
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