Disappointing, underwhelming, deflating - there are many ways to describe the Illawarra Hawks’ NBL title defence.

And none of them are good.

After the ecstasy of last year’s run to the championship, breaking a trophy drought which stretched all the way back to 2001, the Hawks never got out of second gear this season.

They got off to a slow start, which can partly be attributed to their participation in the FIBA Intercontinental Cup in Singapore, losing their opening three matches.

Injuries played their part too, along with the signing of import guard JaQuori McLaughlin, who only lasted three games before the 27-year-old was told his services were no longer required after he averaged 7.7 points and four assists.

The monumental signing of Olympic champion and three-time NBA championship winner JaVale McGee turned out to be a good move in getting attention on the club.

But his style did not mesh with his teammates and although his stats were for the most part impressive, it did not translate into enough victories.

He put up 19.4 points on 57% shooting and 10 rebounds per outing, averaging just two assists, which - to be fair to him - was never a strong part of his game during his lengthy NBA career.

The all-round teamwork that symbolised the Hawks’ superb season and ultimately successful playoff campaign was nowhere to be seen when McGee was on the court even though he was named the club's season MVP this week.

McGee has said he has a “high temptation” to come back to the NBL next season but it’s highly unlikely the Hawks will roll the dice on the 38-year-old again.

He is winging his way to China to play for the Beijing Ducks.

Fellow import QJ Peterson, who replaced McLaughlin mid-season, is also plying his trade in the CBA with Fujian and he has not been signed for next NBL season as well.

Star guard Tyler Harvey, who is on the way to becoming a naturalised Australian, is signed up for next season while centre Sam Froling has two more years on his deal.

Fan favourite Davo Hickey and defensive specialist Wani Swaka Lo Buluk are also locked in for the next two seasons so the bulk of the current roster will be back on deck for the 2026-27 season.

And coach Justin Tatum is also back for another campaign.

The Hawks finished their season on Wednesday night in Tasmania with a 103-90 consolation win over the JackJumpers.

They finished the regular season in eighth with a 13-30 record

Illawarra recorded back-to-back wins on only three occasions during the season and were never able to string together three on the trot.

Their hot and mostly cold performances meant they never seriously entered the conversation as title contenders despite keeping the majority of the team which went all the way last year.

Off the court, the Hawks are booming. Ticket sales have never been better and the club is getting a brand new arena after the recent announcement that WIN Entertainment Centre would be demolished.

The new arena will have a capacity of 9500, more than 4000 seats higher than the current venue.

But the team needs to be playing much better than this season otherwise it’s going to be tough to fill a bigger arena.