He still cops it from his Hawks teammates 20 years later.

"I look at it and think, who's the dill pickle that did that?" he said.

"You see these moments in the NBA where they have the ball and they hold on to it, where players are scrambling to hold it, or when Michael Jordan wanted to get that final ball.

"It's the championship ball and I got excited enough to just throw it up in the air."

Regardless, Saville made his mark as the finals MVP of the foundation club's only title in 43 years.

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A two-time Olympian and with singlet hanging in the rafters at WIN Entertainment Centre, Saville's legacy is secure, whatever the fate of the grand final rock.

In the deciding game, Mike Kelly had hit a three for Townsville before Charles Thomas returned to the free-throw line to hit one of two and push the Hawks to a 97-94 lead with 2.2 seconds on the clock.

The rifled pass to Robert Rose came unstuck and Saville held possession as the buzzer went.

The rest is a blur of trophy lifting, celebration, the flight back to Sydney and arriving in Wollongong to more than 3000 fans still giddy with delight.

In two decades since, the Hawks squad, staff and families have rarely had the opportunity to gather together again, as will happen as part of Saturday NBL clash with arch-rivals Sydney Kings.

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In scenes of jubilation at the time, Mat Campbell was quick pay tribute to the team manager David Leske, who had passed away during the year after his battle with cancer.

"He'd been going through a really tough time," Saville said.

"You could see how much he had been battling while on his chemo(therapy), but still came to training and every game.

"At times you take sport pretty seriously, but it sure puts things into perspective when people close to you have to go through that."

While the Hawks have been to the grand final series twice since, losing to Perth under Gordie McLeod then Rob Beveridge, they've also endured well-known struggles financially.

Saturday night's clash with Sydney is a potential playoffs springboard for the winner.

The Kings are fourth with a 12-12 record, just ahead of Illawarra (12-13).

After being forced to travel because of COVID-19 restrictions and during the NBL Cup format, the Hawks now have eight of their remaining 11 games on their home floor.

And while Saville knows Melbourne United and Perth, in particular, will be hard to beat he hopes this season is the start of sustained success under the new ownership.

"It's been a strange old season, spending an entire month away and playing a lot of games with short turnarounds," Saville said.

"We've seen the highs and lows the club has been through, but the NBL is only getting better and I think the Hawks are on the right track to be up there."