He was signed to replace Justin Simon and Hawks guard Antonius Cleveland has proven he was well and truly up to the task.
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The American picked up where Simon left when he arrived at the club at the start of the season. There was an immediate impact on the offensive end, but defensively has been where Cleveland has made a name for himself around the NBL.
That has led to the 28-year-old claiming one of the league's highest honours, Cleveland awarded the Damian Martin Trophy for Defensive Player of the Year on Wednesday night. It's the same award Simon won 12 months ago and marks the second-straight year an Illawarra player has received the trophy.
The voting went down to the wire, with the Hawks star finishing just one point ahead of Melbourne United's Shea Ili.
Ili did not go home empty handed, claiming the Best Sixth Man award ahead of Illawarra's Xavier Rathan-Mayes.
Cleveland's impact on both ends of the court was also recognised, the guard named in the All-NBL First Team. Joining him were Sydney's Jaylen Adams, Perth duo Vic Law and Bryce Cotton, and Melbourne's Jo Lual-Acuil Jr.
Adams claimed the top gong on Wednesday night, defeating Cotton and Lual-Acuil Jr to receive the Andrew Gaze Trophy for Most Valuable Player.
The honours set up a mouth-watering semi-final clash between Sydney and Illawarra, their three-game series to commence at WIN Entertainment Centre on Friday night.
On Wednesday, Kings coach Chase Buford conceded he overstepped the mark when criticising the referees following his side's loss to the Hawks in Sunday's regular season finale.
Hawks leader Brian Goorjian called out his counterpart on Tuesday and Buford apologised for his comments.
"What I said was totally out of line, just an immature and emotional reaction to a play," Buford told AAP.
"I've got to stop getting involved in personal battles with the officials.
"I understand why Goorj feels the way he does about it."
NBL Awards
Andrew Gaze Trophy - Most Valuable Player
Jaylen Adams (Sydney) - 105 votes
Bryce Cotton (Perth) - 94 votes
Jo Lual-Acuil Jr (Melbourne) - 62 votes
Lindsay Gaze Trophy - Coach of the Year
Scott Roth (Tasmania) - 67 votes
Dean Vickerman (Melbourne) - 47 votes
Chase Buford (Sydney) - 25 votes
All-NBL First Team
Jo Lual-Acuil Jr (Melbourne) - 45 votes
Vic Law (Perth) - 32 votes
Jaylen Adams (Sydney) - 48 votes
Bryce Cotton (Perth) - 47 votes
Antonius Cleveland (Illawarra) - 37 votes
All-NBL Second Team
Xavier Cooks (Sydney) - 23 votes
Mitch Creek (South East Melbourne) - 19 votes
Josh Adams (Tasmania) - 26 votes
Chris Goulding (Melbourne) - 25 votes
Matthew Dellavedova (Melbourne) - 18 votes
Rookie of the Year
Bul Kuol (Cairns) - 71 votes
Luke Travers (Perth) - 36 votes
Ousmane Dieng (New Zealand) - 26 votes
Best Sixth Man
Shea Ili (Melbourne) - 59 votes
Xavier Rathan-Mayes (Illawarra) - 43 votes
Clint Steindl (Tasmania) - 25 votes
Most Improved Player
Keanu Pinder (Cairns) - 41 votes
Jo Lual-Acuil Jr (Melbourne) - 33 votes
Yanni Wetzell (New Zealand) - 25 votes
Damian Martin Trophy for the Best Defensive Player
Antonius Cleveland (Illawarra) - 47 votes
Shea Ili (Melbourne) - 46 votes
Xavier Cooks (Sydney) - 24 votes
Executive of the Year
Simon Edwards (New Zealand)
Fans' MVP
Kai Sotto (Adelaide)
Gametime
Jack McVeigh (Tasmania)
Referee of the Year
Vaughan Mayberry
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Cameron Mee
Sports reporter at the Canberra Times
Sports reporter at the Canberra Times
