Olympian Will Magnay will be eased into pre-season training for Tasmania Jackjumpers, who are determined to draw a firm line under last season's maiden NBL championship.
The JackJumpers claimed their first title in just their third season in 2023/24 after making the playoffs both years prior.
Magnay and clubmate Jack McVeigh earned a trip to Paris for the Boomers, who were knocked out in the Olympic quarter-finals by Serbia.
Jackjumpers coach Scott Roth said Magnay, who has battled multiple injuries in recent years, would be the final player to rejoin the club for pre-season training on Monday.
"He said he's ready to go, excited to be back and really pumped about this season," Roth said on Thursday.
"We'll take it slow with him in this first week or two like we have most of our guys who have come back (later).
"We'll gradually get him up and running."
Tasmania have a packed pre-season, beginning with one of two practice games in the state's north against the Adelaide 36ers on August 25.
They then play the NBL Blitz and fly to Singapore for the FIBA Intercontinental Cup ahead of their NBL season opener against Melbourne United in Perth on September 19.
Roth indicated the club had made a point to move on from their championship win.
"We stopped talking about last year weeks ago. It's irrelevant right now. New journey, new players, new front office staff," Roth said.
"As sport goes, it's always difficult to come back and repeat - to win a championship is very difficult.
"For us it's about restarting our process again and hoping that we stay relatively healthy".
Tasmania have kept the majority of their roster together but will be without championship series MVP McVeigh, who has signed two-way deal with the Houston Rockets in the NBA.
They have picked up point guard Craig Sword as an import - he was recently described by teammate and fellow American Milton Doyle as one of best on-ball defenders he'd seen.
Roth joined several players at a logistics company on Hobart's outskirts for a day "on the tools", a pre-season staple for the club.
"The biggest thing is for our players to have a little bit of humble pie," he said.
"People are working very hard in Tasmania and it's a privilege to know what they do."
