The side has won three titles in the past 11 years.
It won its maiden NBL championship in 2013 with a 92–81 win over the Nelson Giants in the final.
Two years later the side returned to the final and beat the Wellington Saints 72-68.
The Sharks lost to the Saints in 2017 in the final but had their revenge the next year when back in the final for the fourth time in six years with a 98-96 win over the Saints.
But those days seem a long time ago as the side struggles at the bottom of the NBL table this year.
The side is set to play its ninth game tomorrow night against the Franklin Bulls in Auckland — which will be a tall order.
The team has lost its first eight games this year and sits bottom of the NBL table.
The team lost its eighth game over the weekend, going down 89-79 to the Nelson Giants.
It had earlier cut American import LaGerald Vick, the second overseas player the Sharks have released this year.
They dropped American guard Josh Turner just two games into the campaign, and recruited Caleb Asberry as his replacement.
The Sharks said in a brief email the roster decisions had not been made as simply a knee-jerk reaction to the team’s playing record.
Decisions were made with the best interests of the team at heart and to give the side the best chance to get back to playing Sharks basketball.
While it is not unusual to swap out imports during the season, it is a costly business and the short response suggests it is not a happy camp. Losing games tends to do that to sides.
Marcale Lotts is the sole survivor of the trio of Americans who all arrived in Invercargill in early March with such high hopes.
Lotts has been a solid rather than spectacular performer. Vick, however, produced some standout efforts in the orange singlet.
He arrived with a big reputation and some seasoned observers had him on their watch list for MVP.
The 27-year-old shooting guard poured in 32 points against the Wellington Saints in Invercargill on April 15.
But his form has been patchy and he could manage only four points in 23 minutes in his last outing against the Canterbury Rams in Invercargill on Saturday night.
The heavy 87-65 loss to the Rams left the Sharks feeling like they had to act and Vick paid the price. He averaged 17 points in seven games for the franchise.
The season is half done so it is not all over yet.
There is still plenty of time in the season to turn their campaign around. But the side needs to start scoring points — the team is clearly the lowest scoring team on the table and is losing games for its inability to run good offence.
After the match against Franklin tomorrow night, the side will play the Taranaki Airs on Sunday in New Plymouth.
