Nathan Leon Jawai (born 10 October 1986) is an Australian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for the

Darwin Salties Darwin Salties is a NBL1 North club based in Darwin, Northern Territory. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 North. The club is run under the joint management of Darwin Basketball Association (DBA) and Basketball Northern ...

of the

NBL1 North NBL1 North, formerly the Queensland Basketball League (QBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in Queensland and Northern Territory, Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball Queensland partnered wit ...

. Standing at 209 cm, he plays at the

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

and

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

positions.

Early life

Born at the Royal Hospital for Women in the Sydney suburb of

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Padd ...

on 10 October 1986, Jawai lived in Sydney for a year before his parents, Lynette and Ron, moved back to

Bamaga Bamaga ( , ) is a small town and locality about from the northern tip of Cape York in the north of Queensland, Australia. It is within the Northern Peninsula Area Region. It is one of the northernmost settlements in continental Australia and i ...

, a small town of about 1000 people, located north of the Jardine River and only 40 km from the tip of

Cape York Peninsula Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupació ...

. He is an

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

Torres Strait Islander Torres Strait Islanders () are the Indigenous Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal people of the rest of Australia, they are often groupe ...

descent. He is the cousin of NBA basketball player

Patty Mills Patrick Sammy Mills (born 11 August 1988) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Mills was born and raised in Canberra, and is of Torres Strait Islander and Aborigin ...

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

NRL players

Edrick Lee Edrick Lee (born 18 September 1992) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er for the Dolphins (NRL), Dolphins in the National Rugby League, NRL. Lee previously played for the Canberra Raiders, Cronulla-Sutherland ...

and

Brenko Lee Brenko Lee (born 10 October 1995) is a Tonga international rugby league footballer who plays as a and er for the Dolphins in the National Rugby League. Lee previously played for the Brisbane Broncos, Canberra Raiders, Canterbury-Bankstown Bu ...

. Jawai's uncle is former Olympian basketballer Danny Morseu, the second Indigenous Australian to represent Australia at the Olympics in basketball. Jawai’s great uncle is Indigenous

land rights Land law is the form of law that deals with the rights to use, alienate, or exclude others from land. In many jurisdictions, these kinds of property are referred to as real estate or real property, as distinct from personal property. Land use a ...

activist

Eddie Mabo Edward Koiki Mabo (''né'' Sambo; 29 June 1936 – 21 January 1992) was an Indigenous Australian man from the Torres Strait Islands known for his role in campaigning for Indigenous land rights in Australia, in particular the landmark decision o ...

. Like most children on Cape York, he played

throughout primary school and early high school.Indigenous basketballer Nathan Jawai shoots for top
/ref> However, living in a remote indigenous community meant Jawai was subject to a lot of bad influences and was often getting in trouble due to the stain of drug and alcohol abuse.Wildcats' wild ride to the top
/ref> Strong parental guidance and the decision to send Jawai to high school at St Augustine's College in Cairns ensured he stayed away from bad influences. At the age of 15, Jawai began playing basketball, and it only took him two years until he began playing competitively for the

Cairns Marlins The Cairns Marlins are an Australian basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Marlins compete in the men's NBL1 North league and play their home games at Early Settler Stadium. The team is closely affiliated with the Cairns Taipans and C ...

of the

Queensland Basketball League NBL1 North, formerly the Queensland Basketball League (QBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in Queensland and Northern Territory, Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball Queensland partnered wit ...

in 2004. He then spent two years at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra before venturing to the United States in 2006 to play college basketball for

Midland College Midland College (MC) is a public community college in Midland, Texas. It was established as an independent junior college in 1972 and held its first classes on campus in 1975. Since that time, the campus has expanded to a main campus on in Mi ...

. However, after just one season with Midland, Jawai returned to Australia and had surgery to remove the meniscus in his right knee. With his move back home, he had hopes of joining an NBL club.The next Shaq is a Taipan
/ref> He subsequently re-joined the Cairns Marlins and helped guide them to a national title in 2007 while earning ACC All-Star Five honours.

Professional career

Cairns Taipans

Jawai's play with the

Cairns Taipans The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Convention Centre, known colloquially as "The ...

' feeder team, the Cairns Marlins, earned him a spot on the Taipans roster for the

2007–08 NBL season The 2007–08 NBL season was the 30th season of competition since its establishment in 1979. On 21 November 2006, the Gold Coast Blaze joined the league, expanding it to 13 teams. 2007–08 league participants Stadiums and locations ...

. In 31 games for the Taipans, Jawai averaged 17.3 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. His season highs for points and rebounds was 28 and 18 respectively.

NBA

Jawai was drafted 41st overall in the 2008 NBA draft by the Indiana Pacers; however, his rights were traded to the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

in a deal that also brought

Jermaine O'Neal Jermaine Lee O'Neal Sr. (born October 13, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player. The center– power forward had a successful high school career and declared his eligibility for the 1996 NBA draft straight out of high s ...

to Toronto in exchange for T. J. Ford, Rasho Nesterović,

Maceo Baston Maceo Demond Baston (born May 29, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball at the University of Michigan. At a playing height of , and a playing weight of , he played at the power forward position. ...

, and the draft rights to

Roy Hibbert Roy Denzil Hibbert (born December 11, 1986) is a Jamaican-American former professional basketball player. He is a two-time NBA All-Star, and earned NBA All-Defensive Second Team honors in 2014. Hibbert was the runner-up for the NBA Defensive Play ...

. On 11 July 2008, he signed a two-year deal with the Raptors, and the nicknames soon rolled in with "Aussie Shaq", "Outback Shaq" and "Baby Shaq", due to his resemblance to Shaquille O'Neal. He was also nicknamed "Big Nate" by Toronto commentators. On 17 December 2008, Jawai was cleared to resume training after enduring a worrisome period in which he was not allowed to undergo physical activity. Jawai was required to 'rest', due to a routine pre-season test which revealed a cardiac abnormality. On 21 January 2009, Jawai made his NBA debut against the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

The Palace of Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills, commonly referred to as the Palace, was a multi-purpose arena built in 1988 and located in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It was the home of the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Detroit Shoc ...

, becoming the first indigenous Australian to play in the NBA. On 26 February 2009, Jawai was assigned by the Raptors to the

Idaho Stampede Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

of the NBA Development League. In his first start (his second game), he registered 12 points, 5 rebounds and a team-high 3 blocks in Idaho's 104–96 win over the Utah Flash. Jawai was recalled from the D-League on 23 March 2009. On 9 July 2009, Jawai was traded to the Dallas Mavericks as a part of the four-team trade that also involved the Orlando Magic and

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

. Later that year, on 20 October 2009, Jawai was traded to the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

in exchange for a conditional second-round pick in the

2012 NBA draft The 2012 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2012, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (2300 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National Basketball Asso ...

. On 8 November 2009, Jawai played arguably the best game of his NBA career, scoring a team-high 16 points and grabbing six rebounds in a game against the Portland Trail Blazers. On 19 February 2010, Jawai was sent to the

Sioux Falls Skyforce The Sioux Falls Skyforce are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and are affiliated with the Miami Heat. The team plays their home games in the Sanford Pentagon, a place they have call ...

of the NBA D-League for a short stint. He was recalled on 21 February 2010, and sent back on 31 March 2010.

Europe

On 18 August 2010, Jawai signed a one-year deal with the Serbian team

Partizan Belgrade Jugoslovensko sportsko društvo Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Југословенско спортско друштво Партизан, lit=Yugoslav Sports Society Partizan), commonly abbreviated as JSD Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, ЈСД Партизан, link ...

. In June 2011, Jawai signed a deal with the Russian team

UNICS Kazan BC UNICS (russian: БК УНИКС) is a professional basketball club in Kazan, Russia, that plays in the VTB United League, and formerly played in the EuroLeague. On February 28, 2022, EuroLeague Basketball suspended the team because of the 202 ...

. Following the conclusion of Kazan's season, Jawai returned to Cairns and joined the Marlins for a two-game stint. In July 2012, Jawai signed a deal with the Spanish team Barcelona Regal for the 2012–13 season. In July 2013, Jawai signed with the Turkish team

Galatasaray Liv Hospital Galatasaray S.K., is a professional basketball team based in the city of Istanbul in Turkey. It is a part of the Galatasaray Sports Club. The team competes in the Turkish Basketball Super League and Basketball Champions League. The team has won 16 ...

. In October 2013, he sustained a traumatic neck injury while playing for Galatasaray. He had long-lasting effects because of the incident and temporarily couldn't see from one eye. He subsequently managed just four total games for Galatasaray in 2013–14. Despite the circumstances, Jawai re-signed with the club in September 2014. In December 2014, he left Galatasaray and signed with MoraBanc Andorra for the rest of the season.

Perth Wildcats

On 28 August 2015, Jawai signed with the

Perth Wildcats The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Wildcats compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Perth Arena, ...

for the

2015–16 NBL season The 2015–16 NBL season was the 38th season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of eight teams contested the league. The regular season was played between 7 October 2015 and 14 February 2016, followed by a post-season featuri ...

. On 10 October 2015, Jawai made his debut for the Wildcats in the team's season opener, where he recorded 11 points and six rebounds in 21 minutes in a 79–66 win over the

Adelaide 36ers The Adelaide 36ers, also known as the Sixers, are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in th ...

. On 22 November 2015, he scored a season-high 20 points in a 91–90 win over his former team, the

. On 21 January 2016, he had his best game in two months, scoring 18 points in a 95–72 win over the

Illawarra Hawks The Illawarra Hawks (formerly the Wollongong Hawks and The Hawks) is an Australian professional basketball team based in Wollongong, New South Wales. The Illawarra Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home game ...

. The Wildcats finished the regular season in second place with an 18–10 record and reached the NBL Grand Final series, where they defeated the

New Zealand Breakers The New Zealand Breakers (also known as the Sky Sport Breakers for sponsorship reasons) are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Auckland. The Breakers compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at ...

2–1. Jawai appeared in 32 of the team's 34 games in 2015–16, averaging 10.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.

Second stint with Cairns and return to Europe

On 3 June 2016, Jawai signed a three-year deal with the

, returning to the club he began his career with in 2007. A major factor in his return to Cairns was his long-time mentor and Taipans head coach

Aaron Fearne Aaron Fearne is an Australian basketball coach and former professional player who is an assistant coach for the Charlotte 49ers men's team of Conference USA. He served as the head coach of the Cairns Taipans of the Australian National Basketba ...

. On 3 August 2016, he was ruled out for the entire NBL pre-season following finger surgery. On 5 February 2017, he scored a season-high 22 points in an 85–77 win over the

. On 10 October 2017, Jawai was ruled out for 12 weeks after suffering a partial tear of a ligament in his left foot in the Taipans' 2017–18 season opener four days earlier. On 3 April 2018, Jawai took up his player option with the Taipans for the 2018–19 season. On 17 February 2019, Jawai signed with French team

Levallois Metropolitans Metropolitans 92 is a French professional basketball club that is based in Levallois-Perret, in the Paris metropolitan area. The club currently plays in the LNB Pro A, the highest-tier level in French basketball. The club was established in 2007 ...

for the rest of the

2018–19 Pro A season The 2018–19 Pro A season, for sponsorships reasons the Jeep Élite, was the 97th season of the Pro A, the top basketball league in France organised by the Ligue Nationale de Basket (LNB). It was the second season with Jeep as main sponsor. The ...

. In 14 games, he averaged 5.8 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. On 4 August 2019, Jawai re-signed with the Taipans for the 2019–20 NBL season. On 3 August 2020, Jawai re-signed again with the Taipans on a two-year deal. On 9 June 2021, Jawai joined the

of the

, marking his fourth stint with the team. Jawai missed most of February of the

2021–22 NBL season The 2021–22 NBL season was the 44th season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. A total of ten teams are contesting in the 2021–22 season, which commenced on 3 December 2021. Australian broadcast rights to the ...

after suffering a partial Grade 2 tear of his right adductor. He parted ways with the Taipans following the season. In May 2022, Jawai joined the

for their inaugural season in the NBL1 North.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

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Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, 39 , , 2 , , 10.6 , , .441 , , .000 , , .684 , , 2.7 , , .6 , , .3 , , .2 , , 3.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 45 , , 2 , , 9.6 , , .435 , , .000 , , .684 , , 2.4 , , .5 , , .2 , , .2 , , 2.8

Euroleague

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2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

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Partizan Partizan may refer to: Sport * JSD Partizan, a sports society from Belgrade, Serbia, which includes the following clubs: **AK Partizan, athletics ** Biciklistički Klub Partizan, cycling ** Džudo Klub Partizan, judo **FK Partizan, association fo ...

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Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

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Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club'') is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Most notable for its association football department, the club also consists of various other de ...

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National team career

Jawai represented the Australian Boomers at the 2009 FIBA Oceania Championship and the

2014 FIBA World Cup The 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 17th edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the tournament previously known as the FIBA World Championship. Hosted by Spain, it was the last tournament to be held on the then-current four-year cycle ...

. In November 2018, he was called up to the Boomers squad for the team's next window of 2019 FIBA World Cup qualifiers.

Personal life

Jawai is the nephew of Danny Morseu, the first Indigenous Australian to play basketball for Australia. Jawai has two daughters.

References

External links

Early life

Professional career

Cairns Taipans

NBA

Europe

Perth Wildcats

Second stint with Cairns and return to Europe

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

Euroleague

National team career

Personal life

See also

References

External links