1. Nathan Leon Jawai was born on 10 October 1986 and is an Australian professional basketball player for the Darwin Salties of the NBL1 North.
32 Facts About Nathan Jawai
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Nathan Jawai is an Indigenous Australian of Torres Strait Islander descent.
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Nathan Jawai is the cousin of NBA basketball player Patty Mills, rugby league NRL players Edrick Lee and Brenko Lee.
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Nathan Jawai's uncle is former Olympian basketballer Danny Morseu, the second Indigenous Australian to represent Australia at the Olympics in basketball.
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However, living in a remote indigenous community meant Nathan Jawai was subject to a lot of bad influences and was often getting in trouble due to the stain of drug and alcohol abuse.
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At the age of 15, Nathan Jawai began playing basketball, and it only took him two years until he began playing competitively for the Cairns Marlins of the Queensland Basketball League in 2004.
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Nathan Jawai 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.
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However, after just one season with Midland, Nathan Jawai returned to Australia and had surgery to remove the meniscus in his right knee.
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Nathan Jawai subsequently re-joined the Cairns Marlins and helped guide them to a national title in 2007 while earning ACC All-Star Five honours.
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In 31 games for the Taipans, Nathan Jawai averaged 17.3 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.
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On 17 December 2008, Nathan Jawai was cleared to resume training after enduring a worrisome period in which he was not allowed to undergo physical activity.
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On 21 January 2009, Nathan Jawai made his NBA debut against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills, becoming the first indigenous Australian to play in the NBA.
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On 26 February 2009, Nathan Jawai was assigned by the Raptors to the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League.
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Nathan Jawai was recalled from the D-League on 23 March 2009.
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On 9 July 2009, Nathan Jawai was traded to the Dallas Mavericks as a part of the four-team trade that involved the Orlando Magic and Memphis Grizzlies.
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Later that year, on 20 October 2009, Nathan Jawai was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for a conditional second-round pick in the 2012 NBA draft.
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On 8 November 2009, Nathan 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.
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On 19 February 2010, Nathan Jawai was sent to the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA D-League for a short stint.
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Nathan Jawai was recalled on 21 February 2010, and sent back on 31 March 2010.
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On 18 August 2010, Nathan Jawai signed a one-year deal with the Serbian team Partizan Belgrade.
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In June 2011, Nathan Jawai signed a deal with the Russian team UNICS Kazan.
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In July 2013, Nathan Jawai signed with the Turkish team Galatasaray Liv Hospital.
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Nathan Jawai had long-lasting effects because of the incident and temporarily couldn't see from one eye.
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On 3 June 2016, Nathan Jawai signed a three-year deal with the Cairns Taipans, returning to the club he began his career with in 2007.
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On 3 August 2020, Nathan Jawai re-signed again with the Taipans on a two-year deal.
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On 9 June 2021, Nathan Jawai joined the Cairns Marlins of the NBL1 North, marking his fourth stint with the team.
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Nathan Jawai parted ways with the Taipans following the season.
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In May 2022, Nathan Jawai joined the Darwin Salties for their inaugural season in the NBL1 North.
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In February 2023, Nathan Jawai re-signed with the Salties for the 2023 NBL1 North season.
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In March 2024, Nathan Jawai re-signed with the Salties for the 2024 NBL1 North season.
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Nathan Jawai represented the Australian Boomers at the 2009 FIBA Oceania Championship and the 2014 FIBA World Cup.
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Nathan Jawai is the nephew of Danny Morseu, the first Indigenous Australian to play basketball for Australia.