Nathan Jawai
Nathan Jawai | |
|---|---|
| Born | Nathan Leon Jawai October 10, 1986 Paddington, Sydney, Australia |
| Other names | Aussie Shaq, Outback Shaq, Baby Shaq, Big Nate |
| Occupation | Professional basketball player (retired) |
| Years active | 2004–2025 |
| Known for | First Indigenous Australian to play in the NBA; NBL championship with Perth Wildcats (2016) |
Nathan Leon Jawai (born 10 October 1986) is a retired Australian professional basketball athlete. His basketball journey began in 2004 with the Cairns Marlins competing in the Queensland Basketball League. The following year, he attended the Australian Institute of Sport. Jawai subsequently played for the Cairns Taipans in the NBL before being drafted by the Indiana Pacers during the 2008 NBA draft.
Throughout his international career, Jawai had periods playing for Serbia's KK Partizan, Spain's Barcelona, and Turkey's Galatasaray. He later returned to Australia, where he secured an NBL championship with the Perth Wildcats in 2016. Standing at 209 cm, his primary positions were power forward and centre.
Jawai also represented the Australian Boomers at the 2014 FIBA World Cup.
Early life
Born on 10 October 1986 in Paddington, Sydney, Jawai spent his first year there before his family relocated to Bamaga, a remote community near Cape York Peninsula. He is an Indigenous Australian of Torres Strait Islander heritage and is related to NBA player Patty Mills, as well as NRL players Edrick Lee and Brenko Lee. His uncle is former Olympian basketball player Danny Morseu, and his great uncle was Indigenous land rights advocate Eddie Mabo.
Initially involved in rugby league during primary and early high school years, Jawai faced challenges growing up in a remote Indigenous community affected by substance abuse issues. Guided firmly by his parents, he enrolled at St Augustine's College in Cairns, where he began playing basketball at age 15. Within two years, he competed for the Cairns Marlins in the Queensland Basketball League (QBL) in 2004. He then spent two years at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra before moving to the United States in 2006 to play college basketball at Midland College.
After one season, Jawai returned to Australia to undergo meniscus surgery on his right knee and set his sights on joining an NBL team. He rejoined the Cairns Marlins, contributing to their 2007 national championship victory and earning ACC All-Star Five recognition.
Cairns Taipans
Jawai signed with the Cairns Taipans for the 2007–08 NBL season, where he averaged 17.3 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 1.9 assists across 31 games. His peak performances included scoring 28 points and grabbing 18 rebounds.
NBA
Selected as the 41st overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft by the Indiana Pacers, Jawai’s rights were immediately traded to the Toronto Raptors as part of a deal involving Jermaine O'Neal. He inked a two-year contract with Toronto on 11 July 2008. Due to his physical resemblance to Shaquille O'Neal, he received nicknames such as "Aussie Shaq," "Outback Shaq," and "Baby Shaq," while Toronto commentators also referred to him as "Big Nate."
Following detection of a cardiac irregularity during pre-season screening, Jawai was subsequently cleared to resume training on 17 December 2008. He made his NBA debut on 21 January 2009 against the Detroit Pistons, becoming the first Indigenous Australian to play in the NBA.
On 26 February 2009, Jawai was assigned to the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League, where he recorded 12 points, five rebounds, and three blocks in his first start. Toronto recalled him on 23 March 2009.
On 9 July 2009, Jawai was traded to the Dallas Mavericks as part of a multi-team transaction, then moved to the Minnesota Timberwolves on 20 October in exchange for a conditional second-round pick in the 2012 NBA draft.
One of his standout NBA games came on 8 November 2009 when he posted a team-high 16 points along with six rebounds against the Portland Trail Blazers.
During early 2010, Jawai had short assignments with the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA D-League in February and March, being recalled intermittently between those periods.
Europe
On 18 August 2010, Jawai committed to a one-year contract with the Serbian club Partizan Belgrade.
By June 2011, he had moved to the Russian outfit UNICS Kazan. Following the conclusion of their season, Jawai briefly returned to Cairns, participating in two games with the Marlins.
In July 2012, Jawai secured a deal with Barcelona Regal competing in the Liga ACB for the 2012–13 campaign.
The following year, in July 2013, he signed a two-year agreement with Turkish side Galatasaray Liv Hospital. Unfortunately, in October 2013, he sustained a severe neck injury that had prolonged impacts, restricting him to only four appearances during that season. Nonetheless, Galatasaray re-signed him in September 2014. By December 2014, Jawai departed from Galatasaray and joined MoraBanc Andorra for the rest of the season.
Perth Wildcats
On 28 August 2015, Jawai inked a contract with the Perth Wildcats for the 2015–16 NBL season. He made his debut on 10 October 2015, contributing 11 points and six rebounds in a 79–66 victory over the Adelaide 36ers. On 22 November, he achieved a season-best 20 points during a narrow 91–90 win against his former team, the Cairns Taipans. Later, on 21 January 2016, he tallied 18 points in a commanding 95–72 triumph over the Illawarra Hawks. The Wildcats concluded the regular season in second place with an 18–10 record and went on to claim the NBL Grand Final title by defeating the New Zealand Breakers 2–1. Across 32 of 34 games, Jawai averaged 10.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per contest.
Second stint with Cairns and return to Europe
On 3 June 2016, Jawai agreed to a three-year contract to rejoin the Cairns Taipans, influenced by his mentor and head coach Aaron Fearne. He missed all pre-season activities due to surgery on his finger. On 5 February 2017, he posted a season-high of 22 points in an 85–77 win over the Perth Wildcats.
In October 2017, Jawai was sidelined for about twelve weeks after sustaining a partial ligament tear in his left foot. He opted to continue with the Taipans for the following season by exercising his player option on 3 April 2018.
On 17 February 2019, Jawai signed with French club Levallois Metropolitans for the remainder of the 2018–19 Pro A season, where he averaged 5.8 points and grabbed 2.3 rebounds over fourteen games.
He recommitted to the Taipans for the 2019–20 NBL season on 4 August 2019 and extended his stay with another two-year deal on 3 August 2020. On 9 June 2021, he joined the Cairns Marlins of the NBL1 North, marking his fourth tenure with this team.
During the 2021–22 NBL season, Jawai missed most of February due to a partial Grade 2 tear of his right adductor muscle. Following that season’s conclusion, he parted ways with the Taipans.
Darwin Salties
In May 2022, Jawai signed with the Darwin Salties ahead of their inaugural NBL1 North campaign. He renewed his contract for both the 2023 and 2024 NBL1 North seasons, solidifying his status as a pivotal figure within the squad.
In June 2025, Jawai was named to an Indigenous Basketball Australia All-Stars team that competed in an exhibition match against Maori Basketball New Zealand, marking his final appearance in competitive basketball.
Regular season
|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Toronto | 6 || 0 || 3.2 || .250 || .000 || .000 || 0.3 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Minnesota | 39 || 2 || 10.6 || .441 || .000 || .684 || 2.7 || 0.6 || 0.3 || 0.2 || 3.2 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Overall | 45 || 2 || 9.6 || .435 || .000 || .684 || 2.4 || 0.5 || 0.2 || 0.2 || 2.8
Euroleague
|- | style="text-align:left;"|2010–11 | style="text-align:left;"|Partizan | 16 || 7 || 22.9 || .459 || .000 || .786 || 5.0 || 0.9 || 0.6 || 0.7 || 9.1 || 10.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2011–12 | style="text-align:left;"|UNICS | 15 || 10 || 14.1 || .547 || .000 || .643 || 4.3 || 0.3 || 0.3 || 0.5 || 7.3 || 5.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2012–13 | style="text-align:left;"|Barcelona | 30 || 6 || 15.5|| .697|| .000|| .710|| 4.7|| 0.4|| 0.3|| 0.8||7.1||9.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2013–14 | style="text-align:left;"|Galatasaray | 2|| 0||14.7|| .875|| .000|| .727||2.5||0.5||0.5||0.5|| 11.0|| 14.0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Total |63||23||17.0|| .582|| .000|| .790||4.6||0.5||0.4||0.7||7.8||8.9
National team career
Jawai made his first appearance for Australia during the 2005 FIBA Under-21 World Championship. He played for the Australian Boomers at the 2009 FIBA Oceania Championship, the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, and the 2015 FIBA Oceania Championship.
In November of 2018, Jawai was called back to join the Boomers roster for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification matches.
Personal life
Jawai is related to Danny Morseu, recognized as the first Indigenous Australian basketball player to represent Australia internationally, being his nephew. He is a father to two daughters.