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Nathan Leon Jawai (born 10 October 1986) is an Australian former professional basketball player. Jawai first played for the Cairns Marlins in the Queensland Basketball League in 2004, before heading to Canberra the following year to attend the Australian Institute of Sport. He went on to play for the Cairns Taipans in the National Basketball League before being drafted by the Indiana Pacers in the 2008 NBA draft. Two years later he joined KK Partizan in Serbia, then Barcelona and Turkey, before heading back home to Australia and winning an NBL championship with the Perth Wildcats in 2016. Standing at 209 cm, he played at the power forward and centre positions.
Jawai played for the Australian Boomers at the 2014 FIBA World Cup.
Like most children on Cape York, he played rugby league throughout primary school and early high school. Indigenous basketballer Nathan Jawai shoots for top 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 Nathan Jawai: "I want to be in the NBA next season" 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 of the Queensland Basketball League in 2004. Jawai's historic Raptors contract 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. 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 He subsequently re-joined the Cairns Marlins and helped guide them to a national title in 2007 while earning ACC All-Star Five honours.
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 at The Palace of Auburn Hills, becoming the first indigenous Australian to play in the NBA.
On 26 February 2009, Jawai was assigned by the Raptors to the Idaho Stampede 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. Later that year, on 20 October 2009, Jawai was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for a conditional second-round pick in the 2012 NBA draft.
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 of the NBA D-League for a short stint. He was recalled on 21 February 2010, and sent back on 31 March 2010.
In June 2011, Jawai signed a deal with the Russian team UNICS Kazan. 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 with Barcelona Regal of the Liga ACB for the 2012–13 season.
In July 2013, Jawai signed with the Turkish team Galatasaray Liv Hospital. 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 BC Andorra for the rest of the season.
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 for the rest of the 2018–19 Pro A season. 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 Cairns Marlins of the NBL1 North, marking his fourth stint with the team.
Jawai missed most of February of the 2021–22 NBL season after suffering a partial Grade 2 tear of his right adductor. He parted ways with the Taipans following the season.
In February 2023, Jawai re-signed with the Salties for the 2023 NBL1 North season.
In March 2024, Jawai re-signed with the Salties for the 2024 NBL1 North season.
In June 2025, Jawai was named in an Indigenous Basketball Australia All-Stars team for an exhibition match against Maori Basketball New Zealand. It marked his final competitive basketball game.
In November 2018, Jawai was called up to the Boomers squad for the team's next window of 2019 FIBA World Cup qualifiers.
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