Nathan Jawai: A Basketball Champion Written by Andrew Einspruch Contents Making history . 2 Early days . 4 Picking up the round ball . .ONLY . 6 A first championship . 8 An incredible first year . .10 Playing for the NBA . 12 Playing in Europe . 16 Recovery and return . .18 Back on top . .20 Nathan Jawai: at a glance . 22 Glossary . 23 SAMPLEIndex . 24 Making history Basketball player Nathan Jawai made history on 22 January 2009 . He was not in the starting line-up in a basketball game. His team did not win the game. He did not score any points, either. In fact, he only played for three minutes, and in that time he even made a turnover, allowing the other team to get the ball. What historic thing did Jawai do? The moment ONLY he stepped onto the court, Nathan Jawai became the first Indigenous Australian to play in the world-famous National Basketball Association, the NBA . Jawai played his first NBA game with the Toronto Raptors. 2 SAMPLE 3 Torres Strait Islands Bamaga Early days Bamaga has fewer than 1000 Nathan Jawai grew up in a small town called residents, most Bamaga, in Far North Queensland. Like most of whom are children there, Jawai played Rugby League Aboriginal and Far Torres Strait at school, not basketball. North Queensland Islander people . Bamaga is a small community, and Jawai was Cairns close to everyone who lived there. However, because it is so small, there is not much for young people to do. To give Jawai more opportunities, his parents ONLY sent him to St Augustine’s College in Cairns, a city about 1000 kilometres south of Bamaga. QUEENSLAND This is Jawai’s St Augustine’s College Year 9 school photo, taken in 2000 . He is in the middle N of the back row . Brisbane 0 300 km 4 SAMPLE 5 Picking up the round ball Jawai was 15 when he first played basketball. Jawai, aged 18, playing He was inspired by his uncle, Danny Morseu, for the Australian who was the first Indigenous Australian to play Institute of Sport in 2005 basketball for Australia . Morseu played for the Australian national team, the Boomers. In 2004, when he was 17, Jawai was playing for the Cairns Marlins, a National Basketball League (NBL) feeder team . ONLY Then, in 2005 and 2006, Jawai went to Canberra to train at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS). 6 SAMPLE 7 A first championship Jawai played 13 games with the Midland College When Jawai finished his training at the AIS, he went basketball team. to Midland College in Texas, in the United States. Things did not work out for him, though. He played only one season due to knee problems, and came back to Australia to have surgery on his right knee . Soon after, Jawai was back on the court, playing for the Cairns Marlins again. That 2007 season was his first taste of big success. ONLY This photo shows Jawai with the Midland College basketball team. He is in the back row, sixth from the right. 8 SAMPLE 9 An incredible first year Jawai’s success with the Marlins caught the eye of the NBL’s Cairns Taipans. They invited him to play with them for the 2007–2008 season. In 31 games, Jawai averaged a remarkable 17.3 points and 9.4 rebounds. He was named Rookie of the Year, and the Most Valuable Player of the All-Star Game. ONLY The Taipans made it to the playoffs, losing to the New Zealand Breakers in the quarterfinals . It was a great start to Jawai’s career. Jawai’s fierce scoring style was a highlight of his first NBL season with the Cairns Taipans. 10 SAMPLE 11.