Nathan Jawai

Nathan Jawai

Jawai signing with Morabanc Andorra in 2014.
No. 32 – MoraBanc Andorra
Position Power forward / Center
League Liga ACB
Personal information
Born 10 October 1986
Sydney, New South Wales
Nationality Australian, Torres Strait Islander
Listed height 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight 308 lb (140 kg)
Career information
College Midland College (2006–2007)
NBA draft 2008 / Round: 2 / Pick: 41st overall
Selected by the Indiana Pacers
Pro career 2007–present
Career history
2007–2008 Cairns Taipans (Australia)
2008–2009 Toronto Raptors
2009 →Idaho Stampede (D-League)
2009–2010 Minnesota Timberwolves
2010 →Sioux Falls Skyforce (D-League)
2010–2011 Partizan Belgrade (Serbia)
2011–2012 UNICS Kazan (Russia)
2012 Cairns Marlins (Australia)
2012–2013 Barcelona (Spain)
2013–2014 Galatasaray Liv Hospital (Turkey)
2014–present MoraBanc Andorra (Spain)
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Nathan Leon "Nate" Jawai (born 10 October 1986), an Indigenous Australian of Torres Strait Islander descent,[1] is a professional basketball player who currently plays for MoraBanc Andorra of the Liga ACB. Standing at 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m), he plays at the power forward and center positions.

Professional career

Early years

While playing for the Cairns Taipans during the 2007–08 NBL season, in 31 games, Jawai averaged 17.3 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1 block per game. His season highs for points and rebounds was 28 and 18 respectively.[2]

NBA career

He was drafted 41st overall in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers; however, his rights were traded to the Toronto Raptors in a deal that also brought Jermaine O'Neal to Toronto for T. J. Ford, Rasho Nesterović, Maceo Baston, and the Raptors' 17th pick in the 2008 NBA Draft who turned out to be Roy Hibbert.[3][4]

Soon after the trade the Raptors announced they had signed Jawai to a two-year deal on 11 July 2008.[3]

Nicknamed the "Aussie Shaq", "Outback Shaq", and "Baby Shaq" due to his resemblance to Shaquille O'Neal,[5] Jawai claims to not like the nicknames or comparisons to O'Neal.[6] He was also nicknamed by Toronto commentators 'Big Nate'.[7]

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.[8]

On 21 January 2009, Jawai made his NBA debut against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills.[9]

On 26 February 2009, Jawai was assigned by the Toronto Raptors to the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League.[10] In his first start (his second game), he registered 12 points, 5 rebounds and a team-high 3 blocks in a 104–96 Idaho win over Utah Flash.[11] Jawai was recalled from the D-League on 23 March 2009.[12]

On 9 July 2009, Nathan Jawai was traded to the Dallas Mavericks as a part of the four-team deal among Raptors, Mavericks, Orlando Magic and Memphis Grizzlies.[13] Later that year, on 20 October 2009, Jawai was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a conditional second-round pick in the 2012 NBA Draft.[14]

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.[15]

On 19 February 2010, Jawai was sent to the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA D-League for a short stint.[16] He was recalled on 21 February 2010,[17] and sent back on 31 March 2010.[18]

European career

On 18 August 2010, Jawai signed a one-year deal with the Serbian team Partizan Belgrade.[19]

In June 2011, he signed a deal with the Russian team UNICS Kazan.[20] In 2012, Jawai signed to play for the Cairns Marlins in the Australian Basketball Association's QBL division.[21]

In July 2012, Jawai signed a deal with the Spanish team Barcelona Regal for the 2012–13 season.[22][23]

In July 2013, he signed with the Turkish team Galatasaray Liv Hospital.[24] In September 2014, he re-signed with Galatasaray.[25] In December 2014, he left Galatasaray and signed with MoraBanc Andorra for the rest of the season.[26]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high

Note: The Euroleague is not the only competition in which the player participated for the team during the season, he also played in domestic competition.

NBA

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2008–09 Toronto 6 0 3.2 .250 .000 .000 .3 .0 .0 .0 .3
2009–10 Minnesota 39 2 10.6 .441 .000 .684 2.7 .6 .3 .2 3.2
Career 45 2 9.6 .435 .000 .684 2.4 .5 .2 .2 2.8

Euroleague

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2010–11 Partizan 16 7 22.9 .459 .000 .786 5.0 .9 .6 .7 9.1 10.7
2011–12 UNICS 15 10 14.1 .547 .000 .643 4.3 .3 .3 .5 7.3 5.7
2012–13 Barcelona 30 6 15.5 .697 .000 .710 4.7 .4 .3 .8 7.1 9.1
2013–14 Galatasaray 2 0 14.7 .875 .000 .727 2.5 .5 .5 .5 11.0 14.0
Career 63 23 17.0 .582 .000 .790 4.6 .5 .4 .7 7.8 8.9

References

  1. ↑ Murphy, Padraic (16 May 2008). "Indigenous basketballer Nathan Jawai shoots for top". The Australian. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  2. ↑ "Player statistics for Nathan Jawai". Foxsportspulse.com. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Australian league rookie of year Jawai signs with Raptors". ESPN.com. Associated Press. 11 July 2008. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  4. ↑ "Pacers, Raptors complete trade sending O'Neal to Toronto". ESPN.com. 9 July 2008. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  5. ↑ Hand, Guy (14 December 2007). "Aussie basketball has a new star". Foxsports.com.au. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  6. ↑ Ulmer, Mike (31 July 2008). "Talking With Nathan Jawai". NBA.com. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  7. ↑ "Nathan Jawai vs Kings - All 1:49 of it !". Youtube.com. 25 January 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  8. ↑ "Jawai gets all-clear to resume his career". Smh.com.au. 19 December 2008. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  9. ↑ "Toronto Raptors vs. Detroit Pistons - Play By Play". ESPN.com. 21 January 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  10. ↑ "Toronto’s Nate Jawai Assigned To Idaho Stampede". NBA.com. 26 February 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  11. ↑ "NBA Development League: Flash at Stampede". NBA.com. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  12. ↑ "NATHAN JAWAI RECALLED TO TORONTO RAPTORS". NBA.com. 23 March 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  13. ↑ "Mavs acquire four-time All-Star Marion in trade". NBA.com. 9 July 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  14. ↑ "Wolves Acquire Nathan Jawai from Dallas". NBA.com. 20 October 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  15. ↑ "Jawai leads charge for NBA side". Cairns.com.au. 9 November 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  16. ↑ "Wolves send Jawai to D-league for weekend stint". Usatoday.com. 19 February 2010. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  17. ↑ "Wolves Recall Nathan Jawai From Sioux Falls Skyforce". Oursportscentral.com. 21 February 2010. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  18. ↑ "Jawai Re-Assigned To D-League". RealGM.com. 31 March 2010. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  19. ↑ Ostojic, Aca (18 August 2010). "Partizan adds size with Jawai". Euroleague.net. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  20. ↑ "UNICS KAZAN goes big with Jawai". Euroleague.net. 17 June 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  21. ↑ "Nathan Jawai returns to Cairns..". Andthefoul.net. 27 June 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  22. ↑ "Nathan Jawai ya es nuevo jugador del Barça Regal". Mundodeportivo.com (in Spanish). 18 July 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  23. ↑ "FC Barcelona Regal adds size with Jawai". Euroleague.net. 18 July 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  24. ↑ "GALATASARAY LIV HOSPITAL pens Jawai to two-year deal". Euroleague.net. 21 July 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  25. ↑ "Nathan Jawai Renew Contract". Galatasaray.org. 4 September 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  26. ↑ "MoraBanc Andorra lands Nathan Jawai". Sportando.com. 19 December 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2014.

External links