Forgot Jawai still played tbh.

I think he has too.

I don't believe Jawai is Aboriginal.

He's not but most people don't know to differentiate between Indigenous and Aboriginal, he's Torres Strait Islander.

People not knowing he's not Aboriginal doesn't make him Aboriginal.

So if we're talkimg straight down the middle aboriginal who we got?

Googling hasn't gotten me any further in this research. Just list Jawai and Patty Mills.

Jawai isn't Aboriginal and Mills isn't in the NBL, so I'm not sure what list you're looking at.

I think the cedar brothers were but not in nbl

Deba George another one I think

Deba George plagued for cairns

Deba was born in the Torres Strait. Played for the Taipans in 2011/12 I think.

Chris Pattons bro plays AFL for GWS right? Almost certain they aren't Aboriginal

Was looking at a list of aboriginal sports people Kobe. Its the only list I could find.

So we're saying there is none? Whats up with that?

Does anything have to be up with it? If Aboriginal people were represented in the NBL at the same rate as in the entire population, there would be 1.9 Aboriginal players in the NBL.

There were at least two for a period of a few years not all that long ago - there were three for some of the 2012 season - and even expecting two requires Aboriginals to go into basketball at the same rate as others.

8 teams with 8 local players per team. 64 spots. Indigenous population estimated to be about 3% of the broader Australian population, so 1-2 players within a set of around 64. Jawai is one current representative.

People have mentioned other recent players: George, Cedars, Demos, Mills, etc.

Demos as well? In that case there were four in the league simultaneously in 2012 with him, Mills, and the Cedar brothers.

I assume you're the same anon who in the Cal Bruton thread is whining about me thinking I know more than you despite not actually rebutting any of my arguments?

At least here you're making an argument, even if it's completely wrong.

Is it just they prefer AFL?

I can't be "wrong again still" because one requires me being wrong about a different thing, and the other requires me being wrong about the same thing.

And neither applies because I wasn't wrong the first time.

But you get one Internet Point for the Mills thing, so good for you.

That speaks to a rather large misunderstanding of biology.

Basketball, at least along the eastern side of the continent isn't very popular among Aboriginal communities, except among Koori people in Victoria. I have no idea about WA.

Many play in our own community tournaments, choosing not to play in other leagues. Mainstream basketball isn't seen as being inclusive of Aboriginal people and if you look back over threads on ozhoops and elsewhere, you'll find racist and ignorant comments about us. That sort of environment is why Patty Mills father created an Indigenous club, the Shadows. It's also why our best young players either end up playing rugby league or AFL, or just playing with their families in knock out tournaments.

Btw, as far as identity goes, the way we look at it - you're either Aboriginal or you're not, regardless of colour. It's still a coffee, even if it has milk in it.

Skin tone usually means nothing. We all know who is or isn't. To us its usually obvious.

I was just about to lock the thread to finish the pedantic arguing, but glad I didn't. Thanks Jay.

Tim Duggan 1996 Gold Coast Rollers.
Great kid .

Some experts here are truely pathetic. Patrick has Torres straight heritage on his dad's side , and aboriginal on his mum's. Only been reported in the local, national and international press for about 15 years.

Spot Quiz. First player (s) of indigenous heritage to have played for a winning team in a GF in Aust Nat leagues nbl, wnbl , or/and USA WNBA, include year and team for bonus point.

Thanks Isaac for not locking the thread that insight from Jay was the kind of response I was hoping to find once you filter through the crap you find some good posts.

"It's still a coffee, even if it has milk in it."

Yep, good point, well done Jay, that's pretty much quote of the year.

As far as heritage is concerned it's interesting that a lot of DNA tests don't actually measure Australian Aborigine. We should all be proud of our heritage as it's generally unlikely that you are 100% of something. I did mine recently. 50% British & Irish, 35% Western European, 10% Scandinavian and 5% Eastern European. Could be worse.....

Yeah I would guess Danny Morseu as well. St Kilda Saints - 1979 NBL Champs.

Actually I think my guess is wrong. Someone else have a crack.

Pretty sure you were just off by a year - Morseu was on the Saints in 1980.

He was on the Saints in 79 as well, was one of their leading scorers, and they won the title that, but I don't think he actually played in the GF

He was on the Saints in 79 as well, was one of their leading scorers, and they won the title that, but I don't think he actually played in the GF

Wrong again Kobe.
"Among the players on the 1979 and 1980 championship teams were Larry Sengstock, Robbie Cadee, Tony Barnett, Danny Morseau, Steve Breheny and the amazing American Rocky Smith."
From the official Melb Utd website.
http://www.melbourneutd.com.au/pages/35366-history-history.

How time goes by and people forget the trailblazers!!!
Claude Williams was one of the first Aboriginal players in the NBL in 1979 (along with Danny Morseau) playing for the Sydney Astronauts and then the Sydney Supersonics in 1983.
He was also the all time leading Indigenous scorer with 39 points against the Melbourne Tigers (Andrew Gaze's team) in 1984.
In 1988 he became the first and ONLY head coach in the NBL in 1988 (Sydney Kings) before coaching the Newcastle Falcons in 1989 and 1990.

Hey Anonymous,
Danny Morseau was on the St Kilda roster in 1979 and 1980 but not sure from memory if he played in both G/F's. He injured his knee and may have missed one or the other. Unfortunately the knee injury cut short his memorable career.
By the way, Graham Davis (also Aborigine) played for the Sydney Kings team in their inaugural team in the NBL in 1988.

It's Morseu, not Morseau.

I notice the anon from earlier has been unable to provide footage of Morseu in the 1979 grand final, too.

Don't forget there were other Aboriginal and indigenous Australians playing high level basketball who would have played NBL, if it had existed before 1979.

eg Michael Almaty- 1964 Olympics, represented NT in Australian championships. He was an on court genius for his spatial awareness and slick passing.

Since the start of the NBL, I highly doubt that any Australian-based Olympian would not play NBL.

For anyone still wondering if there are any new indigenous players in the NBL this season, Davo Hickey at the Phoenix is indigenous.

Indigenous Australians make up about 3% of the population.

So In a league with about 72 local players, you'd only need 2 to be considered representative.

It's claimed they make up 10% of the AFL. I personally would have guessed a little lower than that, but I suppose not all are obvious, so its probably about right.

I don't know how the average physical characteristics compare against the population average. It's fair to say, on a casual observation, that's there's quite a few small guys in the AFL, who would simply be too short for even the NBL. But I have also know some very tall & hard guys.

Perhaps as the influence of basketball spreads, along with the necessary infrastructure, we may see an uptick in participation?