Illawarra unveils NBL22 Indigenous round uniforms

The Hawks will once again pay homage to their proud Illawarra ties with their specially designed Indigenous round uniforms.

The jerseys and shorts, designed by Lani Balzan, will be worn by the foundation club as part of the league's NBL22 Indigenous round.

Balzan's artwork design, named 'coming together', incorporated the club's mascot and colours while recreating the hawk with a more traditional style design detailed with Aboriginal dot and line work.

"The idea of creating a gathering symbol was always an idea I wanted to implement and it worked perfectly with placing the basketball in the middle," Balzan said.

"The gathering symbol represents the club, the team and the community coming together celebrating the NBL and in particular the Indigenous round.

"The lower half of the artwork represents Sea Country where the Illawarra Hawks are located in Dharawal Country, with the waves forming the ocean connecting to the land.  

"The players are represented in this section symbolising their connection to the land.

"The two white dot symbols represent the community of supporters and fans coming together as one to celebrate the special occasion.  

"They are symbolised in the design as a way for the club to show its respect for its supporters and First Nations people."

This season marks the third straight campaign the NBL has run their Indigenous round - an initiative Hawks co-owner and president Dorry Kordahi is proud to be a part of.

"We are proud that the Illawarra Hawks, through former player Tyson Demos (and supported by NBA star Patty Mills), started this idea and we have seen this grow over the years on a national scale, to the extent that the NBL has seen this as an important fixture on the NBL calendar," Kordahi said.

"We are proud of our region, and we are proud of what Lani has created for our club, incorporating everything the Hawks, Illawarra region and Dharawal Country has to offer.

"We have big plans on how we're going to celebrate our Indigenous round next month, which will no doubt be one of our most special home games this season."

HawkHeads can grab their own Indigenous round jersey via the club's online store from 9am Tuesday, February 22.