The Illawarra Hawks’ off-season acquisitions haven’t stopped, with the club adding former NBA player and NBL veteran Lamar Patterson as an Injury Replacement Player for the 2026-27 season.
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The move adds another experienced piece to Justin Tatum’s roster as the Hawks look to return to championship contention following a disappointing title defence last season.
Announced by the club earlier today, Patterson, who celebrated his 35th birthday last week, will make Illawarra his third NBL team since first arriving in Australia with the Brisbane Bullets during the 2018-19 season.
In Patterson, the Hawks aren’t simply adding depth. They’re bringing in a former NBA player, two-time All-NBL First Team selection and proven scorer whose remarkable professional journey has taken him around the world.
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Originally from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Patterson spent five years at Pittsburgh, where he shared the court with Kiwi NBA star Steven Adams during the 2012-13 season.
Patterson saved his best college basketball for last, averaging 17.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists during his final season in the ACC.
That campaign helped Patterson hear his name called with the 48th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, selected by the Milwaukee Bucks before being traded to the Atlanta Hawks on draft night.
Rather than immediately begin his NBA career, Patterson headed overseas and signed with Tofaş Bursa in Türkiye for the 2014-15 season, averaging 11.2 points per game.
Less than a year later, his NBA opportunity arrived.
Patterson joined Atlanta and spent parts of the next two seasons with the Hawks, appearing in 44 NBA games and averaging 2.3 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 10.9 minutes per game.
During that period, Patterson also spent time in what was then known as the NBA Development League, suiting up for the Austin Spurs, Canton Charge (now Cleveland Charge) and Reno Bighorns (now Stockton Kings).
It was there that Patterson was given a greater opportunity to showcase his scoring ability.
During his final season in the league in 2016-17, he averaged an impressive 24.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game.
Patterson was waived by the Bighorns on March 18, 2017, beginning an international journey that would eventually take him to Australia.
Over the following year, Patterson played in Puerto Rico, Italy and China before landing with the Brisbane Bullets five games into the 2018-19 NBL season.
And it didn’t take long for him to make an impact.
Patterson averaged 17.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists while shooting 43.9% from the field during his debut campaign, beginning what would become a longstanding relationship with Australian basketball across both the NBL and NBL1.
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He backed it up with the best NBL season of his career in 2019-20, averaging 21.4 points per game and earning All-NBL First Team honours, an accolade he would receive twice during his time in the league.
His NBL journey hasn’t been without setbacks.
Patterson joined the New Zealand Breakers for the 2020-21 season but suffered a knee injury just six games into his stint. He was later released before eventually returning to Brisbane, where he played another 27 games for the Bullets.
Following that season, Patterson didn’t play another NBL game between 2022 and 2025, instead turning his attention to NBL1, where he continued to prove there was plenty of basketball left in him.
Patterson has since built an impressive resumé at that level, becoming an NBL1 North champion in 2022 before winning MVP and scoring champion honours in 2025, while also earning All-Star First Team selection.
Most recently, he has been playing for the Ipswich Force.
Despite his age, Patterson remains one of the most experienced veterans available on the Australian market, and he showed last season that he can still contribute at NBL level.
The 35-year-old returned to Brisbane as a Nominated Replacement Player and appeared in nine games, averaging 9.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists.
His best performance came against another of his former teams, the Breakers, when Patterson poured in 20 points to help Brisbane escape with an 84-83 victory.
Now, the journey takes him to Illawarra.
Patterson gives the Hawks a safe and experienced option who already knows the league, understands what is required at NBL level and can step into the rotation when called upon.
For a Hawks side looking to climb back towards championship contention, having someone with Patterson’s NBA, international and NBL experience waiting on the bench is a luxury few teams can match.