Tyler Harvey to become an Australian citizen

SIX YEARS IN THE MAKING

He arrived in Wollongong in 2020/21 as an import. Torrance, California kid, drafted in the second round by Orlando, watched the NBA door shut. Five clubs, five countries, five years. A career spent living out of a suitcase, looking for somewhere worth unpacking it.

He found it here.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR NBL27

Pending final administrative processing, Harvey will be a local player for this season. He won't take up an import spot anymore.

With three roster spots still to fill, that opens the door for Hawks to add three imports for NBL27.  A few weeks out from our first preseason game, having one of our leaders locked in as a local gives us room to move on filling those gaps.

Harvey's been chasing this since he decided Wollongong was home. Bryce Cotton did the same thing ahead of NBL26 with Adelaide, after a process that ran for years. These things take patience.

THE MAN WHO STAYED

Debut season, 20.0 points a game across 37 games, All-NBL First Team. The pull-up, the separation off the dribble, the floater defenders knew was coming and still couldn't stop. Playoffs for the first time since 2017. Harvey was the reason we got there.

Then 2022/23. The wooden spoon year. Five different imports through the roster, none of it settled. Harvey still put up 18.9 a game across 27 as co-captain. He didn't ask out. He stayed.

THE MOUNTAINTOP

2024/25. First on the ladder. South East Melbourne pushed aside in the semis. Melbourne United in a five-game Grand Final people are still talking about.

Game 2, Melbourne. Down two, 14 seconds left. Ball finds Harvey on the wing. Shimmy. Rise. Fire. Swish. Jack Heverin screamed, "Big shot taker, big shot maker."

Champions. A second All-NBL First Team selection, six years after his first.

193 GAMES AND COUNTING

• 2020/21 – 37 games, 20.0 pts, 3.6 reb, 3.1 ast | All-NBL First Team
• 2021/22 – 28 games, 16.1 pts, 3.3 reb, 3.2 ast
• 2022/23 – 27 games, 18.9 pts, 2.3 reb, 1.9 ast
• 2023/24 – 33 games, 15.1 pts, 2.5 reb, 2.5 ast
• 2024/25 – 37 games, 17.1 pts, 2.8 reb, 3.3 ast | All-NBL First Team, Champion
• 2025/26 – 31 games, 16.9 pts, 2.8 reb, 3.6 ast

193 games. Top 11 in club history. Six straight seasons as an import, longer than anyone's managed before turning local.

The name he edges is Melvin Thomas. Number 33 jersey retired to the rafters. Thomas played five import seasons across two spells, in from Alabama in 1992, back again in 1999/00. Became an Australian ahead of the next season. That season was 2000/01. Our first championship.

THE IMPORT WORD NEVER FITTED ANYWAY

Import was always a roster classification. Never a description of the man.

Harvey raised his family here. Won a championship here. And on the first morning of NBL27 preseason, he made it permanent.

Illawarra chose him a long time ago. Today, he chose us back.

BE ONE OF US TOO

That's who's wearing red, black and white this season, and now he's wearing it as one of us.

Sixteen home games, all season, right here in Wollongong.

However you follow the Hawks, there's a membership built for you. Full Season gets you into every one of those 16 nights. Flexi 5 gets you into any 5, your call, whenever suits.

Be a Hawkhead, because there's no wrong way to show up, only a right one for you.