Pawson happy to call Perth home after settling with Eagles

After getting to begin living out his dream playing at Hobart Chargers, Elijah Pawson felt like a change and now three years later he's found a new home in Perth, and can't wait to be part of his first NBL1 West finals campaign with the East Perth Eagles.

Having grown up in Hobart and before there was a Tasmania JackJumpers in the NBL to dream of playing for and remaining in his home state, Pawson's basketball goal growing up was to play with the Chargers in what was then the SEABL and now the NBL1 South.

He did get his first taste of playing for the Chargers in 2018 as a 20-year-old as well and was part of the squad that won a championship before he saw his role and production increase over the next two years.

However, by the end of 2021 he was after something new in life and wanted to experience living somewhere else, and Western Australia soon became his preferred destination.

The Eagles then soon became his new basketball home and now he's about to complete a third season with East Perth, has had some significant moments where he's influenced the result in more than 50 games now, and is looking forward to a first finals appearance.

2024 season to date

Pawson is now in his third season in the NBL1 West with the Eagles and given East Perth's men have not made the playoffs since the championship year of 2014, he will be part of their return to the finals this year.

It is just a matter of what position the Eagles enter from which will be determined with Saturday's match up with the currently fourth placed Goldfields Giants at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre.

Pawson has enjoyed the growth in the Eagles this season and he believes the key has been retaining key players like Taylor Young, Lee Roberts, Lukas Milner and Sebit Reath while topping up with the returning Sunday Dech along with David Okwera and Sharif Watson.

As a result, East Perth is guaranteed of a finals return and Pawson is glad to have seen them build on the momentum they ended 2023 with.

"This season has been a lot of fun," Pawson said.

"Being able to have a lot of the same guys back with some massive additions in Sunday, David and Sharif, we’ve been able to build great chemistry which we started to see towards the end of last year."

Personal season in 2024

Pawson has become a key part of the East Perth back court this season the longer it has gone on too especially since the departure of Jerami Grace and now with Dech with the South Sudan national team for the Paris Olympic Games.

That has Pawson and Nick Filpo being the main two guards helping Young in the back court with the bigs of Okwera, Watson and Reath having to spend some time helping them out despite all being much closer to seven foot than six.

But Pawson has stepped up to play some important roles especially with a couple of massive three-pointers in the win against the South West Slammers.

Even though his minutes this season might be down this season on the previous two, it does feel as though his importance and impact is as important right now, if not more so.

"Yeah the Slammers game was fun. After making the first three, it gave me a lot more confidence to shoot the next one," Pawson said.

"Whether the minutes are up or down, I just go out there and try to play the same each night. Just grateful for the opportunity I’ve been given to be able to play NBL1.

"Happy but not satisfied. I started the season off a bit slower than I would have wanted and missing a month with concussion really took me back to square one but eventually being able to find my shot again has opened up the game more for me and given me more confidence to be out there on both ends of the court."

Making the move west to join Eagles

Pawson did grow up in Hobart and got his start at a state league level with his hometown Chargers where he was part of the squad that won the 2018 SEABL championship.

He played two more seasons at the Chargers and by 2021 he was an important player with more than 15 minutes a game and putting up 6.5 points a game while shooting from inside the arc at 60 per cent and outside it at 37 per cent.

"Tassie being such a small place I was eager to venture out. Not just for basketball but just to do something different with myself for a while," Pawson said.

"Some of my coaches in Hobart had connections with people in Perth and it was also a place I had never visited before plus it had always been on my list of places to go so I thought why not.

"Initially I had some runs with another club but it wasn’t to be. I was able to reach out to some other clubs and East Perth were happy to have me along to their pre-season training and made me feel very welcomed and I knew instantly it was where I wanted to stay."

Getting chance to begin dream with Chargers

Growing up in Hobart and with Chargers the local team and with the JackJumpers still a far away dream of being part of the NBL, being part of their line-up in the SEABL is what Pawson set his sights on achieving in basketball.

He got to experience that for three years, but it was more looking for a chance to experience a new lifestyle outside of Tasmania that led to the move west more than anything basketball related.

"I grew up in Hobart, always wanted to play for the Hobart Chargers," Pawson said.

"Hobart has always been a relatively successful club, so to be around those coaches and veteran locals did a lot for my development.

"I didn’t really picture myself playing anywhere else but Hobart but I definitely liked the idea of wanting to prove myself in a new conference at the NBL1 level."

Life away from basketball

Three years into life in Perth and Pawson is more than comfortable to call it home and he can see himself wanting to stay a lot longer especially when he's built himself a nice career and a basketball home.

"I’ve been working in disability support since moving here which has been good with the flexibility for training and games," Pawson said.

"Perth has become home, I’ve found myself in a good sport with great people around me and very happy here at the moment."