NBL1's First Nations round will be held from July 8 to 10, with teams from across the country acknowledging the contribution that Indigenous Australians have made to the game of basketball.

Wiradjuri woman Janelle McQueen, the National Basketball League's multicultural liaison, has created the inaugural artwork for the round.

Through her artwork Ms McQueen portrays the NBL1 as the only sporting league that spans all eight Australian states and territories.

"This piece covers all the states and territories and with their own unique stories and elements to them", she said.

A basketball features in the centre of the artwork which connects sections representing each state and territory and includes symbols designed to reflect the league.

A basketball features in the centre of the artwork.

"The centre includes a male and a female, the object between them is a shield which represents the ceremony of coming together," she said.

Light blue (New South Wales), dark blue (Victoria), royal blue (Australian Capital Territory, green (Tasmania), red (South Australia), yellow (Western Australia) and orange (Northern Territory) feature prominently in Ms McQueen's design.

They were specifically chosen to represent the natural landscapes of each state and territory.

The colours were used in combination with a tree carving artistic technique, reflective of Ms McQueen's Wiradjuri heritage.

As part of First Nations round, male and female

Ms McQueen's artwork represents all eight of Australia's states and territories.

basketball players from all five NBL1 conferences will wear playing and warm-up uniforms designed by First Nations artists.

NBL1 general manager Dean Anglin said the First Nations round was important to the NBL1 community.

"We want to show these athletes that we care about their culture, we care about them and there is a pathway in place to help them succeed in the sport", he said.

"Being able to highlight the First Nations players across the country is important to NBL1. We can't wait to see how proud our clubs are of the diverse talent we have across Australia."

The NBL1 competition has 96 athletes (four percent) who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, an increase of 26 from the previous season.

NBL1 is the semi-professional sister league of the NBL, which has held an Indigenous round for the past three seasons.

There are currently six Indigenous players on NBL rosters including the first Indigenous player to be drafted in the NBA, Cairns Taipans' Nathan Jawai.