Nathan Sobey

Nathan Adam Sobey (born 14 July 1990) is an Australian professional basketball player for the South East Melbourne Phoenix of the National Basketball League (NBL). He is also contracted with the Ipswich Force of the NBL1 North. He played college basketball for the Wyoming Cowboys before debuting in the NBL in 2014 for the Cairns Taipans. He was a member of the Australian Boomers team that won bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Early life
Sobey was born in Warrnambool, Victoria. He attended Emmanuel College in Warrnambool and St Patrick's College in Ballarat. He is listed by Emmanuel College as being a member of their Class of 2008, but sources also indicate he attended and represented St Patrick's College in 2008. He grew up playing for the Warrnambool Seahawks.

College career
Sobey moved to the United States in 2010 to play college basketball for Cochise College. During his freshman season, he averaged 7.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists. As a sophomore in 2011–12, he averaged 16.5 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game. He earned First-Team All-Conference and First-Team All-Region honors.

In April 2012, Sobey signed a National Letter of Intent to play for Wyoming in the NCAA Division I.

As a junior in 2012–13, Sobey appeared in 32 games for the Cowboys and averaged 3.5 points and 1.0 rebounds in 13.3 minutes per game. On 26 February 2013 against Air Force, he scored a season-high 22 points in a career-high 31 minutes.

As a senior in 2013–14, Sobey was one of two Cowboys to start all 33 games. He averaged 9.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 30.2 minutes per game. He scored a career-high 33 points to go with four rebounds and three assists against Colorado State on 8 March 2014.

Professional career
After graduating from Wyoming, Sobey returned to Australia and joined the Ballarat Miners of the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL). In 10 games during the 2014 SEABL season, he averaged 15.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.

In August 2014, Sobey joined the Cairns Taipans of the National Basketball League (NBL) as a training player ahead of the 2014–15 season. He joined the Taipans' full-time roster in September as the eleventh man, and in January 2015 was elevated to the playing squad as an injury replacement for Corey Maynard. Following the NBL season, he joined the Cairns Marlins for the 2015 Queensland Basketball League (QBL) season.

In July 2015, Sobey signed a three-year deal with the Adelaide 36ers. In the 2016–17 NBL season, he earned the NBL Most Improved Player Award and was named to the All-NBL Second Team. Following the NBL season, he had a stint with PAOK to finish the 2016–17 Greek League season.

In April 2017, Sobey extended his contract with the 36ers for another two years. He later spent time with the Utah Jazz during the 2017 NBA Summer League. Following the 2018–19 NBL season, Sobey had a stint with SIG Strasbourg in France.

On 5 April 2019, Sobey signed with the Brisbane Bullets on a three-year deal. He was named to the All-NBL First Team for the 2020–21 NBL season. On 27 April 2022, he re-signed with the Bullets on a three-year deal.

On 9 February 2024, Sobey scored a career-high 37 points in the Bullets' 102–84 win over the Adelaide 36ers.

On 28 March 2024, Sobey parted ways with the Bullets.

On 14 April 2024, Sobey signed with the South East Melbourne Phoenix for the 2024–25 NBL season.

State League stints
In 2016, Sobey played for the Warrnambool Seahawks and helped them win the Big V Division One championship. He was named league MVP and Finals MVP. He played for the Seahawks again in 2018.

In 2020, Sobey played for the Ipswich Force in the Queensland State League (QSL). He returned to the Force in 2021 for the inaugural NBL1 North season.

In 2023, Sobey helped the Force reach the NBL1 North grand final series, where they defeated the Gold Coast Rollers 2–1 to win the championship. Sobey was named Finals MVP.

Sobey re-joined the Force for the 2024 NBL1 North season.

National team career
In 2018, Sobey won gold with the Australian Boomers at the Commonwealth Games. The following year he played for the Boomers at the FIBA World Cup.

At the 2019 Australian Basketball Hall of Fame awards night, Sobey was recognised alongside Nick Kay with the 2019 Gaze Family Medal for performances at the World Cup Qualifiers and the Commonwealth Games.

In February 2021, Sobey was named in the Boomers' Olympic squad. He went on to help the Boomers win the bronze medal.

Personal life
Sobey has two brothers. Sobey got married in 2018.