His mother Kerrie remembers it well. Her son was so enthusiastic that waiting until he had reached the minimum age requirement was out of the question.

“Because they weren’t allowed to play until they were 10, we wrote a letter and asked if we could have consideration for him to play at an earlier age,” she said.

“That was to the board of directors of Warrnambool Basketball Incorporated at the time, to see whether they’d accept his nomination as a six-year-old to play.”

The board gave the request the thumbs up. And so started a journey which has taken Sobey to the elite level of basketball in Australia.

“He started extremely young, his passion was just unbelievable,” Kerrie said.

“I suppose he’s always loved it and followed it through. He’s done the hard yards.”

Sobey and his Cairns Taipans teammates will take on New Zealand Breakers in the best-of-three NBL grand final series, which starts at Cairns tonight.

The sides head across the Tasman Strait for game two in Auckland on Sunday while game three, if required, is back in Cairns.

The grand final series is the latest chapter in a career which started in Warrnambool and has taken Sobey to the United States and Queensland.

The 24-year-old guard played his early years domestically before joining Bulleen, playing in the Victorian Junior Basketball League on Friday nights.

He suited up for Warrnambool Seahawks for two seasons in his teens but later shifted to Ballarat to board at St Patrick’s College.

By then, Sobey had caught the eye of football and basketball scouts, giving him a dilemma many talented teenagers faced. He chose basketball.

He graduated and spent a gap year in Warrnambool before heading to the United States, playing with Cochise and Wyoming during a four-year college career.

A second stint with Ballarat followed upon his return to Australia last May. By August, he was training with the Taipans.

By September, he’d been added to the full-time roster.

Sobey made his Taipans debut against Perth Wildcats in January and has averaged almost six minutes a game since.

“Peter and I, we’re pretty laid back when it comes to these things. We’ve always let the kids do what they want to do,” Kerrie said.

“We’re happy to do the hard yards and the driving but in this instance, Nathan has been the driving force.

“He’s the one who has followed his dreams, he’s the one who has got out there and done what he had to do.

“At the end of the day, he’s been given an opportunity. A lot of kids don’t get an opportunity but he has, and he’s gone with it.”