To put Nathan Sellwood’s achievement of playing 350 senior Big V games into perspective, look no further than his teammates.
The teammates who took to the court with Sellwood in his 350th game haven’t played that many senior Big V games among them – and he’s at least 15 years older than most of them.
The 38-year-old joined rare company two weekends ago in reaching the milestone, having made his senior debut at 17.
The Jets saved the real celebrations for the home match on Saturday against Mildura. They won 98-75, with Ish Sanders scoring 51 points.
Sellwood said that while being in the rooms afterwards made him feel his years, being around his young and enthusiastic teammates made playing all the more enjoyable.
Sellwood started playing basketball as an eight-year-old and has spent all but three years of his career at the Jets.
He had one year with Frankston in the South East Australian Basketball League, which was followed by playing with Sherbrooke and Diamond Valley in the Big V state championship division.
The call of home was strong, and Sellwood has been back at the Jets since 2007.
“I still had a lot of mates playing in Sunbury,” he said.
“It’s more enjoyable to return and play with mates. Eighty per cent of my friends I have made through basketball.”
It’s at the Jets that he’s had his greatest success.
Sellwood has been part of three championships – 1999, 2008 and 2009 – and was named his division’s MVP in 2002 when he averaged 28 points a game.
In 1999 he was named rookie of the year, and he’s been selected in the all-star five on five occasions.
The championships have brought his greatest on-court joy, saying they’re “without a doubt hard to win”.
He thinks luck has played a big part in him playing so many games.
“I missed one game with a broken finger, but that’s it,” he said.
“I had a broken foot and surgery on my shoulder, both in the off season.”
Sellwood originally planned to retire at the end of last season, but coach Andrew Summerville talked him into playing one more year.
“With the majority of the players who are coming through, I see something special in the group,” Sellwood said.
“If they’re committed and stay together, they can be a special team.”
Sellwood says this year will be his last with the Jets so he can spend more time with his family.
“My wife, Lauren, is so supportive and I’ve got to give a big thank you to her for allowing me to play so long,” he said.
“My young fella is five and is crazy about basketball. He likes running on the court and singing the song in the rooms.
“My daughter is three and a little young to understand but loves coming to games. I might still play domestic basketball.”
Summerville says he’s glad Sellwood continued to play on this year.
“‘Sell’ might be into the later stages of his career, but he hasn’t lost any of his competitive spirit,” the coach said.
“He wants to win, he wants to be on the court as much as possible.”
