The South East Melbourne Phoenix are an Australian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

team based in the south–eastern

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

suburb of

Wantirna South Wantirna South is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 25 km east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Knox local government area. Wantirna South recorded a population of 20,754 at the 2021 census. 5 ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. The Phoenix entered the National Basketball League (NBL) in the 2019–20 season. The team play the majority of their home games at

John Cain Arena John Cain Arena is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment arena located within Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is the second-largest venue and show court for the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam professional tennis ...

, which they share with fellow NBL team

Melbourne United Melbourne United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. United compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at John Cain Arena. The team made their debut in the NBL in 1984 ...

, with some games being played at the

State Basketball Centre The State Basketball Centre is a sports arena located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, used primarily for basketball. The stadium features 18 courts, including one basketball show court with seating for 3,200. The stadium houses the offices o ...

Franchise history

With plans to expand the National Basketball League (NBL) beginning with the 2019–20 season, the league sold a franchise licence to

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

co-owner Romie Chaudhari in July 2018. It was later announced that the league's ninth franchise would be based in south-eastern Melbourne. On 17 November 2018, the team's name was announced as South East Melbourne Phoenix. The team logo and colours were also revealed. Former NBL player

Tommy Greer Tommy Greer (born 29 December 1983) is an Australian former professional basketball player who is currently the CEO of the South East Melbourne Phoenix of the National Basketball League (NBL). Greer played college basketball for Augusta State ...

was the inaugural general manager, Simon Mitchell was the inaugural head coach, and forward

Mitch Creek Mitchell Creek (born 27 April 1992) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Vancouver Bandits of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL). He began his National Basketball League (NBL) career in 2010 and played his first eigh ...

was the first marquee player signing. The Phoenix debuted in the

2019–20 NBL season The 2019–20 NBL season was the 42nd season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. The Perth Wildcats became champions. They drew an average home attendance of 12,974, the highest in the 2019–20 NBL season. Team ...

, with their first game being on 3 October 2019 against cross-town rivals

Melbourne Arena John Cain Arena is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment arena located within Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is the second-largest venue and show court for the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam professional tenni ...

. The Phoenix won 91–88. They started the season with a 3–0 record before reaching 6–6 after twelve games and then winning three of their final 16 games. They finished the season in eighth position with a 9–19 record. The Phoenix averaged the highest crowd figures ever for a first-year start-up club in Australian Basketball, with a total of 75,179 fans attending their fourteen home games at an average of 5,369 fans per game. Creek and American guard

John Roberson John Daniel Roberson (born October 28, 1988) is an American-born naturalized Bosnian professional basketball player who plays for Al Ahly of the Egyptian Basketball Premier League. Standing at , he plays at the point guard position. Professional ...

were the standout players. In the

2020–21 NBL season The 2020–21 NBL season was the 43rd season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. A total of nine teams contested in the 2020–21 season. The regular season was played between January and June 2021, followed by a ...

, the Phoenix qualified for their maiden finals berth after finishing in fourth position with a 19–17 record. The team won six out of seven games between rounds 9 and 12. In the semi-finals, the Phoenix lost 2–1 to Melbourne United. Alongside Creek, forward Yannick Wetzell and import

Keifer Sykes Keifer Jerail Sykes (born December 30, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for Legia Warsaw of the Polish Basketball League (PLK). He played college basketball for the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay. Sykes is featured in the ...

were key players for the team. In the

2024–25 NBL season The 2024–25 NBL season was the 47th season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. A total of ten teams contested in the 2024–25 season. The league extended its partnership with ESPN Australia. All games are availa ...

, the Phoenix started by going winless over their first five games, which led to the club parting ways with head coach Mike Kelly. After going 2–1 under interim coach

Sam Mackinnon Samuel Mackinnon (born 25 August 1976) is an Australian basketball coach and former player. He played in the National Basketball League (NBL) between 1994 and 2010, where he won two NBL championships (1996 and 2007) and was named the NBL Most ...

, new coach Josh King took over from round seven. The Phoenix went on finish in fourth position and earn a finals spot, becoming the first team to make the finals after starting 0–5 in the 40-minute era and the second in league history. They ultimately lost 2–1 in the semi-finals series to the

Illawarra Hawks The Illawarra Hawks (formerly the Wollongong Hawks and The Hawks) are an Australian professional basketball team based in Wollongong, New South Wales. The Illawarra Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home game ...

Home arena

The State Basketball Centre before Phoenix vs The Hawks - 7 Feb 2021

The Phoenix are headquartered and train at the

, located in

, part of the South-Eastern

City of Knox The City of Knox is a local government area in Victoria, Australia in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It has an area of and in 2020, Knox had a population of 165,147. This municipality is one of only a handful that survived the widespread mu ...

region that forms part of the club's strategic engagement area. The Phoenix play most of their home games at

, which is known as "The Fire Pit" during Phoenix Games. The Phoenix also play a select number of regular season games at the State Basketball Centre each season. During the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

border closures meant that the Phoenix had to relocate their last two home games against the

Cairns Taipans The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Convention Centre, known colloquially as "The S ...

and

Brisbane Bullets The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to the league in 2016. Brisbane were one of ten NBL ...

Cairns Pop-Up Arena The Cairns Pop-Up Arena was a sports arena in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. The arena was the temporary host of the Cairns Taipans and the South East Melbourne Phoenix, whilst the Cairns Convention Centre underwent a redevelopment. Descriptio ...

. They also hosted their

semi-final A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

home game at

Qudos Bank Arena The Sydney SuperDome (currently known as the Qudos Bank Arena for sponsorship reasons) is a multipurpose arena located in Sydney Olympic Park suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was completed in 1999 as part of the facilities for th ...

in Sydney. On 25 January 2022, the Phoenix played a regular season game against the

at the Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Stadium (GRISS) in

Traralgon Traralgon ( , ) is a city located in the east of the Latrobe Valley in the Gippsland region of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia and the most populous city in the City of Latrobe and the region. The urban population of Traralgon at the ...

. The Phoenix have played one game at the GRISS every season since, in a partnership with the

Latrobe City Council The City of Latrobe is a local government area in the Gippsland region in eastern Victoria, Australia, located in the eastern part of the state. It covers an area of and in June 2018 had a population of 75,211. It is primarily urban with the v ...

and the

Victoria State Government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as the Victorian Government, is the executive government of the Australian state of Victoria. As a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, the State Government was first formed in 1851 when Vic ...

. *

(2019–present) *

(2020–present) *

(2021) *

(2021) * Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Stadium (2022–present)

Current roster

All-time roster

Notable players

* /

Deng Acuoth Deng Acuoth (born 2 October 1996) is an Australian-South Sudanese professional basketball player for the SG Apes of The League. Professional career Acuoth made his professional debut with the Sydney Kings of the National Basketball League (NBL ...

Keith Benson Keith Anderson Benson Jr. (born August 13, 1988) is an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball for Oakland University. A 6-foot-11 center, Benson was a second-round pick (48th overall) in the 2011 NBA draft, select ...

Ryan Broekhoff Ryan Broekhoff (born 23 August 1990) is an Australian former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Valparaiso Crusaders, where he was named an All-American in 2012. He represented the Australian Boomers on multipl ...

Adam Gibson Adam Matthew Gibson (born 30 October 1986) is an Australian former professional basketball player who is a development coach for the South East Melbourne Phoenix of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played 16 years in the NBL for the Br ...

Cameron Gliddon Cameron Richard Gliddon (born 16 August 1989) is an Australian basketball coach and former professional player, currently the head coach of the Auckland Tuatara in the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He played four years of col ...

Angus Glover Angus Jack Glover (born 8 September 1998) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Ringwood Hawks of the NBL1 South. He is also contracted with the South East Melbourne Phoenix of the National Basketball League (NBL). Early life ...

Matthew Hurt Matthew Christopher Hurt (born April 20, 2000) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the South East Melbourne Phoenix of the Australian National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL). He playe ...

* / Trey Kell *

Izayah Le'afa Izayah Mauriohooho-Le'afa (born 7 November 1996) is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Wellington Saints of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He is also contracted with the New Zealand Breakers of the Austral ...

* /

Junior Madut Junior Madut (born 26 March 1997), also sometimes referred to as Deng Junior Ring, is a South Sudanese-Australian professional basketball player for Trepça of the Kosovo Basketball Superleague. After two seasons of college basketball for the Haw ...

* Ben Moore *

Xavier Munford Xavier Tyler Jerome Munford (born June 1, 1992) is an American professional basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compe ...

Abdel Nader Abdel Rahman Nader (; born September 25, 1993) is an Egyptian-American professional basketball player who last played for the South East Melbourne Phoenix of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for th ...

Tohi Smith-Milner Tohiraukura Makaere Smith-Milner (born 6 October 1995) is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Canterbury Rams of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He is also contracted with the Brisbane Bullets of the Austral ...

Nathan Sobey Nathan Adam Sobey (born 14 July 1990) is an Australian professional basketball player for Santeros de Aguada of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional. He is also contracted with the South East Melbourne Phoenix of the National Basketball League (N ...

Reuben Te Rangi Reuben Te Rangi (born 14 October 1994) is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Gold Coast Rollers of the NBL1 North. He is also contracted with the New Zealand Breakers of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). He st ...

Tom Vodanovich Thomas James Vodanovich (born 28 July 1994) is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Auckland Tuatara of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He played college basketball in the United States for the James Madison ...

Derrick Walton Derrick Walton Jr. (born April 3, 1995) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the South East Melbourne Phoenix of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines and sp ...

Tai Wesley Tai William Evans Wesley (born May 13, 1986) is an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Utah State Aggies, where he was named the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 2011. After beginning h ...

Joe Wieskamp Joseph Hinman Wieskamp (born August 23, 1999) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the South East Melbourne Phoenix of the Australian National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL). He played ...

* Alan Williams *

Zhou Qi Zhou Qi ( zh, t=周琦, s=周琦, p=Zhōu Qí ; born 16 January 1996) is a Chinese professional basketball player for the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He has been a regular member of the China men's national bask ...

Honour roll

Season by season

References

External links

* {{Melbourne Sports Teams Basketball teams in Melbourne National Basketball League (Australia) teams 2018 establishments in Australia Basketball teams established in 2018 Sport in the City of Knox