South East Melbourne Phoenix

S.E. Melbourne Phoenix
2023–24 S.E. Melbourne Phoenix season
S.E. Melbourne Phoenix logo
LeagueNBL
Founded2018; 6 years ago (2018)
HistorySouth East Melbourne Phoenix
2019–present
ArenaJohn Cain Arena
State Basketball Centre
Capacity10,500 (JC)
3,200 (SBC)
LocationMelbourne, Victoria
Team coloursBlack, Green, Grey
     
CEOTommy Greer
General managerSimon Mitchell
Head coachMike Kelly
Team captainMitch Creek
OwnershipRomie Chaudhari
WebsiteSEMPhoenix.com.au

The South East Melbourne Phoenix are an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. 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, which they share with fellow NBL team Melbourne United, with some games being played at the State Basketball Centre.

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 co-owner Romie Chaudhari in July 2018.[1] In August 2018, former Melbourne Tigers player Tommy Greer was appointed general manager of the new franchise, with this appointment at the time indicating the franchise would likely be Melbourne-based.[2] On 2 September 2018, the NBL announced that the league's ninth franchise for the 2019–20 season will be based in south-eastern Melbourne.[3][4][5] On 18 October 2018, Simon Mitchell was appointed as the inaugural head coach of the team.[6] On 17 November 2018, the team's name was announced as South East Melbourne Phoenix.[7] The team logo and colours were also revealed.[8][9] On 4 December 2018, former Adelaide 36ers forward Mitch Creek was announced as the team's first marquee signing.[10][11]

First Season (2019–20)

The Phoenix debuted in the 2019–20 season opener on 3 October 2019, when they were hosted by cross-town rivals Melbourne United at Melbourne Arena. In front of a sold-out crowd of 10,300, the Phoenix won 91–88.[12] The Phoenix played their first home game at Melbourne Arena on 13 October 2019 against the Brisbane Bullets, winning 113–93.[13] The crowd of 6,019 was the highest recorded for an expansion franchise's first home game in league history.[14][non-primary source needed] Despite losing import forward Tai Wesley to injury on opening night, the Phoenix sat in second place with a 5–2 record after the season's first six rounds. From that point, however, they won just four more games to finish their inaugural season in eighth place with a 9–19 record.[15] 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.[16][17]

Home arena

Home game of the Phoenix during their 2019–20 debut season at Melbourne Arena
The State Basketball Centre before Phoenix vs Illawarra – 7 February 2021

The Phoenix are headquartered and train at the State Basketball Centre, located in Wantirna South, part of the South-Eastern City of Knox region that forms part of the club's strategic engagement area. The Phoenix play most of their home games at John Cain Arena, 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.[3] During the 2020–21 NBL season, COVID-19 border closures meant that the Phoenix had to relocate their last two home games against the Cairns Taipans and Brisbane Bullets to Cairns Pop-Up Arena. They also hosted their semi-final home game at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney.

On 25 January 2022, the Phoenix played a regular season game against the Cairns Taipans at the Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Stadium (GRISS) in Traralgon.[18][19] The Phoenix returned to GRISS for one game in both the 2022–23 NBL season[20] and 2023–24 NBL season.[21]

Current roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

S.E. Melbourne Phoenix roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt.
G 2 Australia Kenyon, Matt 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 91 kg (201 lb)
G 5 Australia Glover, Angus 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) 90 kg (198 lb)
G 10 Australia Ayre, Ben 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) 80 kg (176 lb)
G 20 Australia Sobey, Nathan 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 82 kg (181 lb)
G 30 Australia Foxwell, Owen 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 81 kg (179 lb)
G/F 55 Australia Creek, Mitch (C) 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 102 kg (225 lb)
C Australia Hunter, Jordan 2.09 m (6 ft 10 in) 109 kg (240 lb)
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Development player
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (I) Import player
  • (SRP) Special restricted player
  • (NS) Next Star player
  • Injured Injured
  • Roster
Updated: 18 April 2024

All-time roster

Notable players

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

Criteria

To appear in this section a player must have either:

  • Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club
  • Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time
  • Played at least one official NBA match at any time.

Honour roll

NBL Championships: 0
Regular Season Champions: 0
NBL Finals Appearances: 2 (2021, 2023)
NBL Grand Final appearances: 0
All-NBL First Team: Mitch Creek (2022/23)
All-NBL Second Team: Mitch Creek (2020/21, 2021/22, 2023/24)
NBL Rookie of the Year: N/A
NBL Most Improved Player: N/A
NBL Coach of the Year: N/A
NBL Best Sixth Man: N/A
NBL Best Defensive Player: N/A
GameTime by Kmart: Dane Pineau (2019/20), Kyle Adnam (2020/21), Reuben Te Rangi (2022/23)

Season by season

NBL champions League champions Runners-up Finals berth
Season Tier League Regular season Post-season Head coach Captain Club MVP
Finish Played Wins Losses Win %
S.E. Melbourne Phoenix
2019–20 1 NBL 8th 28 9 19 .321 Did not qualify Simon Mitchell Mitch Creek
Adam Gibson 		Mitch Creek
2020–21 1 NBL 4th 36 19 17 .528 Lost semifinals (Melbourne) 1–2 Simon Mitchell Kyle Adnam
Adam Gibson 		Mitch Creek
2021–22 1 NBL 6th 28 15 13 .536 Did not qualify Simon Mitchell Kyle Adnam Mitch Creek
2022–23 1 NBL 5th 28 15 13 .536 Lost play-in qualifier (Perth) 99–106 Simon Mitchell Kyle Adnam
Ryan Broekhoff
Mitch Creek 		Mitch Creek
2023–24 1 NBL 10th 28 10 18 .357 Did not qualify Mike Kelly Mitch Creek Mitch Creek
Regular season record 148 68 80 .459 0 regular season champions
Finals record 4 1 3 .250 0 NBL championships

As of the end of the 2023–24 season

References

  1. ^ Ward, Roy (13 July 2018). "Swansea owner wins NBL expansion team, but Melbourne could miss out". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  2. ^ "Ball bouncing: Tommy gun as new GM". BotiNagy.com. 23 August 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  3. ^ a b "South East Melbourne to Become NBL's Ninth Team". NBL.com.au. 2 September 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  4. ^ Uluc, Olgun (2 September 2018). "NBL's ninth team to be based in South East Melbourne, Victorian Government commits to multimillion-dollar investment". FoxSports.com.au. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  5. ^ "NBL expansion: Ninth team confirmed for Melbourne's south east". TheWest.com.au. 2 September 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  6. ^ "South East Melbourne Appoint Head Coach". NBL.com.au. 18 October 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  7. ^ "South East Melbourne Phoenix Set To Rise". NBL.com.au. 17 November 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  8. ^ Uluc, Olgun (17 November 2018). "Introducing the South East Melbourne Phoenix, the NBL's newest franchise". FoxSports.com.au. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  9. ^ Arsenis, Damian (17 November 2018). "NBL's ninth team to be the South East Melbourne Phoenix". pickandroll.com.au. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  10. ^ Uluc, Olgun (4 December 2018). "Mitch Creek signs with South East Melbourne Phoenix as first marquee player". FoxSports.com.au. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  11. ^ Arsenis, Damian (4 December 2018). "Phoenix secure prized signature of Mitch Creek". pickandroll.com.au. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  12. ^ "SEM at MEL boxscore". nbl.com.au. 3 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  13. ^ "BNE at SEM boxscore". nbl.com.au. 13 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  14. ^ "NBL on Twitter". Twitter. 13 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  15. ^ Santamaria, Liam (7 February 2020). "Tommy Greer on SEM's First Season, Roster Building and Pen Pals". nbl.com.au. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  16. ^ Santamaria, Liam (9 April 2020). "Big Jump in Attendances For Hungry Jacks NBL". nbl.com.au. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  17. ^ "Big Jump in Attendances for Hungry Jack's NBL". nbl.com.au. 9 April 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  18. ^ "Phoenix Return to Latrobe City". semphoenix.com.au. 15 December 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  19. ^ "Phoenix Beat Returning Snakes in Gippsland". NBL.com.au. 25 January 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  20. ^ "Phoenix Returns to Gippsland for NBL23". semphoenix.com.au. 12 September 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  21. ^ "Game Day Hub for Gippsland". semphoenix.com.au. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2024.

External links

  • Official website
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