BREAKING: Mitch Creek departs Phoenix

The South East Melbourne Phoenix have announced foundation player and team captain Mitch Creek will not be returning to the club for NBL25.

Creek, who has played 143 games across five seasons with the Phoenix, was contracted for NBL25 but will be released to pursue opportunities overseas.

The 32-year-old finishes his time with the Phoenix as the club’s leader in points, rebounds, assists and steals.

Creek is a NBL veteran of more than 340 games with the Phoenix and the Adelaide 36ers, establishing himself as one of the league's most dominant forwards in that time. 

In making his announcement, Creek thanked the Phoenix fans immensely for welcoming him through the doors from day one and helping him shape the the club into what it is today.

“There is something truly special about the Phoenix fans. I’ve felt their love and passion from the very first day. It’s been a joy to see that grow over the years and I will forever be grateful and humbled by their support,” Creek said.

“This is a great club, and I’m honoured to have been a part of its story.”

Creek cited that while winning a championship with South East Melbourne was a dream not yet fulfilled, the time has now come to explore opportunities abroad. 

“It’s with a heavy heart that I feel the time has come in my career to turn my focus towards potential opportunities and experiences abroad. I also want to provide the Phoenix that clarity now, so they too can look forward, optimise their roster build, and focus on their ambitions for NBL25 and beyond,” he said. 

Phoenix General Manager of Basketball Operations Simon Mitchell thanked Creek for his incomparable contributions, and said he’d always be a part of the club's family.

“While we’d love to have Mitch on our roster moving forward, we understand that he has interests outside of Australia he’d like to pursue and we want to see him thrive in whatever his next steps are,” Mitchell said.

“Mitch went from strength-to-strength in his time with the Phoenix, we’ve seen him grow as a player and a person and we’re proud to call him a Phoenix person.”

The Phoenix will look to replace Creek and finalise its roster for NBL25 in the coming weeks.