South East Melbourne

John Cain Arena sits inside Melbourne Park, and its bowl seats up to 10,500 for basketball. That shared address gave South East Melbourne Phoenix a ready-made home when the licence was sold to owner Romie Chaudhari in July 2018; the name followed that November, and the Phoenix took the court for the first time in the National Basketball League's 2019–20 season.

Mitch Creek led that first side out as inaugural captain and went on to earn a place in the All-NBL First Team in 2023. Finals appearances have followed a pattern the Phoenix know well: 2021 ended in a semi-final loss to Melbourne United, 2023 in a play-in defeat to the Perth Wildcats, 2025 in a semi-final against the Illawarra Hawks, and 2026 in another semi-final, this time to the Adelaide 36ers. Four trips to the finals, no Grand Final reached yet.

Melbourne United remain the fixture that matters most, the derby between the two clubs marketed as the Throwdown. Josh King has held the coaching reins since 2024.