Early history The history of the Melbourne Tigers originated in 1931 with the birth of the Victorian Basketball Association (VBA). The Melbourne Tigers name was established in 1975 After winning the
SEABL championship in 1983, the Tigers joined the
National Basketball League (NBL).
Gaze era (1984–2005) The
Melbourne Tigers debuted in the NBL in the
1984 season. The Tigers initially struggled in the NBL due to a lack of financial resources. During the early struggles of the 1980s, the Tigers were led by coach
Lindsay Gaze and his son
Andrew. Andrew Gaze was a prolific scorer, as he set a still-standing NBL record with 44.1 points per game for the
1987 season. During the year, he had a 60-point game against the
Newcastle Falcons. Despite his dominance, the Tigers finished with a 3–23 record. The addition of imports David Colbert and
Dave Simmons in 1989 saw the Tigers make their first-ever finals appearance. The addition of
Lanard Copeland in 1992 led to the Tigers reaching their maiden NBL Grand Final series, where they were defeated 2–1 by the
South East Melbourne Magic. Gaze and Copeland formed arguably the best back-court partnership in NBL history, with Copeland happily playing second fiddle to Gaze and almost always stepping up as the "go to" man when Gaze was absent. Joining Gaze, Copeland and Simmons in 1993 was
Mark Bradtke, as the foursome led the Tigers back to the NBL Grand Final, where they faced the
Perth Wildcats. Having split the first two games, Game 3 in Perth went down to the wire. A tense and tight affair led to a frantic final minute – with the Wildcats trailing by three and
Andrew Vlahov holding possession, his three-point attempt from the top of the arc looked oh-so-good, before completing a near-full circle of the rim and hitting the backboard before rattling out. It was a fitting maiden championship win for Andrew and Lindsay Gaze, with the father-son duo embracing in a memorable teary breakdown following the game. The Tigers returned to the NBL Grand Final in 1996, where they were once again beaten 2–1 by the South East Melbourne Magic. Following the 1996 season, the Tigers parted ways with Dave Simmons. The
1997 season began with import
Jarvis Lang being released and replaced by
Marcus Timmons. Behind Gaze, Copeland, Bradtke and Timmons, the Tigers reached their fourth NBL Grand Final series, as they finished the 1997 season on a 17–1 run that included a record 16-game winning streak.
New championship era (2005–2009) The Gaze era ended in 2005 with the retirement of coach Lindsay and the sport's greatest Australian player, Andrew. The 2006–07 season saw the Tigers return to the NBL Grand Final, where they were defeated 3–1 by the
Brisbane Bullets. The 2007 off-season saw the Tigers acquire
David Barlow and
Nathan Crosswell, joining a core of Anstey, McDonald, Thomas, Corletto, Hoare and Greer. Import
Sean Lampley joined the Tigers mid-season and helped them reach their third straight NBL Grand Final, where they once again faced the Sydney Kings. The series was tied at 2–2 heading into the deciding Game 5. Game 5 saw the Tigers complete the job they were so close to doing in Game 4 at home by winning 85–73 at the Kingdome to celebrate Darryl McDonald's last game in style. Both Anstey and Thomas finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds. In 2008, the Tigers acquired the services of
Sam Mackinnon and
Ebi Ere, while long-time swingman Dave Thomas departed for Cairns. However, following an injury to Mackinnon and the mid-season departure of
Rod Grizzard, Thomas and
Luke Kendall were acquired in January 2009. The 2008–09 season saw the Tigers return to the NBL Grand Final for a fourth straight year, but they were defeated 3–2 by the
South Dragons.
End of Tigers era (2009–2014) In May 2009, the Tigers made a short-lived decision to sit out the 2009–10 season, after losing money in 2008–09 for the first time in five years. The franchise felt that NBL reforms had not gone far enough to make it feasible to play. They ultimately continued on in the now eight-team competition in 2009–10. Sam Mackinnon continued on with the Tigers in 2009, while
Mark Worthington was acquired following the demise of the South Dragons. Star imports Ebi Ere and Dave Thomas parted ways with Melbourne after the franchise decided to go with an 'all-Australian' roster. The policy was short-lived as
Julius Hodge joined the Tigers in November, while
Mike Rose joined the squad in January. In the off-season of 2010, the Tigers roster was dismantled after the departure of Hodge, Worthington and
Nathan Crosswell, as well as the retirements of NBL greats Mackinnon and Anstey. The team picked up imports TJ Campbell and
Eric Devendorf, as well as Australians
Cameron Tragardh,
Matt Burston,
Wade Helliwell,
Luke Nevill and
Lucas Walker. Corletto and Greer continued on with the Tigers, as did
Bennie Lewis. 2010 NBL MVP
Corey Williams joined the squad in November in place of the outgoing Campbell, while Nevill and Devendorf were let go in February. Club legend
Darryl McDonald completed the 2010–11 season as coach of the Tigers following the sacking of Al Westover. In the off-season of 2011, the Tigers acquired the services of coach
Trevor Gleeson, and recruited
Ayinde Ubaka,
Ron Dorsey and
Daniel Dillon from Cairns. They also acquired
Liam Rush to go along with the addition of
Patty Mills for the duration of the
2011 NBA lockout. In January 2012, following a 13-point loss to the
Gold Coast Blaze, owner Seamus McPeake made a post-game address to the playing group and then sacked Ubaka on the spot, while Gleeson was at a press conference. In 2012, the Tigers acquired
Chris Goulding, Nate Tomlinson,
Adam Ballinger, and imports
Seth Scott and
Kevin Braswell. Burston, Walker, Rush, Lewis and Greer continued on, while club legend Chris Anstey became head coach. In November of the 2012–13 season,
Jonny Flynn replaced Braswell, but the Tigers missed the post-season for the fourth straight year. The 2013–14 season saw the return of Mark Worthington to the Tigers, while Goulding, Tomlinson, Ballinger, Walker and Greer all continued on under Anstey. Ayinde Ubaka had a short-lived stint with the Tigers to begin the season, before
Mustapha Farrakhan Jr. replaced him in November to team up alongside fellow import
Scott Morrison. Goulding was key to the Tigers reaching the finals for the first time since 2009, where they lost to the
Adelaide 36ers in the semis.
Melbourne United (2014–present) at
Melbourne Arena On 20 May 2014, the franchise was rebranded as
Melbourne United. The change was made to symbolise the connection to all of Victorian basketball, with the navy blue logo of Melbourne United becoming the new face of professional basketball in Victoria, replacing the Melbourne Tigers brand. Owner
Larry Kestelman wanted to end the partisan divisions between the Tigers (which was also a domestic association) and other Victorian supporters and bring the state together behind one NBL team. The change was met with strong opposition from members, fans and past legends such as
Andrew Gaze and
Lanard Copeland, with the latter even stating he wanted his jersey "taken down from the rafters". Tigers legend
Daryl Corletto returned to the franchise in 2014 after three years with the
New Zealand Breakers, while
David Barlow returned after five years in Europe following the retirement of
Tommy Greer.
Mark Worthington,
Lucas Walker and Nate Tomlinson continued on from the Tigers to United, while
Daniel Kickert joined the squad alongside imports
Jordan McRae and
Stephen Dennis. Following an 89–61 loss to the
Cairns Taipans in the 2014–15 season opener, coach
Chris Anstey resigned and was replaced by his assistant
Darryl McDonald in the interim. With a returning cast of Goulding, Ware, Boone, Wesley, Andersen, Barlow and Majok, United acquired the services of
Casey Prather, a swingman coming off back-to-back championships with the
Perth Wildcats. United also signed former one-time Melbourne Tiger
Daniel Dillon, but an Achilles injury to Dillon forced the team to sign
Peter Hooley in his place. United were title favourites at the start of the 2017–18 season, but fell to a 2–3 record following a loss to the
Brisbane Bullets in Round 4. In December, Prather went down with a possible season-ending elbow injury and was replaced by
Carrick Felix. With defensive-minded Felix in the line-up, United went 9–1. United finished the regular season as minor premiers for the second time in three years, earning a 20–8 record. They went on to sweep the Breakers in the semi-finals to reach the 2018 NBL Grand Final series. There they faced the
Adelaide 36ers. With the series tied at 2–2 heading into the deciding Game 5, Ware and Goulding each scored 23 points with Prather adding 19 points, 11 rebounds and five steals to lead United to a 100–82 win, as the franchise claimed their first NBL Championship under the new moniker. Goulding was named
grand final MVP. In the
2018–19 NBL season, United returned to the NBL Grand Final series, where they lost 3–1 to the Perth Wildcats. In the
2020–21 NBL season, United were crowned minor premiers with a 28–8 record behind the likes of Goulding,
Jock Landale,
Scotty Hopson and
Mitch McCarron. They reached their third grand final in four years with a 2–1 semi-final series win over their crosstown rivals the
South East Melbourne Phoenix. They went on to sweep the Perth Wildcats in the grand final series 3–0 to win their second championship as United and sixth as a franchise. Landale was named grand final MVP. In the
2021–22 NBL season, United were crowned minor premiers for the second year in a row. In the
2023–24 NBL season, United finished as minor premiers and returned to the NBL Grand Final series, where they lost 3–2 to the
Tasmania JackJumpers. In the
2024–25 NBL season, United returned to the NBL Grand Final series, where they lost 3–2 to the
Illawarra Hawks. Despite United losing the series,
Matthew Dellavedova was awarded the Larry Sengstock Medal as the
NBL Grand Final MVP, something that had not happened since 1993. ==Home arena==