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. 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 was the inaugural general manager, Simon Mitchell was the inaugural head coach, and forward
Mitch Creek was the first marquee player signing. The Phoenix debuted in the
2019–20 NBL season, with their first game being on 3 October 2019 against cross-town rivals
Melbourne United at
Melbourne Arena. 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 were the standout players. In the
2024–25 NBL season, 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, 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. ==Home arena==