It’s official; Mitch Creek will lead the South East Melbourne Phoenix into battle for their inaugural season.
“I’m really excited to get back to Melbourne and start preparing for the NBL season. The Phoenix have been really supportive of me the last few months, I couldn’t have asked for more, and I’m more than going to repay the favour,” he said. “I love the recent additions to the team and can’t wait to get to work. If you were thinking about signing on as a Phoenix member do it now, it’s going to be an exciting season.”
Phoenix General Manager Tommy Greer said, “Mitch is, without doubt, one of the best Australian players outside of the NBA and we couldn’t be more excited for the season ahead now we can confirm he’ll be leading the Phoenix on court this season.”
The 27-year-old will now direct the level of commitment he showed to chasing his NBA dream, to making sure the Phoenix’s first NBL season is as successful as possible.
“Mitch was the clubs first signing. It was an obvious choice as he embodies everything, we want this club to stand for, honesty, hard work, selflessness and passion. On top of this, he is a hell of basketballer who allows everyone to walk a little taller in his presence,” head coach Simon Mitchell said.
During the 2018-19 NBA season Creek successfully landed three ten-day NBA contracts and signed with the Timberwolves for the latter part of the 2018-19 season.
He then produced a stellar Summer League performance for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Led by Creek, the Timberwolves were undefeated in pool play and fell just short of claiming the Summer League title falling to the Memphis Grizzlies by three points.
“I did everything humanly possible to make my NBA dream come true and have no regrets. From the second I got out of bed until after I go to bed, I made sure I leave impressions on everyone. Knowing all that I can live with the results,” Creek said.
Creek led Adelaide to the 2017-18 NBL Grand Final series against Melbourne United and was the leading rebounder in the series with 8.7 per game. He grabbed more rebounds in the post-season (63) than anyone since Chris Anstey in 2008.
Originally posted on NBL.com