Mitchell Creek (born 27 April 1992) is an Australian professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
player for the
South East Melbourne Phoenix
The South East Melbourne Phoenix are an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. The Phoenix entered the National Basketball League (NBL) in the 2019–20 season. The team play the majority of their home games at Jo ...
of the
National Basketball League (NBL). He began his
NBL career with the
Adelaide 36ers
The Adelaide 36ers, also known as the Sixers, are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in th ...
in 2010 and spent eight seasons with the team, helping them reach two grand finals and win one minor premiership. In his final season with the 36ers, Creek earned
All-NBL Second Team honours. During the eight-season duration, he had multiple off-season stints in the Australian state leagues. After a stint in Germany in 2018, he joined the
Long Island Nets
The Long Island Nets are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Uniondale, New York, and are affiliated with the Brooklyn Nets. The team plays its home games at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Nassau County ...
of the
NBA G League
The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...
. During the 2018–19 season, he had stints in the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
(NBA) with the
Brooklyn Nets
The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The t ...
and
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...
. In 2019, he joined the South East Melbourne Phoenix.
Early life and career
Creek was born and raised in
Horsham
Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...
in country
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
. He attended St Brigid's College, where he earned induction into the school's hall of fame.
In 2009, Creek played a leading role in Victoria Country's campaign at the Under-18 National Championships, trained with the Australian under-19 squad, and earned a place at the prestigious Nike All-Asia Camp in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, China. In June, he received a scholarship to the
Australian Institute of Sport
The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...
(AIS) men's basketball program in
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
. Between 2007 and 2009, Creek played 21 games for the Horsham Hornets in the
Big V. To conclude 2009, he played one game for the AIS in the
SEABL
The South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) was an Australian semi-professional basketball league. The league comprised both a men's and women's competition and was run by the country's governing body, Basketball Australia. The league wa ...
, before playing 14 games in the SEABL for the AIS in 2010.
In addition to playing for the AIS in 2010, Creek also guided Victoria Country to a gold medal at the Under-20 National Championships, and had a fairytale international debut, leading the Australian under-19 team to its first gold medal at the
Albert Schweitzer Tournament
The Albert Schweitzer Tournament (AST) is an international basketball competition that is played between national basketball teams of the Under-18 men age category. It takes place every two years in Mannheim, Germany, and is contested between t ...
in
Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...
, Germany. Creek was subsequently crowned the tournament's most valuable player after averaging 17 points per game and finishing second in efficiency on plus 20.
In 2011, Creek helped Victoria Country win back-to-back gold medals at the Under-20 National Championships, as they were victorious in defeating Queensland in the final, winning 77–70. He subsequently won the Bob Staunton Award for tournament MVP after averaging 19 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3 assists per game.
Professional career
Adelaide 36ers (2010–2018)
Creek joined the
Adelaide 36ers
The Adelaide 36ers, also known as the Sixers, are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in th ...
for the
2010–11 NBL season
The 2010–11 NBL season was the 33rd season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of nine teams contested the league. The regular season was played between October 2010 and April 2011, followed by a post-season involving the to ...
. He made his NBL debut on 3 December 2010, recording seven points and three steals in 21 minutes off the bench in a 92–79 win over the
Townsville Crocodiles
The Townsville Crocodiles were an Australian professional men's basketball team based in the North Queensland city of Townsville. They competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at the Townsville Entertainmen ...
. In 20 games as a rookie, Creek averaged 5.8 points and 2.4 rebounds per game.
He remained in Adelaide following his rookie season and played for the
South Adelaide Panthers of the
Central ABL. In
2011–12, Creek appeared in all 28 games for the 36ers, averaging 5.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.
He again played in the Central ABL during the 2012 off-season, appearing in five games for the Woodville Warriors.
Creek's
2012–13 season was cut short after rupturing his
Achilles tendon
The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (h ...
on 15 December against the Crocodiles in Adelaide. In 12 games, he averaged 5.8 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.
He returned to action in
2013–14, helping the 36ers reach the NBL Grand Final, where they lost to the
Perth Wildcats
The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Wildcats compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at RAC Arena, known colloquially as "The Jungle".
Afte ...
in three games. In 33 games, Creek averaged 7.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game.
During the 2014 off-season, Creek played in the
SEABL
The South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) was an Australian semi-professional basketball league. The league comprised both a men's and women's competition and was run by the country's governing body, Basketball Australia. The league wa ...
for the
Nunawading Spectres
Nunawading Spectres is a NBL1 South club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 South. The club is a division of Melbourne East Basketball Association (MEBA), the major administrative basketball o ...
.
Creek had a career-best season in
2014–15, averaging 11.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 26 games.
During the 2015 off-season, he played for the Woodville Warriors. In
2015–16, Creek averaged 9.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 steals in 26 games for the 36ers.
During the 2016 off-season, Creek helped the Southern Tigers win the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
championship. He was named Grand Final MVP after recording 29 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, two steals and three blocks in an 85–66 win over the Sturt Sabres. He was also named league MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and earned All-Star Five honours.
After signing a three-year contract extension with the 36ers in May 2016, Creek was named team captain for the
2016–17 season. On 16 October, he was ruled out for eight weeks after sustaining a stress fracture in his right foot against
Melbourne United
Melbourne United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. United compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at John Cain Arena.
The team made their debut in the NBL in 1984 as ...
two days earlier. Creek returned to action on 10 December, scoring 14 points off the bench in a 102–92 win over the
New Zealand Breakers
The New Zealand Breakers (also known as the Sky Sport Breakers for sponsorship reasons) are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Auckland. The Breakers compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at ...
. Creek went on to help the 36ers win the minor premiership with a 17–11 record. In 21 games, he averaged 12.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.0 steals per game. Despite suffering a broken hand following the 2016–17 season, Creek was invited to participate in a free agent mini-camp run by the
Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...
before joining the Jazz's Summer League team.
On 12 December 2017, Creek was ruled out for three weeks after scans revealed he had torn a small muscle from the bone in his hamstring. He returned to action in January, and on 27 February 2018, he was named the NBL Fans MVP and earned
All-NBL Second Team honours. Creek helped the 36ers reach the 2018 NBL Grand Final series, where they were defeated 3–2 by Melbourne United. In 31 games in
2017–18, he averaged 14.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game.
Europe (2018)
On 2 April 2018, Creek signed with
BG Göttingen
Basketballgemeinschaft Göttingen ( eng, Basketball Association Göttingen) is a German basketball club based in Göttingen, Germany. In 2010, the club won the EuroChallenge against Krasnye Krylya Samara from Russia. The team had played in Germa ...
of the German
Basketball Bundesliga
The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the highest level league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL season ...
. In seven games, he averaged 11.9 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.
NBA G League / NBA (2018–2019)
On 5 June 2018, Creek exercised his European-out clause, thus departing the 36ers after eight years. Two days later, he signed with
s.Oliver Würzburg. However, after playing for the
Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...
' summer league team in July, Creek exercised his NBA-out clause with Würzburg.
On 20 August 2018, Creek signed a non-guaranteed
Exhibit 10
The NBA salary cap is the limit to the total amount of money that National Basketball Association teams are allowed to pay their players. Like many professional sports leagues, the NBA has a salary cap to control costs and benefit parity, defined b ...
deal with the
Brooklyn Nets
The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The t ...
. On 12 October 2018, Creek was waived by the Nets after appearing in one preseason game. Ten days later, he was acquired by Brooklyn's
NBA G League
The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...
affiliate, the
Long Island Nets
The Long Island Nets are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Uniondale, New York, and are affiliated with the Brooklyn Nets. The team plays its home games at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Nassau County ...
. On 25 January 2019, he signed a 10-day contract with the Brooklyn Nets. He made his NBA debut later that day, entering the game against the
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...
to take free throws for an injured
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson
Rondae Jaquan Hollis-Jefferson (born January 3, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the TNT Tropang Giga of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He spent seven seasons in the NBA, and played college basketball for the ...
in the fourth quarter, making one of them. On 4 February, he signed a second 10-day contract with Brooklyn. On 7 February, he was waived by Brooklyn. During his time with Brooklyn, he was assigned to Long Island four times. Upon being waived, he re-joined Long Island permanently. On 30 March, he signed a 10-day contract with the
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...
. On 9 April, he signed with the Timberwolves for the rest of the season. In July 2019, he played for the Timberwolves at the
Las Vegas Summer League.
South East Melbourne Phoenix (2019–present)
On 4 December 2018, Creek was announced as the first marquee signing of the
South East Melbourne Phoenix
The South East Melbourne Phoenix are an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. The Phoenix entered the National Basketball League (NBL) in the 2019–20 season. The team play the majority of their home games at Jo ...
, a franchise entering the NBL for the 2019–20 season. He signed a two-year deal, with a player option for a third year and an NBA-out clause. In July 2019, he committed to the Phoenix for their inaugural season.
Creek scored an NBL career-high 32 points in a game against the
Cairns Taipans
The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Conventio ...
on 26 January 2020. On 6 February 2020, Creek was fined $500 by the NBL for comments he made to Adelaide 36ers owner Grant Kelley following the Phoenix's game against Adelaide on 2 February. He missed the last two games of the season after hyperextending his knee against the
Sydney Kings
The Sydney Kings are an Australian men's professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League (NBL). The team is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The Kings were formed from a merger between the West Sydney Westars and the ...
on 9 February.
On 15 March 2021, the NBL announced that Creek would not play or train with the Phoenix indefinitely after he received charges stemming from alleged assault offences. He was reinstated by the NBL on 30 March but was relinquished of his team captaincy and not allowed to participate in community activities with the Phoenix. All charges were dropped on 21 April. He helped the Phoenix reach the finals in
2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
and then committed to the team for
2021–22. For the off-season, he joined the South West Metro Pirates of the
NBL1 North
NBL1 North, formerly the Queensland Basketball League (QBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in Queensland and Northern Territory, Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball Queensland partnered wit ...
.
On 10 December 2021, Creek scored a career-high 36 points in a 95–88 win over the
New Zealand Breakers
The New Zealand Breakers (also known as the Sky Sport Breakers for sponsorship reasons) are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Auckland. The Breakers compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at ...
.
On 18 May 2022, Creek re-signed with the Phoenix on a three-year deal. In November 2022, he played his 300th NBL game. On 18 December 2022, he scored 46 points in a 113–112 double-overtime win over the Sydney Kings.
Career statistics
NBA
Regular season
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Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, 4 , , 0 , , 9.0 , , .500 , , .000 , , .714 , , 2.5 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , .0 , , 3.8
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Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
, 1 , , 0 , , 12.0 , , .500 , , .000 , , --- , , 2.0 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 6.0
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National team career
Creek first competed for Australia in 2011 at the
FIBA Under-19 World Championship
The FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup (formerly FIBA Under-19 World Championship) is the under-19 men's world basketball championship organised by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). From its inauguration in 1979, until 2007, it was ...
. In August 2017, he represented the
Australian Boomers
The Australian men's national basketball team, known as the Boomers after the slang term for a male kangaroo, represents Australia in international basketball competition.
Since the late 1980s, Australia has been placed among the world elite t ...
for the first time at the
FIBA Asia Cup
The FIBA Asia Cup (formerly the FIBA Asia Championship and ABC Championship) is an international basketball tournament which takes place every four years between the men's national teams of Asia and Oceania.
Through the 2015 edition, the tourn ...
. He later played for Australia during the
2019 FIBA World Cup qualifiers. In February 2021, Creek was named in the Boomers'
Olympic
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
Sports
Competitions
* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
* Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...
squad.
Personal life
Off the court, Creek is a qualified personal trainer.
References
External links
Mitch Creekat adelaide36ers.com
at fiba.com
"Take 40: Mitch Creek"at nbl.com.au
at smh.com.au
{{DEFAULTSORT:Creek, Mitch
1992 births
Living people
Adelaide 36ers players
Australian expatriate basketball people in Germany
Australian expatriate basketball people in the United States
Australian Institute of Sport basketball players
Australian men's basketball players
BG Göttingen players
Brooklyn Nets players
Long Island Nets players
Minnesota Timberwolves players
National Basketball Association players from Australia
People from Horsham, Victoria
Shooting guards
Small forwards
South East Melbourne Phoenix players
Sportsmen from Victoria (Australia)
Undrafted National Basketball Association players
2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup players