South East Melbourne Phoenix Next Star Malique Lewis has had an incredible journey from Trinidad and Tobago to professional basketball.
In his first NBL season, Lewis played all 29 of South East Melbourne’s regular-season games, as well as its seeding qualifier and play-in game, experiencing both life in the starting five and coming off the bench.
Although his stats don’t immediately stand out—averaging 7.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game—his impact goes beyond numbers, particularly on the defensive end. Looking back, Lewis admits he wishes he had been more aggressive offensively.
“I think I’ve had ups and downs. Overall, I think I could have done better,” Lewis told Aussie Hoopla.
“There were moments where I could have been more aggressive. I could have taken a shot that I passed up, [but] I don’t have any regrets.
“I think back on it, and I’ll just do better the next opportunity that comes.”
Nowadays, young basketball players have more than one option to showcase their talent to NBA teams, whether through the collegiate system or professional leagues. Lewis chose the professional route early, leaving his home in Trinidad and Tobago at just 16 to play in Spain. After two years with Fuenlabrada, he moved to the G-League, suiting up for Mexico City Capitanes, before joining South East Melbourne Phoenix via the NBL’s Next Stars program.
Lewis has high praise for the Next Stars initiative, which has cemented itself as a legitimate pathway for young talent to reach the NBA.
“They do a great job of selling you and putting you out there and what you do. Liam [Santamaria] also gives you feedback on things that you can improve on,” he said.
”They’re just a bunch of people that want to see you succeed. They do a great job.”
After the Phoenix’s poor start to the season, the club chose to part ways with head coach Mike Kelly, who was key in recruiting Lewis to South East Melbourne. Assistant coach Sam McKinnon stepped in as interim before Josh King was hired.
Despite the coaching change, Lewis felt that it didn’t impact his development this season.
“I wasn’t worried about changing coaches. I know I’m pretty useful in any team. Like the things that I do, any team could use a player like me,” he said.
“As long as I kept doing my job and doing it at a high level, I would always be looked on to play and to play a lot of minutes.
“My role didn’t change. [I] kept doing the same thing, going out there and getting stops, shooting the ball, running the court, rebounding.
“Nothing changed for me. I just got to keep doing what I’m doing, just do it better every day.”
The 202cm wing had experience going through the NBA draft process last year before withdrawing. Now, with that prior experience, Lewis knows what to expect in this year’s draft.
“Now that I’ve been through it one time already, I just know that you just got to want it more than the other 59 guys that are in the draft with you,” he said.
“Every rep that you take, you got to go at it at 100%. Every time that you go to practice, be short-minded about a miss, be short-minded about a make, just go out there and be aggressive.
“If you go to the combine or the elite camp, go out there, don’t be shy. You know what you can do. Everyone in the stands knows what you can do. You just got to go out there and be yourself.
“Don’t try to be someone that you’re not and don’t underplay yourself either.”
Despite beginning the season 0-5, the Phoenix managed to finish in the top four and battled their way through the postseason to secure a semi-final series against the first-placed Illawarra Hawks.
With the first game of the series starting on Friday night, Lewis feels like the Phoenix have a good opportunity to go all the way and win their first NBL title.
“[We] just [need to] be ourselves, instead of playing 36 minutes, play 40 instead of playing 30. Even if we go to overtime, just be aggressive, play fast, play with pace, move the ball, and make shots,” he said.
“We’re pretty positive about it. Everybody knows that we can beat this team. Everyone knows what it would take to beat this team, and we’re ready to give it everything.”
Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.
