ALTHOUGH his campaign with the SEM Phoenix is still going strong, National Basketball League (NBL) Next Star Malique Lewis has been rock solid for his team in season number two for the developing wing.

Lewis was reliable in his first season with the South East Melbourne Phoenix last season, and although he was not able to find himself selected in the 2025 NBA Draft, the wing was given the chance to return to the NBL and continue developing his game, particularly on the offensive end, where there was still a bit to be desired following his first year.

Again Lewis was a valued member of the Phoenix’s rotation throughout the year, playing a crucial role as South East Melbourne delivered a contending season, and ahead of tonight’s game three clash with the Adelaide 36ers, will be important to the team’s championship hopes.

Malique Lewis (South East Melbourne Phoenix)

2025/26 averages – 7.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.7 blocks}
46.2 per cent FG, 81.8 per cent FT

It was undoubtedly an improved year from Lewis, who lifted all of his statistics on his averages from the 2024/25 season, and had some memorable performance in what was overall a successful year for the Phoenix. Head coach Josh King was able to rely on Lewis to come off the bench and provide a spark, mainly defensively but sometimes on the scoring front too.

He had an excellent preseason heading into the fixture, putting together a string of strong performances, but struggled to translate it to the first few weeks of the regular season, proving inefficient from the field over the first month.

However, Lewis found his groove with some solid double-digit scoring performances, while he proved one of the best in the competition at generating steals for his team. The Next Star had a breakthrough performance against the Tasmania JackJumpers, where he dropped 23 points and showed how productive he can be when injected into a starting role and given the freedom to be aggressive with ball in hand.

Although he was unable to maintain this level of production offensively, the youngster strung together four double-digit scoring performances in the final month of the season, and has been reliable throughout the playoffs for the Phoenix, coming off the bench and hitting his shots when left open.

Defensively, Lewis is consistently disrupting the opposition’s offensive sets, and in game two of the semi-final series against the Sixers, recorded three steals and helped generate plenty of transition offence for the Phoenix as they overran Adelaide in the second half to keep their season alive. It was a perfect demonstration of how his defensive work can benefit his team down the other end.

Although his numbers do not leap off the page, it was certainly a step forward for Lewis in his second and final season as a Next Star, and he may just be able to cap it off with the Phoenix’s first ever championship if he and his team continue to generate wins against quality opponents.