BIO: Blair Smith was born in Brisbane (QLD). Smith received a scholarship to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (Canberra) in 1990. He spent two years year there and played for the program’s state league team (1990, 1991).

NBL EXPERIENCE

Blair Smith made his NBL debut with the Brisbane Bullets at 20 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

Blair Smith made his NBL debut in 1992 after being recruited by Brian Kerle. Kerle saw a lot in Smith and had him in the Bullets future plans, however at the end of the 1992 season Brian Kerle was fired and Bruce Palmer took over the head coaching job. Palmer didn’t see Smith in the same light. He thought Smith wasn’t what the Bullets needed and in true Bruce Palmer style he wasn’t shy about telling Smith. One memorable quote came during a training session where Palmer told Smith to take up swimming because he ‘sure as hell’ couldn’t play basketball. Smith stayed and worked hard in Brisbane but he didn’t get a chance, he played in only thirteen of the twenty six Bullet’s games.

1993
In 1993, Brisbane replaced long-time coach Brian Kerle with Bruce Palmer, who had previously led the North Melbourne Giants to the 1989 championship. Under Palmer’s tutelage, the Bullets finished the season winning 50% of their games (same as the previous year under Kerle) and made it to the semi finals before being eliminated in two straight games by Dwayne McClain, and the Sydney Kings.

Smith averaged 2.1 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 0.5 assists alongside Leroy Loggins (23.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 3.1 assists) who led the team in scoring.

1994
Smith (1.5 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 0.4 assists) saw minimal minutes with Bullets, who finished the season in fourth place (18-8).

After upsetting Adelaide in the quarterfinals opener in overtime, they would lose back-to-back games, ending their season early. NBL coaches recognised the efforts of the 36-year-old Loggins (25.7 points and 7.1 rebounds, and 3.6 assists), with him being named to his ninth and final All-NBL First team.

MELBOURNE TIGERS
1995
In 1995, Mark Bradtke requested some time off to allow him to support his wife Nicole’s tennis career as she travelled abroad and miss the first two-thirds of the season. Around that same time, Chris Anstey, a part of the Tigers junior program, also informed the club that he would return, having signed a deal to play with rival club South East Melbourne. Melbourne coach Lindsey Gaze appealed via the NBL tribunal, which ruled that Anstey could not leave the Tigers as long as they could match the contract, which they did.

After some extremely creative salary tweaking, the Magic then signed Anstey to a one year deal worth $180,000 which the Tigers had no interest in matching, allowing Anstey to shift clubs. Once Anstey had signed with the Magic, he renegotiated his contract to a 3-year, $181,000 contract, remaining higher than the Tigers contract not to break any NBL salary cap rules of the time.

The Tigers added forward Matt Reece (via Gold Coast) and centre Blair Smith (via Brisbane) to cover the loss of Bradtke and Anstey.

Andrew Gaze (33.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 8.0 assists, and 2.3 steals), Lanard Copeland (25.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.7 steals) and Dave Simmons (14.7 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.0 blocks) led the team offensively, during a season which saw a merry-go-round of league leaders, during the regular season, Brisbane, Sydney, North Melbourne, South East Melbourne and Melbourne all sat in the number one spot on the ladder some point. With Melbourne narrowly sitting among the top eight team’s (10-7), Bradtke (11.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.2 blocks) would return to playout the Tigers’ last nine games for the season.

The Tigers would scrape into the playoffs, claiming the eighth seed (14-12), their worst result since 1988. With Bradtke out of form and the team still adjusting to him being back in the lineup, Melbourne was eliminated by the Perth Wildcats in the first round (1-2).

Smith would appear in 28 games for the Tigers, averaging 9.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.9 blocks.

1996
With the Tigers having Mark Bradtke back full-time and able to retain all of their core group except for Stephen Whitehead (to Sydney), Melbourne were able to return to their winning ways after their posting their worst season in eight years. Gaze (31.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 8.1 assists, and 1.7 steals) delivered another MVP season, winning the award for the sixth time, alongside Copeland (21.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.4 steals) and a rejuvenated Bradtke (22.6 points, 11.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.6 blocks) as they churned through the competition like a well-oiled machine. Melbourne would finish in first place (21-5), recording their best regular season record in franchise history.

Melbourne would ride the coattails of their ‘Big Three’ through the playoffs, first facing off against the eight seed Brisbane (14-12). Despite losing game one by 21 points (97-118), the Tigers would return to Melbourne and win game two (96-87) thanks to big games from Gaze (30 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists) and Bradtke (24 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists) and game three (111-93) with Gaze (29 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists) and Bradtke (29 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 blocks) again leading the team in scoring.

The Tigers would then meet Canberra in the semifinals, again losing the first game (98-87) with Robert Rose (22 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists), Darnell Mee (21 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks), and Simon Dwight (20 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 blocks) proving too good. Melbourne rebounded with Gaze (30 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 4 steals), narrowly missing out on a triple-double in their game two win (100-82), and then in game three (91-87), Gaze (29 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks) and Bradtke (26 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 blocks) combined to score half of the Tigers points, eliminating the Cannons in a tightly fought four-point win. Smith also contributed 8 points and 8 rebounds in game two and 6 points and 4 rebounds in game three.

Moving on to the grand final series, Melbourne would face South East Melbourne (19-7) who finished in second place during the regular season. Melbourne was too good in game one (100-89), with Gaze (35 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists) delivering his best game of the series in front of a packed Melbourne crowd. Mark Bradtke (24 points and 15 rebounds) and Lanard Copeland (23 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists) were also brilliant, scoring whenever Gaze didn’t, and the Tigers ‘Big Three’ combining for 82 points.

The Magic would then bounce back and win game two (88-84) in front of a Grand Final record crowd of 15,064 at the National Tennis Centre at Flinders Park, which still stands as Melbourne’s highest-attended NBL game ever. Gaze (21 points, 5 rebounds, and 9 assists) led the Tigers in scoring in the loss, while the Magic were led by Tony Ronaldson (28 points) and Mike Kelly (19 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals).

The third and deciding game was held less than 48 hours later, a scenario that benefited the younger legs of the Magic and allowed them to deliver the final blow (107-70). Billy McCaffrey (24 points and 5 assists) and the incredibly efficient performances from Sam MacKinnon (18 points and 9 rebounds), who shot 9/10 from the field, and John Dorge (16 points and 8 rebounds) who made 8 of his 11 shots saw South East Melbourne’s field goal percentage be the game’s deciding factor. The Tigers made only 23 of 60 shots (38%) compared to the Magic, hitting 46 of their 85 shots (54%) in the 30-point blowout.

The 1996 NBL Grand Final series drew a aggregate attendance record of 43,605 (average 14,535), the largest crowd ever for a three-game NBL series. Magic guard Mike Kelly was awarded the Finals MVP award after averaging 16 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2.3 steals across the three-game series.

This season Smith played in all 35 games for the Tigers games, averaging 6.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1 assists.

1997 – 17-0 AND THE SECOND CHAMPIONSHIP
After the blowout loss the Tigers suffered at the hands of the South East Melbourne Magic in game three of the 1996 NBL Finals, the team chose not to re-sign long-time import Dave Simmons and replaced him with athletic wing Jarvis Lang.

The season began poorly with the team for multiple reasons. It became rapidly clear that Lang (19.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 2.0 assists) was battling serious knee problems, which limited his playing time, not to mention the Tigers being stripped of a win against Adelaide due to Bradtke not getting proper clearance before returning from the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers.

With a record of three wins, nine losses, fans and media began to lay the blame on Lindsay Gaze and called for him to step down as coach. The Tigers players, however, knew the slow start was due to their efforts, and so with a renewed focus, as well as the mid-season decision to sack Lang and replace him with Marcus Timmons, they looked to turn things around. After one trial practice session, the Tigers signed Timmons, and everything began to click, and he became the missing piece to their early-season puzzle. Timmons had spent the previous season playing in Illawarra, where he was among the league leaders in steals (10th), scoring (3rd) and rebounding (3rd), collecting more boards than new teammate Bradtke.

Over the remaining 22 games, Melbourne was able to finish in second place (19-11), behind South East Melbourne (22-8), going on a 14-game consecutive winning streak to finish the regular season. Gaze (30.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 6.7 assists, and 1.4 steals) would lead the league in scoring for the 12th time and win his seventh MVP award. Copeland (23.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.0 steals) and Bradtke (20.4 points, 12.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.6 blocks) delivered as always, and Timmons (17.5 points, 9.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.5 blocks) complimented them perfectly.

The Tigers received a first-round bye in the playoffs before meeting North Melbourne in the semifinals. Melbourne defeated North Melbourne (107-99) on their home court in game one and at home for game two (112-105). Smith (2 points and 6 rebounds) stepped up and played 26 minutes in the second game, helping sweep the Giants (2-0). On the other side of the semi final bracket, the reigning champions South East Melbourne defeated Perth to set up a grand final rematch.

Behind big games from Lanard Copeland (29 points and 4 rebounds), Marcus Timmons (24 points and 9 rebounds), and Andrew Gaze (23 points, 9 assists), the Tigers blew the Magic off the court to the tune of 37 points in the opening game (111-74), extending their winning streak to 17.

Goorjian knew the game plan had to change, and he decided to start veteran John Dorge over young centre Chris Anstey in game two. The move resulted in a huge game from Anstey (21 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks) as the Magic defeated the Tigers in a much more physical contest (84-78), Smith contributing 4 points and 3 rebounds.

The opening quarter of game three ended with scores tied, but thanks to the Tigers frontcourt limiting Anstey (8 points) this time around and a offensive run in the second quarter, the game was all but over by half-time. The Tigers never looked back from there, going on to win their second NBL championship (93-83).

A great Australian sporting rivalry!! pic.twitter.com/qVrlKwROkN

— RANDOM HOOPS (@HoopsRandom) March 21, 2023

Tony Ronaldson (26 points) led the Magic in scoring, but with Copeland (26 points and 6 rebounds), Gaze (22 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists), Bradtke ( 21 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists) and Timmons (20 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals) combining for 89 points to outscore the Magic by themselves, it was over. Copeland was named Finals MVP after averaging 27.6 points and 3.3 rebounds (56% shooting) over the three game series, yet it was blue-collar Tigers forward Warrick Giddey who the Melbourne Tigers deemed the deciding factor in the game three victory. Giddey recorded zero points, four rebounds, three assists and one block, and if you hadn’t seen the game, you’d probably question why he even bothered showing up. But Giddey delivered three crucial plays in the series’ closing moments that turned the tide. Firstly a hard foul on Sam MacKinnon, which broke the Magic star’s nose. The second was a huge block on Frank Drmic, and finally, a mid-court screen on Mike Kelly that came close to knocking him out of his shoes.

Smith played in 33 games and averaged 5.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.2 assists for the season.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Random Hoops (@randomhoops)

1998
Melbourne was able to return with its entire Grand Final roster intact. While the Tigers had surprised the league in 1997, both with their 17-game consecutive win streak and their championship win, in 1998, the team fell far short of expectations. In hindsight, the Tigers’ core group had reached the downside of their careers with Gaze and Copeland (both 33 y/o), veterans Ray Gordon (32 y/o), and Warrick Giddey (30 y/o) all over thirty, while the average of a NBL player in 1998 being 26 years of age. This left Mark Bradtke (28 y/o) and Timmons (26 y/o) as the players on the team scoring over six points per game and under 30 years of age. Melbourne would start the season slowly, winning four of their first ten games, but head into the playoffs on a four-game winning streak, finishing in fifth place (16-14). Once into the finals, Melbourne was swiftly eliminated in the first round in two straight games by Brisbane, who featured a versatile four-person rotation just as potent as the Tigers. The four-man combo of Steve Woodberry (26.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.4 steals), Leroy Loggins (17.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.5 steals), Chuck Kornegay (16.7 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks) and CJ Bruton (15.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.8 steals) proving too strong in their game one win at home (93-80) and their 33 point demolition of the Tigers in game two (114-81).

Gaze (31.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 1.4 steals) would lead the league in scoring, be included in the All-NBL first team and earn his eighth and final league MVP in a year where the Tigers slowly began to fade away from championship contenders from this season onwards.

The core group of Copeland (22.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.2 steals), Bradtke (15.1 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.5 blocks), Gordon (4.1 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 1.2 assists) and Giddey (3.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.0 assists) all saw their numbers decline from the previous season with Timmons (19.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 3.4 assists, and 1.4 steals) the only player on the roster to have a better season than the one prior. Smith would appear in 32 games and average 6.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 0.8 assists.

1998/99
With the NBL changing its schedule to become a summer sport in 1998, the Tigers found a renewed vigour that resulted in them finishing the 1998/99 season in second place during the regular season. Gaze (33.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 5.5 assists), Lanard Copeland (25.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.4 assists), Marcus Timmons (20.9 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.3 blocks) and Bradtke (17.1 points, 13.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.9 blocks) combined to average a ridiculous 97 points per game. Smith also added 6.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.2 assists, appearing in 30 games.

Melbourne won 17 games and earned a playoff rematch with Brisbane, who had eliminated Melbourne from the playoffs the season prior. The Tigers would get their revenge this time around and defeat the Bullets in two straight games. in the semifinals, the Tigers would then face long-time rivals Brian Goorjian and the Victoria Titans, and even with star import Marcus Timmnons (31 points and 9 rebounds) delivering a unstoppable performance, the Titans held on to win (80-77) with Tony Ronaldson (17 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists) top scoring for the victors and Paul Maley (16 points) having a efficient game off the bench, making seven of his nine shots in 22 minutes of court time.

In game two, the Titans led the Tigers in all four quarters and again came away victorious (94-87). Mike Kelly (19 points and 7 rebounds) would step up, making 7 of his 12 shots, and Ben Pepper (15 points, 13 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks) had his best game of the series, shooting a efficient 7 of 12 from the field.

WEST SYDNEY RAZORBACKS
1999/00
During the 1999/00 season, Smith averaged 2.1 points and 1.9 rebounds, and helped Razorbacks finish the year in sixth place finish with a record of 12-16.

2000//01
During the 2000/01 season, Smith averaged 2.3 points and 1.7 rebounds, and helped guide the Razorbacks to a eighth place finish in the regular season with a 9-19 record.

Blair Smith played eleven seasons across four NBL teams. This included the Brisbane Bullets, West Sydney Razorbacks, Melbourne Tigers and Townsville Crocodiles. He averaged 4.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 0.9 assists in 259 NBL games.

Dan Boyce (815 Posts)

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.