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
After finishing first with a 21-5 record before South East Melbourne handed Melbourne a 107-70 loss in the deciding game of the 1996 Grand Final, the Tigers entered 1997 without long-time import Dave Simmons and Vince Hinchen. Lindsay Gaze retained Andrew Gaze, Lanard Copeland, Mark Bradtke, Blair Smith, Ray Gordon, Warrick Giddey, Daniel Egan, Damien Chapman and Erik Wickstrom, while Brett Rainbow returned after sitting out the previous NBL season, Brett Jefferies (via Pacific University) joined the roster and athletic import Jarvis Lang was signed to replace Simmons.

Melbourne opened the season at the Brisbane Convention Centre on April 11, where Smith (15 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 2 blocks) played all 48 minutes and made six of eight shots, but Brisbane defeated the Tigers 111-105. Gaze (33 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block) and Lang (24 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block) led Melbourne around him, while Steve Woodberry (28 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals) was Brisbane’s best.

Smith (5.8 points and 4.2 rebounds across 33 games) remained Melbourne’s main reserve centre behind Bradtke (20.4 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks across 30 games), but carried a much larger workload while Bradtke was still in the United States with the Philadelphia 76ers early in the season. No injury was reported for Smith during the year, with his only two absences coming against Sydney on June 7 and June 13. Bradtke’s return reduced Smith’s minutes, but also created another early setback when Melbourne was stripped of a win against Adelaide because the proper clearance paperwork had not been lodged.

Smith’s best game came the following night in Townsville, where Smith (26 points, 13 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal) played another 48 minutes, made nine of 16 shots and eight of 12 free throws as Melbourne defeated the Suns 115-113. Gaze (37 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists, 4 steals, and 1 block) and Copeland (23 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, and 1 block) provided the main support, while Clarence Tyson (24 points and 10 rebounds) was Townsville’s leading scorer.

Melbourne’s season reached its low point at 3-9 as Lang (19.1 points and 9.1 rebounds across 8 games) continued battling serious knee problems and was eventually released. North Melbourne coach Brett Brown helped set Melbourne’s next move in motion after spotting Marcus Timmons in a Wollongong hotel and alerting Andrew Gaze that the former Illawarra import was still in Australia. Timmons (via Illawarra) was brought in for a trial practice and signed immediately, going on to average 17.5 points, 9.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.5 blocks across 22 games. “You could have written your own ticket on us winning the championship at 3-9,” Gaze later recalled.

Gaze (30.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 6.7 assists, and 1.4 steals across 35 games) again carried Melbourne’s offence, leading the NBL in scoring for the 12th time, winning his seventh Most Valuable Player award and earning All-NBL First Team honours. Copeland (23 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.1 assists across 35 games) remained Melbourne’s second major scorer, while Bradtke joined Gaze on the All-NBL First Team and Timmons gave the Tigers another major scorer and rebounder after replacing Lang. Lindsay Gaze was also named NBL Coach of the Year as Melbourne recovered from its disastrous start.

Smith (10 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 assist) made all three of his field-goal attempts and all four free throws in Melbourne’s final regular-season game against Brisbane on September 29, with Gaze (36 points, 4 rebounds, and 8 assists) and Copeland (29 points and 6 rebounds) leading the Tigers to a 116-107 victory. Melbourne completed the regular season on a 14-game winning streak and finished second at 19-11 behind South East Melbourne, earning a first-round bye.

Melbourne opened the semifinals against North Melbourne at the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Centre, where Smith (2 points, 1 rebound, and 1 block) played nine minutes as Gaze (39 points, 3 rebounds, and 10 assists) and Bradtke (25 points, 15 rebounds, and 2 blocks) led the Tigers to a 107-99 win, while David Stiff (24 points) was the Giants’ leading scorer.

Game two moved to Melbourne Park, where Smith (2 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists) stepped into a larger role and played 26 minutes as Melbourne completed the sweep with a 112-105 win. Gaze (34 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists), Timmons (28 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists) and Bradtke (26 points, 16 rebounds, and 3 assists) powered the Tigers, while Pat Reidy (20 points and 5 assists) led North Melbourne.

The Grand Final opened against South East Melbourne at Melbourne Park, where Smith (2 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block) provided 14 minutes from the bench as Melbourne destroyed the defending champions 111-74. Copeland (29 points and 6 rebounds), Timmons (24 points and 9 rebounds) and Gaze (23 points and 9 assists) led the Tigers, while Frank Drmic (12 points) was South East Melbourne’s leading scorer.

South East Melbourne responded in game two, where Smith (4 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 block) played 11 minutes and made both of his free throws, but Chris Anstey (21 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks) and Drmic (16 points and 5 rebounds) helped the Magic win 84-78 and force a deciding game. Copeland (28 points), Gaze (18 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists) and Bradtke (15 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists) led Melbourne.

Game three returned to Melbourne Park, where Copeland (26 points and 6 rebounds), Gaze (22 points, 5 rebounds, and 9 assists), Bradtke (21 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 assists) and Timmons (20 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks) combined for 89 points as Melbourne defeated South East Melbourne 93-83, while Tony Ronaldson (26 points) led the Magic. Giddey (0 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 block) produced several crucial late plays, including a hard foul which broke Sam MacKinnon’s nose, a block on Drmic and a mid-court screen on Mike Kelly. Copeland was named Grand Final MVP after averaging 27.6 points and 3.3 rebounds while shooting 56 percent across the series, while Smith (0 points and 1 assist) played 8:16 as Melbourne completed its championship season.

1998
Melbourne began the NBL’s final winter season as defending champions after a 1997 campaign which included a 17-game winning streak stretching from the regular season into the Grand Final. Lindsay Gaze brought back the championship core of Andrew Gaze, Lanard Copeland, Mark Bradtke, Marcus Timmons, Warrick Giddey, Ray Gordon, Blair Smith, Daniel Egan, Brett Jefferies, Erik Wickstrom and Brett Rainbow. Smith, who had originally joined Melbourne from Brisbane in 1995, returned for his fourth season with the Tigers as the main reserve behind Bradtke in the frontcourt.

Melbourne’s title defence began against Brisbane at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre on January 30, where Smith went scoreless but collected 3 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block in 12 minutes as the Bullets won 105-97. Gaze (38 points, 6 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block) and Bradtke (21 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 4 blocks) led Melbourne, while Steve Woodberry (32 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block) was Brisbane’s best.

Smith (6 points and 3.6 rebounds across 32 games) appeared in all 30 regular-season games and both elimination finals, continuing to provide frontcourt minutes behind Bradtke.

Smith’s highest-scoring game came at the Perth Entertainment Centre on February 19, where he finished with 19 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal, making 6-of-9 field goals and all seven free throws as Melbourne defeated Perth 108-101. Gaze (34 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals) and Timmons (23 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals) led the Tigers around him.

His best all-round performance came in Townsville on April 26, where Smith (18 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 steals) made 9-of-12 field goals in 29 minutes, but the Suns edged Melbourne 95-94. Copeland (23 points and 3 rebounds) and Bradtke (16 points, 18 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block) provided the main support, while Derek Rucker (26 points and 8 rebounds) led Townsville.

Gaze (31.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 1.4 steals across 32 games) again led the NBL in scoring, earned All-NBL First Team honours and won his seventh and final NBL Most Valuable Player award. Copeland (22.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.2 steals across 26 games) remained Melbourne’s second-leading scorer, while Timmons (19.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.4 steals across 32 games) increased his scoring from the championship season. Bradtke (15.1 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks across 30 games) remained the Tigers’ main interior presence, with Giddey, Gordon, Egan, Jefferies, Wickstrom and Rainbow filling out the rotation.

The Tigers recovered from winning only four of their first ten games and entered the postseason on a four-game winning streak, finishing fifth with a 16-14 record. Brisbane also finished 16-14 but had won the season series 2-1, giving the Bullets fourth place and home-court advantage for the elimination finals.

The series opened in Brisbane on June 12, where Smith (2 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists) played 14 minutes as the Bullets defeated Melbourne 93-80. Gaze (34 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal) and Timmons (16 points and 7 rebounds) led the Tigers, while Woodberry (24 points and 10 rebounds) and Chuck Kornegay (15 points, 18 rebounds, and 3 blocks) led Brisbane.

Game two moved to Melbourne Park, where Smith (4 points and 2 rebounds) played 10 minutes. Copeland (22 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block) and Bradtke (20 points and 6 rebounds) led Melbourne, while Leroy Loggins (27 points and 5 rebounds) and Kornegay (18 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists) powered Brisbane to a 114-81 victory, completing the two-game sweep and ending Melbourne’s championship defence.

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.

TOWNSVILLE CROCODILES
2006/07
Blair Smith was brought into the Townsville Crocodiles roster during the 2006/07 NBL season as an injury replacement player and made two appearances for the club. His short stint came amid a season of roster turnover, which saw veterans Robert Rose (to Cairns) and import Casey Calvary depart, with the team adding Daniel Egan (via Brisbane) and import Jelani Gardner (via France).

Gardner (15.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 4.7 assists) was released mid-season, with E.J. Rowland (12.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 2.0 steals) signed to take his place. Smith joined the active roster to provide emergency frontcourt cover during the campaign, which saw Townsville post a 19–14 regular season record and finish fifth on the ladder.

Led by Brad Newley (22.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.2 assists), Larry Abney (21.3 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists, and 1.2 steals), and John Rillie (19.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 4.8 assists), the Crocodiles advanced to the playoffs, where they defeated the Singapore Slingers 106–93 in the elimination final. Smith did not feature in the match.

Townsville’s season ended with a 122–89 loss to the Sydney Kings in the quarter-finals, with Smith again not appearing. Across his two games for the Crocodiles, Smith managed to collect 1 rebound in his limited minutes but failed to score.

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.