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BIO: Tohiraukura Makaere Smith-Milner was born and raised in Auckland, where he attended Rosmini College and played junior basketball for Waitakere.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Tohi Smith-Milner made his NBL debut with the Melbourne United at 20 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

Smith-Milner signed with Melbourne as a development player in 2015 and helped United finish on top of the ladder (18–10). He appeared in 11 games during the season, averaging 4.0 points and 0.5 rebounds. Despite the strong finish under coach Dean Demopoulos, the team lost to New Zealand in the semifinals, losing to the Breakers in two straight games.

2016/17
In 2016/17, Smith-Milner struggled of find playing opportunities in his second season with United. Smith-Milner appeared in only eight games, averaging 0.4 points, 0.5 rebounds, and 0.1 assists as United finished the season in sixth place (13-15).

2017/18
2017 saw the beginning of the ‘Dean Vickerman’ era with the Sydney assistant coach replacing Dean Demopoulos, who had struggled to fit in with the playing group during his tenure. Vickerman signed on for two seasons and shortly after, the team re-signed David Barlow and imports Josh Boone and Casper Ware. Vickerman brought with him forward Craig Moller (via Sydney) as a replacement for the departing Todd Blanchfield (to Illawarra) and added Casey Prather (via Perth) as the team’s third import.

Melbourne won their season opener against Adelaide (99–97) with Prather (20 points) leading the team offensively. Despite United’s hot start, they would win only five of their first ten games.

On December 16, Prather went down with a dislocated elbow in the second quarter of Melbourne’s win over Illawarra (84–78) and was subsequently ruled out for a minimum of eight weeks. While United looked for a injury replacement, development player Felix Von Hofe was elevated into the team until they signed former NBA talent Carrick Felix. Felix joined the team in December and with his addition, the team sparked a strong run home, finishing 15-3 for the remainder of the season.

Smith-Milner would average 2.3 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 0.2 assists per game, while Melbourne would finish in first place and face fourth-seed New Zealand in the semifinals. In game one, Prather (15 points) led the team in scoring despite starting on the bench and led United to a 11-point win (88–77). Prather (12 points) then helped Melbourne win game two in overtime (88–86) and progress to the Grand Final. On the opposite side of the bracket, the Adelaide 36ers eliminated the reigning champions Perth in two games as well.

The opening game saw Casper Ware (20 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists) come out on fire in the first half, before leaving the game with a hip injury. United sharp-shooter Chris Goulding would then step up with a impressive shooting display (26 points) to give Melbourne the victory (107-96) at Hisense Arena. Daniel Johnson (18 points) led the 36ers in scoring alongside Mitch Creek (14 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists).

In game two, Adelaide came out firing behind Majok Deng (18 points), Mitch Creek (17 points) and Ramone Moore (17 points) and tied the series with a 15-point win (110-95). Melbourne were led by Casey Prather (20 points), who had re-joined the team just prior to the Grand Final series, and Chris Goulding (19 points).

The 36ers win came at a cost, with import Josh Childress (13 points and 8 rebounds) going down with a shoulder injury in the fourth quarter that would remove him from the remaining Grand Final games.

The series returned to Melbourne for game three, where tensions exploded at the end of the first half, Adelaide’s Nathan Sobey clashing heads with Casey Prather after the United import hit a three-pointer on the stroke of halftime. The Adelaide guard was called for a disqualifying foul and ejected from the match. There was further drama at the end of the game with players from both team’s needing to be separated after the final buzzer. The incident also resulted in 36ers head coach Joey Wright being fined handsomely for questioning the integrity of the referees.

When the smoke settled, Melbourne had squeaked out a narrow victory (101-98) after Adelaide’s Majok Deng missed a game-tying three-pointer in the final seconds. Casper Ware (25 points), Prather (23 points) and Chris Goulding (15 points), who hit three clutch triples to take control of the game, were among United’s best.

Game four saw Adelaide swingman Nathan Sobey (16 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists), who was ejected in game three for his part in the halftime melee, lead the way for the 36ers in the first half with the scoreboard reading 55-31 at the halfway mark. Again the home team was victorious, Adelaide getting a comfortable win over Melbourne United (90-81). Johnson (29 points and 10 rebounds) and Prather (23 points) top scoring for their respective sides.

In the deciding game five, Goulding, Ware (both 23 points) and Prather (19 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 steals) came to play and Melbourne defeated Adelaide (100-82) in front of a sold-out crowd at Hisense Arena, winning their first title since rebranding from the Tigers. Shannon Shorter (20 points) led Adelaide in scoring, while Chris Goulding was named Finals MVP after averaging 16.6 points and 3.6 rebounds over the five-game series. With the win, Prather collected his third NBL championship to become the first player in NBL history to win three straight titles in his first three seasons in the league.

2018/19
During the 2018/19 season Smith-Milner averaged 1.1 points, 0.3 rebounds, and 0.3 assists and helped the United finish the regular season in second place (18-10).

2019/20
Melbourne United began the season with a complete rehaul of its roster. The team chose not to re-sign imports Casper Ware and Josh Boone, released Daniel Trist and lost young forward Craig Moller when he signed with Sydney as a free agent.

United then signed Jo Lual-Acuil, Shea Ili (who played under Dean Vickerman during his time at the Breakers) and Jack Purchase as the team’s development player. Vickerman then added import duo Melo Trimble from Cairns and Shawn Long via New Zealand, who were friends, having played together for the USA National Team. Rounded out the squad David Barlow, Alex Pledger, Tohi Smith-Milner and Casey Prather re-signed with the club.

After a season spent in Europe, Casey Prather would return to the club (two-year deal) as the team’s third import, but he Prather missed the first seven games of the season due to injury, question marks around his health and signing were raised. Once Prather (9.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 0.7 assists) managed to return to the court, his scoring was far below his career numbers. He managed to play in six games before undergoing another knee clean-out shortly after and was then ruled out for the rest of the season due to a right hamstring tear. United would sign former NBA talent Stanton Kidd (9.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 0.5 assists) as his injury replacement.

This resulted in United losing four of their first five games of the season, and with reports of a rift between players, a coach under pressure and frustrated supporters, the club looked utterly rattled. By late-November however, United sat third on the ladder (7-4) behind six consecutive wins and were the highest scoring team in the competition (99.7 points-per-game). Melo Trimble (19.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.2 steals) would lead United in scoring, alongside Long (18.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks) and Captain Chris Goulding (17.6 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists).

Smith-Milner finished the season averaging 3.7 points, 2 rebounds, and 0.5 assists while Melbourne finished the season in fourth place (15-13) and face Sydney in the semifinals.

Long (23 points, 10 rebounds, and 1 block) controlled the inside while Trimble (34 points, 5 assists, and 3 steals) came off the bench to finish as the game’s leading scorer. It wasn’t enough however, with United losing game one (80-86) with Xavier Cooks (21 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists) and Jae’Sean Tate (19 points and 5 rebounds) doing most of the damage for the Kings.

They returned to Melbourne for game two where United would even the series, thanks to a combined effort from their import trio, with Long (26 points and 11 rebounds), Trimble (21 points and 2 steals) and Kidd (18 points and 4 rebounds) all delivering when it counted. Tate (18 points and 6 rebounds) kept the scoreboard ticking over for Sydney but the damage was done during the second quarter, where United outscored the Kings 32-7, a lead that allowed them to win by 45 points at full-time (125-80). The series decider was played at Qudos Bank Arena in a game that came down to the final seconds. Goulding (19 points and 3 assists) led Melbourne in scoring, but Tate (20 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists) and the Kings were able to come away with a two-point win and proceed to the Grand Final, ending United’s season.

Smith-Milner produce the best numbers of his career so far, becoming a regular rotation player and averaging 3.7 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 0.5 assists in 26 games.

SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX
2021/22
After making their maiden Finals appearance the year prior, South East Melbourne looked to go one step further. The Phoenix’s first move was re-signing coach Simon Mitchell (one year deal), who then went about retaining the majority of the team’s local core, locking in Kyle Adnam, Ryan Broekhoff, Izayah Le’Afa and Mitch Creek re-signing.

Although both Keifer Sykes (to NBA) and Yanni Wetzell (to New Zealand) would exit the club, they would be replaced by Tohi Smith-Milner (via Melbourne), Zhou Qi, a member of the Chinese national team and imports Zach Hankins and Xavier Munford.

South East Melbourne started the season on fire, winning three of its first four games, with Qi (11.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks) making it extremely difficult for opposing team’s to score inside and Munford (16.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.3 steals) proving to be a more than adequate replacement for Sykes.

The combination of a short-term injury to Qi and Hankins yet to play a game due to a knee cartilage injury resulted in coach Simon Mitchell bringing in import Brandon Ashley (8.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 0.7 assists) as a replacement for Hankins.

The Phoenix had no problems scoring this year, with Mitch Creek (20.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.1 steals) leading the team in scoring and South East Melbourne finishing in the top three highest-scoring team’s in the league (87.7 points per game).

Then, due to COVID interruptions, several of their games had to be postponed, forcing the team into a 28 day hiatus where they were unable to play a single game, leaving them a little bit rusty, to say the least, and they were blown out by Brisbane (84-100) in their first game back.

It wouldn’t take long for South East Melbourne to return to their previous form however, winning eight of their next eleven games to sit second on the ladder (11-5) around the halfway mark of the season.

South East Melbourne saw their season backflip from here on, going on a four-game losing streak, losing to the Hawks twice, the Kings and United. The downfall of South East Melbourne coincided with the season-ending shoulder injury of Ryan Broekhoff (11.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.6 steals), but even with a favourable schedule across the last month of the season, the Phoenix still struggled to get wins, suffering defeats by Adelaide, Cairns, and Melbourne which ended South East Melbourne’s chances of reaching the playoffs.

It was a disappointing second half of the season for the Phoenix, as they managed to win only six out of their last 14 games, the only high point being a overtime win over Perth (102-100) that ended the Wildcat’s 35-year playoff streak.

Smith-Milner would contribute 1.5 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 0.1 assists across 23 games, while South East Melbourne ended the season in sixth place (15-13).

2022/23
Smith-Milner averaged 2.3 points and 0.9 rebounds, and 0.5 assists during a lacklustre season where the Phoenix limped home to a fifth place finish (15-13).

ADELAIDE 36ERS
2023/24
After a second disappointing season under coach CJ Bruton, several changes were made to their roster. Despite imports from last season, Robert Franks and  Antonius Cleveland both being contracted for a second season, they were allowed to exit their deals and pursue opportunities overseas.

Anthony Drmic (to Tasmania), Ian Clark (to Melbourne) and Kai Sotto (to Japan) all headed elsewhere, but perhaps the most significant loss for 36ers fans was the decision not to bring back big man Daniel Johnson after 13 years with the club.

Former Sixers Jason Cadee (via Brisbane), Isaac Humphries (via Melbourne) and import Jacob Wiley all returned to the club to provide much-needed leadership. New faces to the squad included Trentyn Flowers, courtesy of the Next Stars program, AFL to NBL convert Alex Starling and imports Trey Kell (via South East Melbourne) and Jamaal Franklin.

Franklin’s time with the club was brief; being handed his released during the middle of the NBL Blitz. In a similar fashion to last season, Adelaide got off to yet another slow start (with a 1-4 record) before signing DJ Vasiljevic, who had exited his contract with Sydney early to sign a deal to play with Washington in the NBA, before being released on the eve on the NBL season.

Vasiljevic (19.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists) added instant firepower to the squad, but after a horrendous loss to Tasmania, where Adelaide’s inability to shoot both inside (29 per cent from the field) and beyond the three-point line (2-11) saw them produce their equal-lowest score since the beginning of the 40-minute era (59-94), Bruton was shown his walking papers. With the team sitting bottom of the ladder (4-9), Bruton was replaced by assistant coach Scott Ninnis, who had coached the team previously from 2008-2010 and managed to turn things around in the second half of the season after an impressive January (5-1) which saw Adelaide back contending for a playoff spot.

Adelaide finished the season as the second-best rebounding team, averaging 43.5 rebounds per game, but also the worst in the competition from behind the three-point line (shooting 29.9 per cent).

Kell (17.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.1 steals) and Humphries (15.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks) both delivered career-best seasons, and Wiley (10.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists) led the team in rebounding.

Ultimately, the revitalised side finished a win and percentage away from competing in the Play-In Tournament (12 wins, 16 losses) with Smith-Milner averaging 3.6 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.9 assists across 14 games.

BRISBANE BULLETS
2024/25
Smith-Milner signed a one-year deal to play in Brisbane, to play under his former coach from Melbourne United, Justin Schueller.

“Tohi is an athlete with huge potential that we believe is ready to have an impact in this league,” Schueller said on bringing Smith-Milner to the club.

“His ability to space and stretch the floor with his shooting, IQ and versatility makes him a key piece to our roster build.”

Tohi Smith-Milner currently plays for the Adelaide 36ers and has played 139 games in his NBL career. He has averaged 2.2 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 0.3 assists since entering the league in 2015.

CURRENT CONTRACT:

Adelaide 36ers – 2 Year Deal (2024-26)
2nd Year Team Option

Dan Boyce (798 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.