Tohiraukura Makaere Smith-Milner (born 6 October 1995) is a New Zealand professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the

Adelaide 36ers The Adelaide 36ers, also known as the Sixers, are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in th ...

of the National Basketball League (NBL). He has previously played in the Australian NBL for

Melbourne United Melbourne United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. United compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at John Cain Arena. The team made their debut in the NBL in 1984 as ...

and the

South East Melbourne Phoenix The South East Melbourne Phoenix are an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The Phoenix entered the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) in the 2019–20 ...

and has represented the New Zealand Tall Blacks.

Early life

Smith-Milner was born and raised in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, where he attended

Rosmini College Rosmini College is a state integrated Catholic secondary school for boys, situated in Takapuna, Auckland, New Zealand. The school caters to Years 7-13 (Forms 1-7), and currently has a roll of approximately 1097. Founded in 1962 by Father Catch ...

and played junior basketball for Waitakere.

Professional career

NZNBL and Australian state leagues

Smith-Milner started his professional career in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

with the championship-winning

Auckland Pirates The Auckland Pirates were a New Zealand basketball team based in Auckland. The Pirates competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at ASB Stadium. Team history In March 2011, the franchise was unveiled by Baske ...

in the New Zealand NBL. He joined the

Super City Rangers The Super City Rangers were a New Zealand basketball team based in Auckland. The Rangers competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games across multiple venues in Auckland. Team history The Waitakere Rangers debut ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

but did not play, going on to make his debut for the Rangers

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

and averaging 12.7 points per game. After a season in the United States playing

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for

Polk State College Polk State College, formerly Polk Community College, is a public college in Winter Haven, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. The college changed its name from Polk Community College in 2009 to reflect its first Bachelor's degre ...

in 2014–15, Smith-Milner re-joined the Rangers for the 2015 season. In 2016, Smith-Milner played for the

Sandringham Sabres Sandringham Sabres is a NBL1 South club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 South. The club is a division of Southern Basketball Association (SBA), the major administrative basketball organisati ...

in the

SEABL The South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) was an Australian semi-professional basketball league. The league comprised both a men's and women's competition and was run by the country's governing body, Basketball Australia. The league wa ...

. In 2017, he played for both the

Canterbury Rams The Canterbury Rams are a New Zealand basketball team based in Christchurch. The Rams compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Cowles Stadium. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as The Wheeler Motor Can ...

in the New Zealand NBL and the

Frankston Blues Frankston Blues is a NBL1 South club based in Melbourne. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 South. The club is a division of Frankston & District Basketball Association (FDBA), the major administrative basketball organisa ...

in the SEABL. He played for the

Nelson Giants The Nelson Giants are a New Zealand basketball team based in Nelson. The Giants compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Trafalgar Centre. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Mike Pero Nelson ...

in the New Zealand NBL in 2018 and the Kilsyth Cobras in the

NBL1 NBL1 is a semi-professional basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Australia, consisting of NBL1 South, South, NBL1 North, North, NBL1 Central, Central, NBL1 West, West and NBL1 East, East Conferences with both men's and women's compet ...

in 2019. He played for the

Auckland Huskies The Auckland Tuatara are a semi-professional basketball team based in Auckland, New Zealand. The Tuatara compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Eventfinda Stadium. Founded in Tasmania in 2019 as the Southe ...

in 2020, the

Wellington Saints The Wellington Saints are a New Zealand basketball team based in Wellington. The Saints compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at TSB Bank Arena. Team history The Wellington Saints were founded in 1981. In 1 ...

in 2021, and the Sandringham Sabres in 2022. Smith-Milner joined the Wellington Saints in 2023.

Australian NBL

In 2015, Smith-Milner joined

of the Australian NBL. He spent three seasons as a development player before signing a full-time contract in 2018. He spent two seasons with United as a fully contracted player. On 13 August 2021, Smith-Milner signed a two-year deal with the

, with the second year being a Club Option. On 26 August 2023, Smith-Milner signed with the

for the

2023–24 NBL season The 2023–24 NBL season is the 46th season of the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. A total of ten teams contested in the 2023–24 season. Australian broadcast rights to the sea ...

National team career

Smith-Milner played for the New Zealand Tall Blacks in the

2017 FIBA Asia Cup The 2017 FIBA Asia Cup (formerly known as the FIBA Asia Championship) was the 29th continental basketball championship in Asia. The tournament was organised by FIBA Asia. It took place from 8 to 20 August 2017, a week earlier from the initial sche ...

in Lebanon, where he averaged 10.5 points and 4.2 rebounds. The following year, he was a member of the bronze-medal winning Tall Blacks squad at the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

. In 2019, he played in the

FIBA Basketball World Cup The FIBA Basketball World Cup, also known as the FIBA World Cup of Basketball or simply the FIBA World Cup, between 1950 and 2010 known as the FIBA World Championship, is an international basketball competition contested by the senior men's nat ...

in China, where he averaged 5.2 points and 2.8 rebounds. In July 2022, Smith-Milner helped New Zealand win bronze at the

FIBA Asia Cup The FIBA Asia Cup (formerly the FIBA Asia Championship and ABC Championship) is an international basketball tournament which takes place every four years between the men's national teams of Asia and Oceania. Through the 2015 edition, the tourn ...

. He was subsequently named to the All-Star Five. In July 2023, Smith-Milner was named in the Tall Blacks squad for the

2023 FIBA World Cup The 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup will be the 19th tournament of the FIBA Basketball World Cup for men's national basketball teams. The tournament will be the second to feature 32 teams. For the first time in its history, the World Cup will be h ...

References

External links

NBL player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith-Milner, Tohi 1995 births Living people Adelaide 36ers players Auckland Huskies players Auckland Pirates players Basketball players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Basketball players from Auckland Canterbury Rams players Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games medallists in basketball Melbourne United players Nelson Giants players New Zealand expatriate basketball people in Australia New Zealand men's basketball players Power forwards (basketball) South East Melbourne Phoenix players Super City Rangers players Wellington Saints players 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup players Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup players People educated at Rosmini College