New dad Tohi reaches 150 NBL games

A massive few days for Tohi Smith-Milner who has just become a father along with partner Hana will now wrap up with him being back for the Brisbane Bullets on Sunday to play his 150th NBL game.

Smith-Milner missed Friday night's game in Hobart for the Bullets against the Tasmania JackJumpers to remain home in Brisbane to be by partner Hana's side as she gave birth to the couple's first child.

Now that the birth all went smoothly and the couple are new parents, he will set his sights on hitting the court with the Bullets once again on Sunday afternoon at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre against the Perth Wildcats.

The 29-year-old forward out of Auckland is in his first season at the Bullets with his NBL career having started back at Melbourne United in the 2015/16 season.

On the back of an emotional week, reaching 150 games is something he's proud of.

"There's a lot of mixed emotions and obviously I'm nervous with it being our first child, but I'm also really excited and there's a lot of different emotions right now," Smith-Milner said.

"I actually didn’t realise I was playing 150 until I was told, but it's obviously been a long time coming and I've been in the league for a very long time now.

"I'm just happy to be around still to be in the league, and to try and pass on some knowledge to these young guys coming through. Hopefully I can leave a little bit of myself wherever I go and pass on some of my knowledge."

Smith-Milner arrived at the Bullets for NBL25 having already played 141 games in the league beginning as a development player with Melbourne United where current Brisbane coach Justin Schueller was an assistant.

From there, Smith-Milner joined the South East Melbourne Phoenix for two seasons before spending NBL24 in an eventful period for the Adelaide 36ers, and then arriving at the Bullets to be part of his fourth NBL club across his journey to 150 games now.

On top of that, Smith-Milner has been a regular representative of the New Zealand Tall Blacks having been born and bred in Auckland, and even winning an NZ NBL championship all the way back in 2012 as a teenager.

He then attended Polk State College and has been splitting his time between the NBL and then either the NZ NBL or NBL1 competitions in between ever since.

It's a journey that Smith-Milner is rightfully proud of but now as a new father, about to be a 150-game player and with all the experience he's racked up as he approaches the age of 30, he's enjoying being in Brisbane and the supportive nature of the Bullets organisation.

"I'm loving it here in Brisbane. Obviously I've known Justin from my United days and I played for in NBL1 down in Melbourne as well so I know him really well," Smith-Milner said.

"It's just a really competitive environment that we are creating here with a great group of guys, and it's just really enjoyable being around.

"The club is great and you feel supported and knowing they are happy for me stay behind for our baby this week has also been great and taken a lot of weight off my shoulders. I'm also thankful to the club for that."