Reilly was a member of the 35-strong New Zealand team at the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens.
The team returned home with 34 medals - 15 gold, 10 silver and nine bronze.
Reilly was a member of the basketball team that lost the final to Israel 34-30.
"It felt good being on the podium," Reilly said.
"But I would have liked it to be a gold medal."
Reilly has been playing basketball for 15 years but this was the first time he had competed at the Special Olympics World Games.
He was pleased to bring home a medal because his wife, Deborah, competed in gymnastics at Shanghai in 2007. She won four gold medals and a silver.
Competing at World Games can be a life-changing experience for Special Olympians.
"I enjoyed meeting people from other countries," Reilly said.
Former Special Olympics basketball coach Rob Torrance was head of the New Zealand delegation at Athens.
He was impressed with Reilly's form on the basketball court.
"Rob was the top rebounder in the New Zealand team throughout the tournament," he said.
The Special Olympics Summer Games is held every four years and 10,000 athletes from 182 countries competed in Athens in 23 sports.
They competed at the venues used for the 2004 Summer Olympics and the opening and closing ceremonies were held at the ancient Olympic venues.
The first Special Olympics Summer Games was held in Chicago in 1968.
"We had a very good team and it gelled together well," Torrance said.
The hardest part was coming home to a biting Dunedin winter this week with temperatures close to zero after experiencing temperatures of 38degC for most of the time in Athens.
Special Olympics
NZ Basketball results
Pool play: Beat Poland 48-16, Spain 28-7, Singapore 44-21, lost to Israel 25-48.
Semifinal: Beat Singapore 18-16.
Final: Lost to Israel 30-34.
