Patrick Sammy "Patty" Mills is an Indigenous Australian professional basketball player
who currently plays for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association. Mills
is the second Indigenous Australian to play in the NBA and the first person of Torres
Strait Islander descent. Mills was drafted to the Portland Trail Blazers with the 55th
overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft after playing college basketball for Saint Mary's College
of California. He also played for the Melbourne Tigers in the National Basketball League during
the NBA lockout. Mills led the 2012 Olympics in scoring when he averaged with 21.2 points
per game with the Australian national basketball team, the Boomers. He signed with the San
Antonio Spurs in 2012 and won an NBA championship with them in 2014.
Early life and career Mills' father is a Torres Strait Islander
from Thursday Island and his mother is an Aboriginal Australian from the Ynunga people
of South Australia. He was first exposed to basketball as a four-year-old with The Shadows,
an Indigenous Australian team that his parents established. Mills attended Marist College
Canberra, where he played a variety of sports in addition to basketball, such as Australian
football and athletics. He served as ball boy for the Canberra Cannons of the NBL around
2000. During that time, his family developed a close relationship with Cannons player David
Patrick, who would eventually play a key role in Mills' career.
As well as playing basketball, Mills also played underage Australian rules football
at a high level. He represented the Australian Capital Territory at the 2004 Under-16 National
Championships, and, after being named the tournament's best and fairest player, was
pursued by recruiters from the Sydney Swans, an Australian Football League team. At the
age of 15, Mills was selected for the ACT's under-18 basketball squad to compete in the
Australian National Championships. The following year, Mills accepted a full-time basketball
scholarship with the Australian Institute of Sport. He replaced a player who had dropped
out of the program, Scott Pendlebury, who had dropped out to pursue an AFL career. He
also made a strong impression at the 2005 Australian Olympic Youth Festival, an event
considered to be a showcase for future elite sporting talents.
In January 2006, he received the RE Staunton Medal as top player in the Australia under-20
national championships. In April that year, he received more international attention when
he was named to the World team of under-20 players that played a US team of the same
age group at the Nike Hoop Summit in Memphis, Tennessee. Mills led the World squad with
6 assists and also added 8 points in a losing effort. He was one of 22 players invited
to try out for the Australia squad for the 2006 FIBA World Championship, becoming the
youngest player ever to participate in a Boomers training camp. While he was in training with
the Boomers in July, he was named by Basketball Australia as the Junior Male Player of the
Year. Mills also had an outstanding 2006 season with the AIS men's team in the South East
Australian Basketball League, earning him a place on the All SEABL East men's team and
the honour of 2006 SEABL U-21 Australian Youth Player of the Year. He went on to be named
the 2006 Basketball Australia Player of the Year, and also received two major awards from
Indigenous Australian organisations—The Deadlys Award for Most Promising New Talent
in Sport and NAIDOC's National Sportsperson of the Year.
College career Mills signed with Saint Mary's College of
California during the NCAA national early signing period in November 2006. Although
he was pursued by several other NCAA Division I schools such as Utah, Wake Forest, Alabama,
and Nebraska, he came to Saint Mary's, indicating that he was comfortable with the Gaels' head
coach Randy Bennett. Also, just prior to the 2006–07 season, Bennett had hired Mills'
old family friend, David Patrick, as an assistant coach. Mills became the fifth Australian that
Bennett successfully recruited since arriving at St. Mary's in 2001. One of the other Australians
to have played under Bennett at Saint Mary's was fellow AIS old boy Daniel Kickert, the
Gaels' all-time leading scorer. Mills also followed in Kickert's footsteps
in another way, becoming the first freshman to start for the Gaels since Kickert did so
in the 2002–03 season. He first broke into the American basketball consciousness in his
fourth game of the 2007–08 season, when he scored 37 points to lead the Gaels to an
upset of nationally ranked Oregon on 20 November 2007. The win also validated pre-season expectations
for the Gaels, who were picked before the season to finish second in the West Coast
Conference behind traditional conference power Gonzaga. The Gaels went on to start the season
7–0 and earn their first national ranking since 1989. The Gaels also won the 2007 edition
of the Rainbow Classic, an annual eight-team December tournament hosted by the University
of Hawaiʻi, with Mills being named tournament MVP.
St. Mary's was nationally ranked for most of the season, ultimately finishing second
in WCC regular-season play to Gonzaga. After the regular season, Mills was named WCC Newcomer
of the Year and also made the All-WCC first team. At the end of the regular season, Mills
was the second-leading freshman scorer in the WCC at 14.4 points per game, and also
led all WCC freshmen in assists and steals. The Gaels went on to the NCAA tournament,
where they lost in the first round to Miami. In that game, Mills' 24 points made him the
only Gael to score in double figures, and he also led the Gaels with 5 assists. Despite
the 19-hour time difference between Mills' hometown of Canberra and the U.S. West Coast,
Australian television showed Gaels games live. NBA career
Portland Trail Blazers In April 2009, Mills entered the 2009 NBA
Draft, waiting until the final minutes of the deadline before making the decision. He
was selected with the 25th pick of the second round by the Portland Trail Blazers.
During practice for the NBA Summer League, he suffered a fracture in his right foot,
and required surgery. He signed with the Blazers in October 2009 after speculation of whether
he would be signed at all due to the injury and the number of point guards already on
the roster. After completing rehabilitation from surgery
on his foot in December, Mills was assigned to the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development
League. In his debut with Idaho, he scored 38 points and added 12 assists and 3 rebounds.
After one more game with the Stampede, in which he scored the game-winning basket, Mills
made his NBA debut for the Trail Blazers on 4 January 2010. In just under 5 minutes, he
registered 2 assists but scored no points. NBA lockout
On 29 August 2011, during the 2011 NBA lockout, Mills signed with the Melbourne Tigers in
Australia for the 2011–12 NBL season. On 7 October, he suited up for the Tigers' first
home game against the Sydney Kings in Round 1, scoring 28 points and leading the Tigers
to an 82–76 win in the inaugural Capital City Clash.
After playing 9 games for the Tigers, Mills announced he would be leaving the Tigers to
play in China with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers. He finished his short NBL stint with averages
of 18.6 points per game, 2.3 rebounds per game and 5 assists per game. His stint in
China would end on 3 January 2012 when he would be released for allegedly faking a hamstring
injury. Mills denied this report. In the 12 games that Mills played for Xinjiang, he averaged
26.5 points per game, 3.8 rebounds per game, 3.8 assists per game, and 2.7 steals per game.
San Antonio Spurs On 27 March 2012, Mills signed with the San
Antonio Spurs. He scored 20 points in his third game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
On 26 April 2012, Mills scored a career-high 34 points and also dished out 12 assists in
the Spurs' 107–101 win against the Golden State Warriors. Mills also surpassed Andrew
Bogut's record for most points in a single NBA game by an Australian.
On 13 July 2012, Mills re-signed with the Spurs for the 2012–13 season. Mills averaged
5.1 points, 1.1 assists, and 0.9 rebounds in 58 games that season.
On 24 June 2013, Mills exercised his player option to return to the Spurs for the 2013–14
season. Mills averaged 10.2 points that season as the Spurs went on to win the NBA championship,
defeating the Miami Heat 4-1 in the NBA Finals. In Game 5 of the Finals, Mills scored a playoff
career-high 17 points, including 14 points in the third quarter, as the Spurs clinched
the series. On 2 July 2014, Mills was ruled out for seven
months due to a shoulder injury. On 12 July 2014, he re-signed with the Spurs.
Australian national team After repeating as Staunton Medallist in 2007,
Mills completed his scholarship with the AIS and opted to play for Saint Mary's. Before
arriving in the Bay Area in August 2007, he played for Australia at the FIBA U-19 World
Championship in Serbia, in which Australia finished fifth. He was then called up to the
Boomers in July 2007, making his debut against Austria on 31 July in an international friendly
tournament in Bormio, Italy. Mills scored 11 points off the bench and was credited with
changing the complexion of the match, which Australia won 84–63. This not only made
him one of the youngest Boomers ever, but also made him only the third Indigenous Australian,
after Michael Ah Mat in the 1960s and Danny Morseu in the 1980s, to play for the Boomers.
Mills went on to make the Boomers squad for the FIBA Oceania Championship, which doubled
as a qualifier for the 2008 Olympics. His main highlight in the competition, which was
a three-match series against Australia's trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand, came in the second and
ultimately deciding match. Mills came off the bench to score 17 points, helping lead
the Boomers to a 93–67 rout of the Tall Blacks that punched their ticket to Beijing.
Mills was a member of the Australian squad that gave the USA Basketball team its closest
tune-up game of the summer before the Beijing Olympics. The USA National team beat Australia
87–76 in its exhibition game in Shanghai, China. Australia's star player, the Milwaukee
Bucks' Andrew Bogut, did not play because of a sore right ankle. Mills, the youngest
player on the floor, was impressive as he added 13 points for the Australian squad.
Mills averaged a team-best 14.2 points, all off the bench, in the six games the Aussies
played in Beijing. He scored 20 points in a quarterfinal loss to the United States,
with three assists, two steals and zero turnovers in 28 minutes.
At the London International Basketball Invitational, the Boomers lost a tight contest to France
71–67. Playing against NBA star Tony Parker, Mills scored a team high 20 points. The following
game against Croatia, Mills led the Boomers to a 78–66 win, scoring a game high 22 points.
Mills scored a tournament high 39 against Great Britain.
At the 2012 Olympic basketball tournament, Mills had the highest scoring average with
21.2 points per game, ahead of Kevin Durant of the USA, who averaged 19.5 points per game.
Three goggles
During the 2010–11 NBA season, Mills and teammate Rudy Fernandez created a trend in
which certain Blazers formed the "A-OK" sign with each hand and placed them over their
eyes after making a three-point shot. The gesture was meant to resemble a pair of goggles
with three fingers in the air to reference the shot just made. When Fernandez would struggle
with his three-pointers, Mills used to joke that he needed help seeing. After knocking
down threes, Fernandez would put on the goggles as if to say, "I can see with these on." The
trend quickly spread across the team, becoming routine for players such as Mills, Fernandez,
Wesley Matthews, Marcus Camby, and Brandon Roy. T-Shirts with the gesture were printed
and popularly sold in Portland. Nuggets guard J. R. Smith performed the goggles after sinking
a three-pointer against the Blazers, a gesture which irritated some in Portland but demonstrated
the popularity of the gesture. The gesture has caught on at many levels of basketball
in America; for example, Darius Johnson-Odom, Doron Lamb, and Nolan Smith adopted it in
college to celebrate their baskets. Personal life
Mills met long-time girlfriend Alyssa Levesque, who was also a college basketball player,
while they were both attending Saint Mary's College of California.
Mills is a fan of the Brisbane Broncos and Queensland rugby league teams. His cousin,
Edrick Lee, plays in the National Rugby League for the Canberra Raiders. He is also a fan
of the Adelaide Crows in the Australian Football League.
In the wake of the 2010 Queensland floods, Mills raised over $40,000 to assist with flood
relief through Portland-based charity foundation Wears My Shirt.
In July 2014, Mills was presented with the keys to Canberra.
NBA career statistics Regular season
Playoffs Career highlights
2014 – Won first NBA championship with the San Antonio Spurs
2012 – Made ESPN All-London Second Five 2012 – Mills has highest scoring average
at 2012 London Olympics with an average of 21.2 points per game
2012 – On 26 April 2012, Mills scored a career high 34 points vs Golden State Warriors.
2012 – Has first game in the San Antonio Spurs starting five.
2012 – On 27 March 2012, Mills signed with the San Antonio Spurs.
2009 – Drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers in the second round of the 2009 NBA Draft,
the second Indigenous Australian to be drafted into the NBA
2008 – Australia Post Boomers squad member; Beijing Olympics
2008 – WCC Newcomer of the Year, All-WCC First Team
2007 – MVP Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic, Saint Mary's College Tournament champions
2007 – West Coast Conference Player of the Month: December 2007
2007 – West Coast Conference Player of the Week: 26 November 2007 and 26 December 2007
2007 – In just his fourth NCAA game for Saint Mary's, Mills dominated with 37 points
against Oregon – the sixth-best return in the school's history, and best by a first-year
player. 2007 – Australia Post Boomers squad member;
Under-19 men squad member; 2006 – Boomers squad member; AIS scholarship;
Australian Junior Camp; U-20 World team at Nike Hoops Summit; U-20 National Championships
representing ACT and RE Staunton Medallist 2005 – AIS scholarship; Australian Junior
Camp; Youth Olympic Festival Australian men's team; U-18 National Championships representing
ACT 2004 – U-18 National Championships representing
ACT 2003 – Marist All Ages Basketball Tournament
– MVP See also
National Basketball Association portal References
External links Career statistics and player information from
NBA.com, or Basketball-Reference.com Saint Mary's bio