In an interview by the ABC, Tracey Holmes sits down over a virtual conversation with Patty Mills, Australian Olympian and 2021 Olympic flag bearer. In the opening minute, Mills is asked about the role sport plays in making a “complex world better”.
“For me it’s a uniting piece that brings people together from no matter where you're from, what your background is.”
In accepting the role as captain and leader of the boomer's basketball team, Patty used this opportunity to educate and help his teammates understand his background, culture and heritage.
"I took it upon myself to be that role model, a trailblazer, a game-changer. That icon, that person that can really stand in front of these kids and not only be relatable but be an inspiration".
A role model to many, Patty Mills has won an NBA Championship, started for the San Antonio Spurs and has recently signed a 4-year 4 million dollar deal with now NBA heavyweights, the Brooklyn Nets. But why has his recent Olympic bronze medal-winning achievement meant so much?
Patty Mills just won Australia's first mens basketball Olympic medal, an Olympic medal built upon culture and inspired by heritage.
Born on the 11th of August 1988, Patty Mills was a descendent of both Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal heritage. His father Benny and his mother Yvonne brought up Patty into a basketball orientated family as they were the founders of ‘Shadows Basketball'. This initiative was based in Canberra and worked to bring upon a sense of community, familiarity and opportunities for Indigenous peoples.
Patty’s uncle, Danny Morseau, was a highly decorated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander athlete. He competed in the Australian basketball team at both the 1980 and 1984 Olympic games. Danny was discovered by the St Kilda Pumas who were a current NBL team at the time. In 1979, he became a prolific hero for Australian basketball as he was a member of the title-winning Puma’s season. In the next season, he was named in the NBL all-star lists as the Puma’s went back-to-back. In total, Danny played 217 NBL games and was the first indigenous professional basketball player.
He then continued to make a career out of basketball post-career. He coached the first Australian Indigenous basketball team on an international tour in 1988 and from 2000 to 2004. Currently, he is the coach of the Apunipima Australian Indigenous Basketball Women’s All-Stars and the Toowoomba Mountaineers in the Queensland State League. A successful athlete on the court and an influential mentor off the court, Danny provided his basketball knowledge and teachings into Patty Mill’s early stages of his career.
Inspired by both his parents and uncle, Patty has promoted and advocated towards Aboriginal and Indigenous Australian lives. In 2017, Patty Mills received the NAIDOC ‘person of the year award’. This award was given for the use of his international profile in promoting and raising awareness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. As an Australian basketball leader, Patty has incorporated his culture into the boomer's team, sharing parts of his language with his teammates.
‘It’s who I am. It’s what I know – even more than basketball.’
Rio: A Lesson Learnt
It's 2016 and the boomer's squad looks promising for its Rio Olympics campaign. In recent years, Australia had a plethora of first-round drafts picks. Andrew Bogut had been drafted at number one whilst Dante Exum was drafted at number 5 in 2015. Australian basketball was on the rise and there were high expectations set as the Boomers were looking for their first medal placing since the 1956 Olympics.
The Australian team started strong. Back-to-back wins against arguable competition heavy-weights France and a strong Serbian team. In their 3rd group stage match, they were inevitably held down by the USA who ended up winning the whole tournament. However, the boomers would go onto win their final two games booking their place in the quarter-finals with a matchup against Lithuania.
Australia dominated the quarterfinals match and would move onto a massive semifinal game against Serbia who they conquered in their group stage match. Yet this time it was Serbia who conquered the Australian men as they went down 87-61 negating the chance of a possible gold place finish.
Their bronze medal contest would turn out to be a match for the ages. The Gasol brothers were having a significant influence on the Spaniards and would pose a significant threat for Boomer's centre Andrew Bogut. The match was neck and neck as it came down to the final moments of the 4th quarter. The Aussies regained the lead when, with five seconds remaining, none other than Patty Mills drew a controversial personal foul. The two free throws were made and just like that, the Boomers were travelling home with nothing to show for it.
A man who played in the NBA for the Spurs, a man who finished leading the average in points per game and a man who put it all out on the court for his team had made a costly error in judgement and had lost the game. Patty Mills pursued redemption coming into the Tokyo 2021 Olympics and it was redemption that was earned.
Tokyo: Boomer's Culture
In a tournament that consisted of vengeance and retribution, the boomers had one thing and one thing only on their minds, a gold medal. Patty Mills was named flag bearer along with previous Olympic gold medalist, Cate Campbell. The boomers had won all three of their trial matches including one exceptional match against previous Olympic winners, the USA.
Australia was placed into Group B along with Italy, Germany and Nigeria. Italy and Nigeria both consisted of current NBA players who had proved themselves in the past season. Notable mentions Danilo Gallinari from Italy and Precious Achiuwa from Nigeria were both shut out by the boomer's team and didn’t play a part. Australia ended the group on top with three wins out of three and Patty Mills starring with 25 points against Nigeria and 24 points against Germany.
In the quarterfinals, the Boomers strolled past Argentina in a 38-point demolition. However, in the semifinals, the Boomers came up short. After leading the match in the second quarter, a USA team lead by a Kevin Durant masterclass won by a fair margin. Yet the campaign was not lost yet.
A Slovenian squad carried by Luka Doncic was the only thing standing in the way of Australia’s first medal in Olympic basketball history. Yet it was the man who unfortunately drew that foul in Rio who won them the game. Patty Mills scored 42 points and bagged 9 assists to win the man of the match and most importantly secured Australia their first Olympic medal.
In leading the team, Patty applied his cultural background and teachings throughout not only his NBA career but his life. In doing this, Patty created the “boomer’s culture”. A culture unified through the education of his upbringing, his family’s upbringing and his culture’s upbringing.
A culture that stemmed from basketball itself, focusing on unity and due to its redemptive nature, meant so much more.