<\/p>\n
Walking through the Australian Institute of Sport\u2019s (AIS) Residence of Champions, where NBA Global Academy athletes reside among others, it is hard to miss. <\/p>\n
A striking bolt of yellow leaps across the wall in stark contrast to a bold blue background; a nod to the AIS logo. <\/p>\n
Front and centre is a man who has throughout his career become a defining figure in Australian basketball. Although in many ways, Patty Mills transcends basketball.<\/p>\n
FIBA Basketball World Cup | Starts Aug 25. Watch every Boomers, Team USA and Finals game FREE & LIVE on ESPN with Kayo Freebies. Join Kayo now and start streaming instantly<\/a> ><\/b><\/i><\/p>\n Because long after the 35-year-old\u2019s career ends and fans file out of stadiums across the world, he will still be there.<\/p>\n There like he was in 2020 when he flew over 13,000 kilometres to visit and help bushfire affected communities<\/a> on the south coast of New South Wales.<\/p>\n There like he was \u2014 and always <\/i>has been \u2014 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, using his platform for good like he did when launching Indigenous Basketball Australia.<\/a><\/p>\n There like he was as the Boomers made history, scoring 42 points as they defeated Slovenia 107-93 in the Tokyo Olympics to secure Australia\u2019s first-ever medal. <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever seen a better game played by a Boomer than the bronze medal game in Tokyo,\u201d former Boomer Chris Anstey told foxsports.com.au<\/i>.<\/p>\n A moment in time remembered forever, captured and later put up in Basketball Australia\u2019s Centre of Excellence (CoE) at the AIS to inspire the next generation of Boomers following in Mills\u2019 footsteps.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s not the only reminder of Mills\u2019 last legacy that will be hanging on the walls of the AIS long after the veteran guard brings a close to his storied career. <\/p>\n In the dining area there is a mural of Mills and outside the team\u2019s recently remodeled locker room is a life-sized, floor-to-ceiling photo of the 35-year-old\u2019s crowning moment.<\/p>\n BOOMERS ULTIMATE GUIDE: Warm-up games, full World Cup schedule and team news<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n \u201cSo guys will see him every day,\u201d Marty Clarke, head coach during Mills\u2019 time at the AIS, told foxsports.com.au <\/i>this week.<\/p>\n \u201cYou pick your photos to try and inspire young guys.\u201d And what is more inspirational than Mills; fists clenched, veins bulging as he put the Boomers on his back while writing his name in Australian basketball folklore.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can see how much Boomer history and heritage means to him personally and how he has the ability to get it out to the group and inspire the group,\u201d Clarke said of the photo.<\/p>\n \u201cOur kids see that every day. And you can\u2019t just have it there. You\u2019ve got to talk to it. You\u2019ve got to refer to it and say, \u2018This is what we\u2019re all striving for\u2019. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re striving for people who embody the Boomer culture.\u201d<\/p>\n And there are few people that embody that Boomer culture better than Mills, who will lead the next generation of Australian basketball talent into the FIBA World Cup this week. <\/p>\n The bronze medal win against Slovenia meant so much considering what had come before; the constant heartbreak of coming so close but falling short \u2014 year after year after year… after <\/i>year.<\/p>\n Four separate times the Boomers had reached the semifinals at the Olympics since 1988, only to come up short without a medal. Mills and those 42 points against Slovenia changed that.<\/p>\n Speaking on JJ Redick\u2019s \u2018The Old Man & the Three\u2019 podcast a few months after the Tokyo Olympics, Boomers teammate Matisse Thybulle revealed what makes \u2018FIBA Patty\u2019 so special.<\/p>\n \u201cFIBA basketball\u2019s interesting,\u201d Thybulle said.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd some NBA players in FIBA basketball is even more interesting, Patty Mills being a perfect example of that. <\/p>\n \u201cYou see him in FIBA and he\u2019s like Steph Curry or small Michael Jordan. He does everything. He\u2019s doing it non-stop.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone was telling me, and to all the guys on the team, \u2018You haven\u2019t seen FIBA Patty. You don\u2019t know. I\u2019m like, \u2018We\u2019re still playing basketball; I\u2019ve seen him play 82 games as Patty Mills.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n But, as Australian basketball fans have quickly learned, \u2018FIBA Patty\u2019 is a different beast entirely.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are other guys who struggle in FIBA,\u201d Redick said. <\/p>\n \u201cAnd there are NBA guys who go to FIBA who are role players (in the NBA) and they\u2019re absolute studs for their home team. Patty\u2019s a great example of that.\u201d<\/p>\n As emotional as that win over Slovenia may have been, even in that moment Mills wanted more; knew he and the Boomers were capable of more. <\/p>\n \u201cWe have been waiting for this moment for a long time,\u201d he said at the time.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd it\u2019s taken a lot of experiences, a lot of ups, a lot of downs, for us to get over the hump… now that we\u2019ve made it over the hill this is the standard now of Australian basketball and we take nothing less.\u201d<\/p>\n The Boomers enter this year\u2019s FIBA World Cup with one of their most talented teams in recent memory, even withstanding the lack of size in the frontcourt after Jock Landale\u2019s injury.<\/p>\n It is a changing of the guard too, with Josh Giddey headlining an exciting group of young Australian talent ready to take the mantle from Mills, Joe Ingles and Matthew Dellavedova.<\/p>\n But Mills isn\u2019t done yet. The Australian veteran put forward a strong case to make the FIBA World Cup All-Star Five after the tournament\u2019s last instalment in 2019, finishing the fourth-leading scorer with 22.8 points per game. <\/p>\n Then Mills (22.8 points per game) stepped up once again, only trailing Spain\u2019s Ricky Rubio (25.5) and Slovenia\u2019s Luka Doncic (23.8) at the Tokyo Olympics.<\/p>\n Mills hasn\u2019t been off to a great start in the World Cup warm-up games, shooting just 5-of-25 in Melbourne before also struggling early against France as the Boomers travelled to Japan.<\/p>\n Boomers beaten by Brazil in warm up game | 01:26<\/p>\n As Clarke explains though, the veteran guard\u2019s impact on winning goes well beyond whether the shots are falling \u2014 and it\u2019s been like that since the first time he laid eyes on Mills.<\/p>\n \u201cLeadership is a skill you have to work on, like shooting and everything else, and his form of leadership was just by example, was to play harder than everyone else and to not worry about mistakes and to encourage other guys,\u201d Clarke said.<\/p>\n Like Mills did in 2004 when he and now Collingwood star Scott Pendlebury were called on to play a few games in the South East Australian Basketball League.<\/p>\n In fact, Mills had only just finished playing in Perth in the National AFL Championships when he got the call. <\/p>\n \u201cAnd he jumped on a plane Saturday night,\u201d Clarke recalled.<\/p>\n \u201cGot off here Sunday morning, got out and played a single game at 12 o\u2019clock. Most kids would probably say, \u2018That\u2019s a bit hard\u2019\u2026 but he jumped right into it.<\/p>\n \u201c… As the youngest player on the floor or in the group that wasn\u2019t even really in the group, you could see that he was in to try to get other people involved in the game, the energy levels, he was getting guys rising to his level.<\/p>\n \u201cSo the tough thing to do is step into a team when you\u2019re not actually fully part of it and be able to do that. But he\u2019s done that with every team he\u2019s been through. <\/p>\n \u201cHe did it when he first started with the Boomers. He did it when he first started with the Spurs. He found a way to influence winning and that\u2019s certainly leadership. So his leadership has grown as he\u2019s probably learned how to do some things in different ways.\u201d<\/p>\n One thing that has always remained consistent with Mills though, according to Clarke, is his \u201ccharismatic leadership\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cHe naturally draws people to him without trying to do so,\u201d Clarke said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just, that\u2019s how he is. An infectious smile, big energy, happy to say g\u2019day to anybody, treats everyone the same. <\/p>\n \u201cI mean, all those sort of things \u2013 it\u2019s a charismatic leadership. You get other guys that want to be leaders, they try really hard at it, but that\u2019s just how he is.\u201d<\/p>\n It is part of the reason why Mills has been able to carve out a long career in the NBA, currently rostered at the Atlanta Hawks ahead of what will be his 15th season in the league.<\/p>\n \u201cTo stick in the NBA and last more than one contract is very difficult,\u201d Clarke said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat [Mills playing for 15 years] is a phenomenal achievement.\u201d<\/p>\n Mills spent a decade at San Antonio playing under Gregg Popovich, one of the best and most respected coaches in not just the NBA but sporting history.<\/p>\n As Team USA coach at the Tokyo Olympics, Popovich also got a front-row seat to Mills\u2019 historic Boomers takeover. It is Mills the person though that stands out most to the veteran coach.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a basketball player, he\u2019s gone off the charts with development,\u201d Popovich said after Mills left San Antonio for Brooklyn. <\/p>\n \u201cBut as a human being and as a member of our society and a leader on our team. He\u2019s been fantastic. He embodies empathy, awareness, an ability to be actionable after he speaks about things.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a very special human being, he\u2019s doing things to try and make the world a better place.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a thrill to watch him grow from just a guy who got signed and didn\u2019t really have a role or wasn\u2019t sure whether he was going to stay in the league or make it or anything like that.\u201d<\/p>\n Mills has done more than just make it. He\u2019s thrived, becoming Australia\u2019s most-capped NBA player and when the time comes to pull on the green and gold, it is never taken for granted.<\/p>\n It is a point not lost on Anstey, who said for all of the 35-year-old\u2019s magical moments in the national set-up, he will never gloss over the fact Mills has always been prepared to suit up.<\/p>\n \u201cI think all the way through, however successful, he\u2019s been available and it\u2019s mattered,\u201d Anstey said. <\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s been around it a long time and it matters.\u201d<\/p>\n And while this tournament may represent a changing of the guard, Mills will still be around a little longer with a few more chances to add to a legacy that stretches far beyond the basketball court.<\/p>\n HOW TO WATCH EVERY BOOMERS FIBA WORLD CUP GAME<\/b><\/p>\n As for the World Cup action itself, the Boomers are part of Group E and will play Finland in their first official game to kick off the tournament.<\/p>\n That game is scheduled for 6pm AEST on Friday, August 25. Australia is also scheduled to face Germany (6.30pm, August 27) and Japan (9.10pm, August 29) to round out the group stage.<\/p>\n You can watch EVERY Boomers game live with ESPN on Kayo here!<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n