ESPN names Patty Mills 'Third most Influential Athlete’

After four fourth place finishes, Patty Mills and the Australian men finally claimed their first Olympic basketball medal, winning bronze after beating Luka Doncic and Slovenia.

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December 18 2021, ESPN

What an incredible 12 months for Patty Mills. Olympic flag bearer in Tokyo, the heart of the Boomers, and the leader of the Boomers culture, Mills was the driving force on and off the court behind the team's Tokyo bronze medal - a medal so sweet for Mills who had been agonisingly close at Olympic and World Cup level before. His personal performances went to a new level as 'Boomers Patty' was on display, and the joy and emotion after the bronze medal win over Slovenia was there for all to see.

Mills has carried that form into the NBA season with his new team the Brooklyn Nets, hitting career-best form alongside Kevin Durant and James Harden. But it's off the court that Mills has taken his influence to new levels as a philanthropist and advocate for Indigenous rights. The Team Mills Foundation is an organisation working to "make a positive impact on communities worldwide", and has so far worked to supply clean drinking water to remote Indigenous communities, assisted in fire recovery programs after the bushfires of 2019 and helped to organise the NBA's first-ever Indigenous Night in 2020. Mills has also donated $1.5 million to Black Lives Matter Australia, Black Deaths in Custody and the We Got You campaign.

The 2022 ACT Australian of the Year, Patty Mills leadership and his legacy go far beyond the basketball court.