We are at the halfway point of my top 5 Aussie Ballers to impact the NBA and this next expatriate is my favourite Aussie currently playing in the NBA. His hard work and determination to get to where he is now along with his "larger than life" personality, has captured the attention of fans all across the globe!
Number 3. Patrick Mills
Born: August 11, 1988 in Canberra, Australia
Height: 182cm
Position: Guard
Drafted: 2009 / Round: 2 / Pick: 55th overall
| Season | Age | Tm | Lg | Pos | G | GS | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-10 | 21 | POR | NBA | PG | 10 | 0 | 3.8 | 1.0 | 2.4 | .417 | 0.2 | 0.4 | .500 | 0.4 | 0.7 | .571 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 2.6 |
| 2010-11 | 22 | POR | NBA | PG | 64 | 0 | 12.2 | 2.1 | 5.1 | .412 | 0.7 | 2.1 | .353 | 0.6 | 0.7 | .766 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 5.5 |
| 2011-12 | 23 | SAS | NBA | PG | 16 | 3 | 16.3 | 3.9 | 8.1 | .485 | 1.5 | 3.5 | .429 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 1.000 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 10.3 |
| 2012-13 | 24 | SAS | NBA | PG | 58 | 2 | 11.3 | 1.9 | 4.2 | .469 | 0.9 | 2.2 | .400 | 0.3 | 0.3 | .842 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 5.1 |
| Career | NBA | 148 | 5 | 11.7 | 2.2 | 4.9 | .444 | 0.8 | 2.2 | .387 | 0.5 | 0.6 | .807 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 5.7 |
Patrick "Patty" Mills is the 2nd Indigenous Australian professional basketballer to play within the NBA, however, the sport never came easily to the little man from Canberra. He began basketball at a very young age but didn't concentrate on the sport until late into his teens. At the age of 15, Mills was selected for the ACT U-18 squad to compete in the Australian National Championships and the following year, Mills accepted a full-time scholarship with the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS). After completing 3 years at the AIS, Patty decided to accept a college scholarship at St Mary's in California where he would compete against the best prospects looking at future NBA careers. Patrick had an instant impact, scoring 37 points in only his fourth game at the level against the nationally ranked Oregon University on 20 November 2007. After a dominate 3 years at college level, Patrick decided to enter the 2009 NBA draft.
Many scouts had touted Patrick to be a first round draft pick, however, the NBA teams had some worries about his height and slight frame and Patty ended up falling to the Portland Trailblazers at pick 55. On top of this, Mills also obtained a serious foot injury prior to his rookie season and missed most of the pre-season training. Though disappointed with his late selection and injury, this didn't stop Patty from achieving his dream of playing in the NBA. In the final regular season game of his rookie campaign, Mills scored 23 points (4 three point shots) along with grabbing 5 rebounds. He ended up playing two season's for the Trailblazers before signing with the San Antonio Spurs as a free agent in 2012. This decision paid off with Patty participating in the 2013 NBA finals, eventually loosing to the world champion Miami Heat. Patty has solidified a spot with the Spurs and has exercised his option to play in the 2013/14 season.
Not only is Patrick a great player, he is also a geat team man and keeps a real positive vibe amongst his teammates. 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 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.
Not only has the goggles caught on, he now has a series of different towel waves which has caught the NBA by storm. The towel waves occur when a player on his team does something spectacular!! You can get some lessons here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFxM2ftW6GU
