Patty Mills is an Australian basketball legend, leading the country to a Bronze medal in the Men’s 5×5 at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. He is one of the few carry-overs from their 2020 squad to the 2024 Olympics, discussing the team’s youth revolution with Fadeaway World, saying that the nation’s basketball program is in great hands.
“Definitely in great hands. You see how the young boys play with a fearless attitude and mentality, a toughness that isn’t coachable. It’s a very unique talent and just to see them play and believe in themselves, you see it out on the floor, it’s a credit to them, how hard they work to get to where they are and knowing the huge potential in front of them.”
“Australian basketball, especially the Boomer’s program is in great hands because of them. They’re going to continue to gain exposure and experience on the international stage… This is a great test for us heading into Paris. We’re still here, we’re still after something very special, and this group has it.”
Patty Mills on the future of Australian basketball: "Definitely in great hands. You see how the young boys play with a fearless attitude and mentality, a toughness that isn't coachable… The Boomer's program is in good hands because of them." pic.twitter.com/m5wfbvrKIP
— Fadeaway World (@FadeawayWorld) July 16, 2024
The 2020 Olympics saw Australia win their first Olympic medal in basketball, beating 21-year-old Luka Doncic‘s Slovenia in the Bronze medal game, with Mills thoroughly outplaying Doncic and dropping 42 points in the famous victory.
Mills didn’t play much in the NBA last season, averaging 4.0 points in 32 appearances for the Brooklyn Nets and Miami Heat.
He put up 28 points in Australia’s exhibition win over Serbia in Abu Dhabi last night, as the national team heads to France for their Olympic preparations after losing to the USA and beating Serbia.
Australia’s Head Coach Praises Their Young NBA Talent
Australia head coach Brian Goorijan was full of praise for the young core of the national team in the Olympics, telling Fadeaway World that the Boomers made an active effort at injecting more youth into the squad after a disappointing 10th-place finish at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
“We’ve got a lot of young and talented players coming into our team. A lot of the older ones have been moved out. We’re going through change, but we feel the ceiling on this team is higher than the last one. In international basketball, there’s a process to everything. We finished 10th in the World Cup but we learned a lot from that. What we weren’t good at, roster changes, and what we were missing on the bench, I think you can see this team has a better synergy together on and off the floor than the one at the World Cup.”
When asked about the contributions of NBA players such as Dante Exum and Josh Green off the bench, Goorijan complimented the willingness of all the players to play without ego and carry on being elite role-players, as they’ve been in the NBA.
“You look at our NBA guys, most of them are role-players. We don’t have a superstar. They’ve played those roles for 80 games, so they’re comfortable in that role. How they are off the bench coming in, cold, they’ve been doing that for 80 games and they’re comfortable with it. It helps basketball-wise because you can use depth and not have to play guys when they’re tired. Also, they can handle, as NBA players, to have o ego and come off the bench.”
Australia HC Brian Goorijan: "We've got a lot of young and talented players coming into our team. A lot of the older ones have been moved out. We're going through change, but we feel the ceiling on this team is higher than the last one." pic.twitter.com/0HEIMn3w3m
— Fadeaway World (@FadeawayWorld) July 16, 2024
Australia is in an extremely challenging group at Paris 2024, facing Greece, Spain, and Canada in Pool A. Spain (No. 2), Australia (No. 5), and Canada (No. 7) are all ranked within the top seven of the FIBA World Rankings, with Greece being led by two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
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