Hoop on a Hill: How a Grandfather's Love Built Something Indomitable
Patty Mills, 16-year NBA vet, on life, basketball, culture, and everything in between.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- The beauty of basketball is that it can be played anywhere, by anyone.
Take a stroll through any neighborhood and you’re liable to find a hoop, either a portable one standing on its own in the street, fixed above a garage, or standing in a park waiting to be used by anyone who dares to dream of the perfect shot.
At the northernmost tip of Australia, where the breathtaking Great Barrier Reef begins its magnificent journey as a vital ecosystem teeming with life, lies the Torres Strait, an archipelago boasting at least 274 small islands between Australia and Papua New Guinea. On Thursday Island, which sports a population of around 2,800, sat a basketball hoop at the top of a hill, perched in its spot after being built for a grandson to use in pursuit of life’s ambitions.
“The first touch of a basketball was a hoop my grandfather built on Thursday Island,” LA Clippers guard Patty Mills tells Russo Writes in a series of exclusive interviews. “[It was a] gravel driveway that was sloped, it was on top of a hill. He made it himself and it was one of those things where if you missed, the ball would roll down the hill and a long way down to chase.”
The hoop outside Mills’ grandparents’ house was the byproduct of the skilled craftsmanship and heartfelt generosity of Sammy Mills, a local captain of pearl lugging boats and a deep sea diver, but more importantly, Patty’s grandfather.
“That’s essentially where basketball started for me,” says Mills, who was two years old at the time his grandfather built the hoop.
Mills, now in his 16th NBA season, is in the twilight of a stellar career that has seen him win both an NBA championship and an Olympic medal, the latter of which came after the guard scored 42 points in the bronze medal game at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
This past February, Mills was traded to the LA Clippers. It marked the first time in Mills’ career he had been dealt during the middle of a season.
Mills was on the floor playing with his dog, Harvey, in the living room when he found out about the deal. An only child, Mills had never owned a pet before he and his wife got the now 11-year-old golden doodle. But, as you would imagine, Mills can’t envision not having the playful dog in his life.
“Yeah,” chuckles Mills when asked if the arrival of Harvey has made him a dog person.
The trade at the time sent Mills from Salt Lake City, where he was playing with a Utah Jazz team that was toiling near the bottom of the league standings in the hopes of striking gold in the NBA Draft, to Los Angeles, joining a Clippers squad that was looking to break into the playoffs and make noise when once there.
It marked the fourth team that Mills had been on in roughly a calendar year.
“Probably a lot of different emotions, but they all come kind of like flooding,” Mills says of being traded. “It’s for sure my first time I’ve been in that mid-season trade. So many things happened and are going on at one time, and I think the thing was like, look, let’s just let this thing unfold and we’ll worry about it when we have the time. I think that was part of the whole chaos. It’s just trying to find some stability of emotions, a clear head and plan and then kind of move forward with that.”
Mills’ wife, Alyssa, was at the gym doing Bulgarian split squats when her husband learned of the trade.
“I remember her wanting to show me the exercise that she was doing,” Mills recalls. “I was like, ‘Well, hurry up, I got something to tell you.’ It was cool.”
In joining the Clippers, Mills has undertaken a thankless and often overlooked role in the NBA these days: the vet.
While oftentimes labeled with the stigma of an end-of-the-bench player that could be taking a roster spot from someone younger, the stability of that all-important veteran voice holds more cache in a locker room than the average observer would be led to believe.
“It’s a larger spectrum than what people might see,” Mills says of the role he’s been tasked with. After all, the guard has only played 30 total minutes with the Clippers since his arrival. But that doesn’t mean Mills hasn’t found beauty and purpose in doing the little things behind the scenes that can make a big difference for a team that’s trudging through the season.
“There are parts to this position where you do stuff as a professional, number one, and I think going about that in a particular way, at practices, at games, on off days, the work that you put in, and what goes into being a professional athlete, I think that’s a super important one that not everyone sees,” Mills explains. “So, the way that you carry yourself in this locker room, training, in the weight room, in the treatment room, I think there’s a big leadership there in what you can control and being able to do on a daily basis that can feed off to especially young guys that are just starting this thing, because there’s an important piece here in terms of longevity and staying in this for so long.”
Mills is more than a decade removed from winning an NBA championship with the San Antonio Spurs in 2014, toppling the Miami Heat in five games. Mills averaged 10.2 points on 54.3% shooting during the Finals, including making 13 of his 23 three-point attempts.
During that time, Mills was a teammate of Kawhi Leonard, and they’ve been reunited on the Clippers thanks to Mills’ arrival.
Mills knows his role now isn’t a glamorous one, at least one that fans and observers might be able to see from the outside. But watch a game—truly watch a game—and you’ll notice it’s Mills who’s usually the first one off the bench for the team at every moment, giving words of encouragement and keeping confidence high amongst the group.
And what has Mills brought according to someone who sees him every day?
“Just being positive,” discloses Clippers coach Tyronn Lue. “His energy is great for our team. First guy off the bench, cheering every possession, and you just watch the game, he’s constantly talking to guys when they come out of the game, during timeouts, just keeping guys engaged, keeping guys positive. That’s what you need when you have veteran guys on the end of the bench, that if you call them to play, he’s ready to play. But if not, he’s positive and also passing along the coach’s voice and message to other guys on the team. He’s been really good.”
It’s not the NBA’s most exciting job or one that players around the league are pining and falling over themselves to do. Every player wants to play. That’s why they’re in the league. They wouldn’t be if they didn’t have some semblance of ego that drives them to be the best.
But even with that, Mills knows his impact can still be felt if he’s not on the floor bouncing the ball or putting it through the basket.
“There’s a lot more exciting things to look at in a game of basketball. But I do think it’s an important part,” Mills explains. “The energy that the five guys that are on the floor, the energy that they need to feel when they come off the court, whether it’s a timeout or they’re being subbed out, they still need to feel a sense of support and good type of energy for them to be able to carry this thing on. Because if you don’t, you can feel the negative side. Players can feel that. They come off and the bench is quiet, the guys are quiet, they can feel that. They’re sitting there, everything’s quiet, and all of a sudden there’s an avalanche of negative energy that goes in a direction that’s not good. That kind of stuff is overlooked but it’s a very important part that plays in a team, for sure.”
Locker rooms are a living, breathing organism. An ecosystem unto themselves, much like the Great Barrier Reef in Mills’ native Australia. If not paid attention to, if not carefully managed and cared for, it can come crumbling down.
“It’s a lot of pieces to this puzzle that I think not everyone sees, and it starts with being a professional athlete first and foremost, and how you can look after yourself when you get onto the court and being in this role,” Mills adds. “At that point, it’s what can you do for the betterment of the team. How can you support them? How can you cheer them on? How can you give them feedback? How can you make them feel good about themselves so they can go out and perform and do their best? I think that’s the supporting cast role that I’m in now, and things that I would see from the bench that I can help. But it’s not the glamorous side of things that people, I guess, are attracted to, but I do believe that are very important stuff that makes a team.”
The earlier time spent with Kawhi Leonard in San Antonio, as well as with James Harden and Ben Simmons in Brooklyn and Bogdan Bogdanovic in Atlanta, gives Mills some unique insight into how dealing with each different player and each different personality matters.
After all, like snowflakes, no two people are alike. Even the slightest, most imperceptible differences have to be noticed and nurtured by a vet looking to make their voice heard.
“Not every person plays the same, nor would they take in certain feedback,” divulges Mills. “So, it’s more so what’s the message, what are they trying to learn, and it’s on you to be able to give it to them in a way for them to absorb, understand, and then try to put into work. Everyone’s different.”
Mills and Simmons have a unique relationship as the pair were teammates in Brooklyn for 18 months and share the bond of being born in Australia, making them two of 16 current NBA players who can say that.
“I’m definitely proud of the fact of how many Aussies have come through and are in the league. That I can say I’m proud of,” Mills declares as he and Simmons are a pair of the growing number of Aussie players plying their trade in the NBA. “But knowing that there’s been an international mix that has impacted the NBA, it’s a credit to the game, it’s a credit to the people that have backed themselves to come over here in the best league in the world. But it’s great, it’s fun, it’s many dreams of a lot of kids come true, and now pursuing their dreams over here. It’s fun to be a part of, for sure.”
Simmons, who was bought out by the Brooklyn Nets in February, joined the Clippers shortly thereafter on a prorated veteran minimum contract. It reconnected Simmons and Mills in Los Angeles.
The first game that Simmons played for the Clippers took place in Salt Lake City, the place that Mills had called home before being traded to the City of Angels. Simmons was magnificent, finishing with 12 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and three steals as the Clippers won a thrilling overtime contest against the Jazz.
“We’ve obviously known each other for a long time. A lot of it was from afar, trying to support him as much as I can in his early days as a basketballer in Australia and then coming over here,” Mills says of his relationship with Simmons. “The first time we got to be in the same locker room was in Brooklyn a few years ago. I think, yeah, it’s always been a support system for him and being there for him, teaching him what I can as a professional again.”
The time apart has also given Mills a greater sense of just how much growth Simmons has been able to achieve, not just on the basketball court but as a person after all the things that Simmons has had to deal with over the years—injuries chief among them.
“Having a season away from him and then coming back here now and seeing how he’s handled this in this short amount of time, he’s definitely grown in that space, no doubt,” the guard assures. “He’s doing everything that’s asked of him as a professional and he’s doing it with no complaints. Gets the job done and wants to improve, still wants to find ways to be able to get better to make an impact. There’s been a lot of growth that I’ve seen with him. But that’s been my role with him all the time, is just to be a support system for him, teach him new things and how to look after himself, how to be a pro, and I think just being around is good for him, I think, yeah.”
The role of teacher is one that has fallen onto Mills in part due to his 16 years in the NBA. After all, no one on the Clippers’ roster has seen what Mills has. No other player in the locker room has experienced the jubilation of a championship parade and stepping off a plane in their country to throngs of people showering them with love and support after winning an Olympic medal.
It’s part of what makes Mills’ role a byproduct of a seemingly bygone era. A selfless warrior ready to impart wisdom at every turn, knowing that while his time will rarely come on the court, it’s never a reason to sulk or find ways to make an impact whether through words of encouragement or the feeling of responsibility towards the game’s young players.
“I guess the responsibility comes from just caring, caring about the team, wanting to do well, wanting to win, the larger perspective of what we’re trying to do here,” Mills proclaims. “Once you get to understand people in the locker room and you get to know them well, you start to care for them, you start to help them along their journey as well. I think from that standpoint there’s a responsibility.”
The basis for Mills’ mindset and personality comes from his upbringing.
Mills says he came from an area of “hunters and gatherers” in the Torres Strait, gaining an appreciation for the heritage and culture that he grew up around.
It’s that level of deep understanding that has come to shape and define Mills.
Talk to the 36-year-old for any length of time and you obtain an immense amount of respect for how much humility and humanity a single person can exude.
Even in his intro press conference with the Clippers, Mills answers a question asking what’s something fans don’t know about him by giving a deep and rich backstory of his ancestry as an Indigenous Australian.
At one point during the several conversations Mills and I had, Mills asked for my phone so he could write down the exact Aboriginal tribes of which he descends (Kokatha, Naghiralgal, Dauraeb-Meriam). He even jots down a name: Eddie Mabo, his great-uncle.
Mabo, an activist, helped usher in a 1992 decision from the High Court of Australia that “introduced the principle of native title into the Australian legal system.”
With Mabo as a beacon, Mills has given great thought to the power of activism, especially after his playing days are over.
“I think the way that I’ve carried myself in my professional sporting career has been in such a way that I do see myself as a role model for a lot of people, especially all Australians,” Mills says. “I think that is a part that has been taught to me by my family and my culture, and grandad Eddie Mabo who’s one of those people as well. There’s something there. I don’t know what it is and I don’t know if I can put my finger on it right now, but all I know is I carry myself the way that I do and I believe it’s the right way and I hope to inspire a whole bunch of people in Australia. I’ve come to find out that I’ve inspired people from all other cultures around the world too. That’s very exciting.”
Where he comes from is not lost on Mills, even when accounting for where he’s been.
That’s the beauty of Mills’ journey: Sixteen years in the NBA, and yet he can still find his way back home no matter where he might be in the world.
“I was a little island boy growing up in the Torres Strait, understanding the unique Australian heritage, background, culture, how rich and unique it was to be able to grow up in a family with such a rich culture,” Mills says of his childhood. “It was just my culture was dancing, island dancing, understanding the language, fishing, diving, being out on the ocean. It was all those things. A real traditional living, hunters and gatherers. I think that was a foundation for my upbringing, that I understood at an early age, that helped me grow up and succeed over here. I’ve never let that go.”
While Mills did play a lot of sports during his younger days, it was basketball that took hold in his heart for a very simple reason: companionship.
“A lot of my family played team sports. Nothing professional or anything like that. But just always around team sports and basketball was one of them,” Mills states. “I think that’s an important part because I grew up, like, being in an environment, whether it was basketball, rugby, AFL (Australian Football League), always had a sport that I played. I’ve even done cross country, athletics, all these individual events. I just didn’t feel the same as I did with these team sports, and I think the camaraderie, the team stuff, the people around and vibing is what I’ve always enjoyed, so I think I got all of that from my family, for sure.”
As Mills winds his outstanding career down, one that will see him revered as a national hero in Australia when he does decide to walk away for good, he has a keen understanding of the basketball life that he’s lived—over 1,000 NBA games when counting both regular season and postseason; sixteen years at the highest level of his profession; five times in the Olympics; and a medal to boot.
“I’ve been very fortunate, very blessed, I’ve learned a lot about myself along the way, and at the same time, I think I’ve made a lot of people proud back home in Australia on carrying the flag for everyone back home and that’s something I take responsibility in and enjoy doing it at the same time,” Mills says.
“There’s definitely pinch-me moments when I think back to where it started, the journey, what it’s taken, the bumps in the road,” reveals the Aussie. “This definitely wasn’t a silver platter. It’s 16 years, it’s been a hard-fought 16 years, for sure, but a very enjoyable one at that. I think that’s one thing I’ll do better at as this thing comes closer to an end, but just appreciating all those moments. They are pinch-me moments, for sure. I don’t know how I ended up here, but here I am.”
Mills’ entire life, his journey from Australia to now in Los Angeles, can be traced back to that one life event that saw his grandfather, Sammy, build a basketball hoop on top of a hill just for a grandson.
“I’ve always done it for the love of the people around me and the joy that I think it brought to me. There was never really no purpose that I felt. That came later. But it was for sure just the joy of shooting on my own hoop with all my cousins, barefoot, that type of deal,” reflects Mills.
When asked what he would tell his two-year-old self, shooting a basketball on that homemade hoop all those years ago, Mills relays a simple layer of advice.
“I would have told him to, like my mom always told me and my dad, be proud of who you are, man. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Remember who you are, remember where you come from, and never lose that pridefulness that our culture and our people have,” Mills discloses. “Be a role model. Take that on with responsibility and there’s a whole lot of people out there that are proud of what you’ve accomplished, or what you will accomplish, and you’ll change a lot of lives in doing it. I think that’s the real pinch-me moments that I always have.”
Sammy Mills passed away before he saw his grandson become an NBA champion. But that didn’t stop Patty from having his grandfather share in the moment.
When Mills got his time with the NBA championship trophy following the Spurs’ 2014 Finals victory, he took it home with him to Australia, embarking on a journey across the Torres Strait to tiny Thursday Island.
Mills, who had endured a shoulder procedure shortly after the Finals were over, walked up the hill he had spent countless hours chasing a basketball down, strolled up the gravel road and onto the driveway where he had once honed a shot that took him to the pinnacle in world sport.
The hoop that Sammy had built all those years ago was no longer standing. In its stead was the trophy his grandson had placed where the hoop had once stood.
As he looked at where his grandfather’s craftsmanship had been, Patty could envision the hoop in front of him, ready for one more moment, one more shot.
Mills, sore surgically repaired shoulder and all, lined up one last time and hoisted an imaginary shot in honor of where he had come from and the odyssey he had traversed, all of it leading him back to this point, on top of that hill where Sammy and Patty had shared a bounty of beautiful moments.
Nothing but net.
Well done JR
A brilliant job of capturing and sharing some of the main highlights in Patrick’s amazing journey to the world in this article - well done!! 🙌🏽🙌🏽