Patty Mills's family have been instrumental in pursuing Indigenous recognition for decades. The Boomers star is continuing their legacy through his beloved sport.
Mills has urged all Australians to consider the important moment in the nation's history.
Ahead of claiming the NBA championship in 2014, Mills's teammates at the San Antonio Spurs were educated on the 1992 Mabo decision, given that Eddie Mabo is his great-uncle.In 2014, his then-coach at the Spurs, Gregg Popovich, used a pre-game speech during the NBA Finals to inform the team of the significance in awarding land rights to Indigenous Australians.
"So to be able to carry this on to the World Cup [in 2023] to Paris, and then, in turn, the Olympics down the road," he added.Mills was introduced to basketball as a four-year-old through the Shadows – an indigenous basketball club – that was founded by his father Benny and mother Yvonne. His goal is to see a young Indigenous player progress through the program to play for the Opals or Boomers and "hopefully do that at a home Olympics" in 2032.
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