Speaker 1: It's the late nineties in Canberra in the middle of winter.
Speaker 2: A crowd of people are packed into a suburban basketball stadium.
Speaker 2: Parents and family members look on as kids run up
Speaker 2: and down the court. It's a typical game of junior
Speaker 2: sport with varying skill levels, but one kid is clearly
Speaker 2: a standout player. It may only be under tens, but
Speaker 2: he's dominating the free throw lane on offense and defense.
Speaker 2: This kid towers above the rest and he's almost executing
Speaker 2: plays like a pro. As he scoops the ball up
Speaker 2: on the defensive rebound, he immediately throws a killer pass
Speaker 2: down the court to a waiting teammate for.
Speaker 1: The easy layout.
Speaker 2: If you played any team sport as a youngster, you
Speaker 2: probably knew a kid like this. There was always one
Speaker 2: right now. Not all of them are lucky enough to
Speaker 2: actually make it as a pro. But the kid I'm
Speaker 2: talking about here is Patty Mills, and the junior team
Speaker 2: he played for, the Shadows, was instrumental in turning Patty
Speaker 2: from promising young talent to NBA staff.
Speaker 1: Hey, welcome to the Boolroom, where.
Speaker 2: We celebrate the winners, losers, and the weird stuff between.
Speaker 1: I'm Tony Armstrong.
Speaker 2: It's probably no surprise that Patrick Mills made it to
Speaker 2: the NBA, considering he was shooting hoops with his grandfather
Speaker 2: from two years old and playing organized basketball by.
Speaker 1: The age of four.
Speaker 2: Sure, his skills were still developing at that point, but
Speaker 2: he was just happy to be out there.
Speaker 1: You couldn't wipe the smile off his face.
Speaker 2: Growing up, Paddi loved team sports, including soccer and Ozzie Rules,
Speaker 2: but basketball played a special role.
Speaker 1: In his upbringing.
Speaker 2: In the eighties, Patty's parents met in Canberra, where they
Speaker 2: were working government jobs. It could be a tough place
Speaker 2: for blackfellows, so the couple wanted a way to build community.
Speaker 2: They landed on creating a basketball club, but.
Speaker 1: It was much more than that.
Speaker 2: It was a social club, a place for Aboriginal and
Speaker 2: torrest Rate Islander people to come together. They named the
Speaker 2: basketball team the Shadows, and it became the heartbeat of
Speaker 2: the community. By the time Patti Mills was born in
Speaker 2: nineteen eighty eight, the Shadows had expanded to become a
Speaker 2: truly multicultural club.
Speaker 1: They welcomed people.
Speaker 2: From diverse backgrounds, providing opportunities for kids to play sport
Speaker 2: in an inclusive environment. It gave their families a place
Speaker 2: where they could belong.
Speaker 1: Basketball was the vehicle to enrich people's lives.
Speaker 2: It was this environment that Paddy grew up in, helping
Speaker 2: to shape the player and the person he'd become. From
Speaker 2: around seven years old, Paddy started to dominate the court.
Speaker 2: His Shadows team won their competition season after season. They
Speaker 2: also played in junior tournaments around Australia. Then, when Paddy
Speaker 2: was a teenager, he had a decision to make continue
Speaker 2: with basketball or pursue as he rules. His dilemma was
Speaker 2: made a little easier when the Australian Institute of Sport
Speaker 2: came knocking and he was offered the chance to play
Speaker 2: hoops at a high level.
Speaker 1: Paddy joined the AIS at fifteen.
Speaker 2: He was awarded the captaincy for Australia's on the nineteen squad,
Speaker 2: before becoming the youngest player ever to represent the Boomers
Speaker 2: at just eighteen years old, playing in the two thousand
Speaker 2: and six World Championships.
Speaker 1: From there, it wasn't long before.
Speaker 2: Talent scouts from US colleges identified Paddy as a top prospect.
Speaker 2: He was accepted into Saint Mary's College to play basketball,
Speaker 2: and announced his arrival by breaking records most points in
Speaker 2: a single game and most points in a.
Speaker 1: Season for a freshman.
Speaker 2: Paddy spent two years at Saint Mary's before entering the
Speaker 2: NBA draft. If you'd told young Paddy that one day
Speaker 2: he'd be in this position, he probably wouldn't have believed it.
Speaker 2: But in two thousand and nine he realized his childhood
Speaker 2: dream when he was drafted by the Portland Trailblazers. The
Speaker 2: next couple of years didn't exactly go to plan, but
Speaker 2: Paddy remained determined on the fringes of the starting lineup.
Speaker 2: Playing for Portland's development team was his only chance at
Speaker 2: regular basketball. Then another curveball, the NBA lockout of twenty eleven.
Speaker 1: Pay negotiations had stored and.
Speaker 2: The league was suspended for six months, so Paddy headed home,
Speaker 2: suiting up for.
Speaker 1: The Melbourne Tigers in the NBL.
Speaker 2: A stint playing in China followed before Patty had it
Speaker 2: back to the States. In twenty twelve, the San Antonio
Speaker 2: Spurs recruited Patty Mills on the advice of his former
Speaker 2: Boomers coach. Paddy settled in quickly. The team culture on
Speaker 2: the Spurs head coach Greg Popovich was exactly what Paddy needed.
Speaker 1: To reach his full potential.
Speaker 2: Just like his childhood team, the Shadows, San Antonio was
Speaker 2: a welcoming place and the majority of the roster was
Speaker 2: made up of players from outside the United States. In
Speaker 2: twenty fourteen, San Antonio won the NBA Championship, defeating Miami
Speaker 2: four games to one in the finals. While they didn't
Speaker 2: have the same star power that he did, they were
Speaker 2: a true team with a deep roster. Everyone had a
Speaker 2: role to play, including our Paddy. Paddy Mills became the
Speaker 2: first blackfellow to play in and win the NBA Finals.
Speaker 2: He since gone on to represent the Brooklyn Nets and
Speaker 2: Atlanta Hawks, but he maintains a strong connection to home.
Speaker 2: In twenty fifteen, Paddy became the NBL's first official ambassador.
Speaker 2: Then in twenty twenty, along with his parents, he established
Speaker 2: Indigenous Basketball Australia. The nonprofit organization supports young Aboriginal and
Speaker 2: tourist raid is under people in realizing their dreams both
Speaker 2: on and off the corps. The IBA has since formed
Speaker 2: important partnerships and created new initiatives like an annual community
Speaker 2: basketball league. Just like his parents before him, Paddy Mills
Speaker 2: is continuing to bring people together and provide opportunities through.
Speaker 1: The power of sport. These days, the.
Speaker 2: Shadows Basketball Club no longer exists, but its spirit lives
Speaker 2: on through an all new team. The Wenunga Warriors Basketball Club,
Speaker 2: was formed in twenty fourteen by former Australian of the
Speaker 2: Year Dion de Vo and it's following in the footsteps
Speaker 2: of the Mills family. Maybe one day they'll produce another
Speaker 2: NBA star. You're a champion, Patty in more ways than one.
Speaker 1: The Ballroom is an iHeart production. Thanks so much for listening.
Speaker 2: I'm Tony Armstrong and I'll catch you in the next episode.