Patty Mills should be Australia’s flag bearer at the Tokyo Olympics
Proud Australian champion Patty Mills has proven he should be rewarded with flag bearer honours at the Tokyo Olympics, but there’s one crucial element counting against the basketball star.
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Patty Mills is all class and deserves to be Australia’s flag bearer at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Rather than set off for a few days of holidays in the middle of a gruelling 82-game season, Mills spent his NBA All-Star break helping the Australian communities affected by the bushfires.
Mills didn’t tell anyone about his trip Down Under and he didn’t spruik or ask for praise — he just went out and made a difference.
The Boomers and San Antonio Spurs guard visited NSW south coast towns like Nowra, Morton and Batemans Bay.
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He visited an animal sanctuary, helped rebuild and even played basketball with the local kids.
His selfless acts have reinforced calls for the Boomers veteran to carry Australia’s flag at the Opening Ceremony in Tokyo this July.
The Australian Olympic Committee is yet to announce the flag bearer, but surely Mills is in the mix, if not at the top of the list.
But potentially counting against Mills is that basketballers have been flag bearers in two of the past five Olympics — Lauren Jackson in London in 2012 and Andrew Gaze at the Sydney 2000 games.
The AOC may be swayed to choose an athlete from a different sport given hoops’ recent appearances, but this shouldn’t detract from Mills’ worthiness as a world-class ambassador.
While there are other athletes worthy of consideration — the likes of swimmer Cate Campbell, kayaker Jessica Fox and walker Jared Tallent — Mills’ impact beyond the basketball court is unrivalled.
Such is the esteem in which Mills is held, his campaigning led his NBA team, the San Antonio Spurs, to hurst their first-ever “Indigenous Night” in January.
"I'd like to thank the San Antonio Spurs and everyone who contributed in making this the NBA's first-ever Indigenous Night."
— NBA Australia (@NBA_AU) January 19, 2020
🇦🇺 @Patty_Mills addressed the home crowd ahead of today's game with a special message (via: @spurs) pic.twitter.com/eBVJszwP1Q
NBL SET FOR SUMMER LEAGUE INVASION
Watch for Las Vegas to become an NBL hub this July when a host of players converge on the Sin City for the NBA Summer League tournament.
A large continent of players are set to play for NBA teams in a bid to impress and secure a long-term deal.
The likes of South East Melbourne swingman Mitch Creek, Brisbane centre Will Magnay, impressive Sydney import Jae’Sean Tate and his Kings teammate Craig Moller are planning to compete in the annual pre-season tournament.
It is a testament to the growing rise in standard of the Australian domestic league, which has flourished with NBA-calibre talent such as Creek, who had stints with the Brooklyn Nets and Minnesota Timberwolves last year before returning home.
Creek, who was a popular member of the Timberwolves, is keen to relaunch his NBA career and, as a versatile 196cm shooter, would be an attractive proposition for several clubs.
Tate won the Kings’ player of the year award after a standout debut NBL season. His 193cm frame works against him as a potential NBA forward but the former Ohio State college star has proven his work ethic in being named to the All-NBL first team.
Australia already has Ben Simmons, Patty Mills, Aron Baynes, Joe Ingles, Matthew Dellavedova, Dante Exum, Thon Maker and American-born Matisse Thybulle plying their trade in the NBA.
Ryan Broekhoff was the ninth Aussie in the NBA before he was cut from the Dallas Mavericks and moved to play in Greece.
WOMEN’S AWARDS SNUB AN INSULT: BOGUT
Andrew Bogut has called on Basketball Australia officials to take a pay cut and seriously look at their funding in a bid to revive the once dominant WNBL competition.
The domestic women’s league is still considered to be among the best in the world, but its profile and crowds have diminished in recent seasons.
The frustration among the players and fans reached boiling point this week when the officials didn’t hold an awards night to celebrate the league’s 40th season.
Instead, the league’s MVP winner was announced via social media.
Several Australian national stars have hit out at Basketball Australia, including Opal Jenna O’Hea who tweeted: “I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed”.
Fellow Opal Leilani Mitchell also expressed her anger at the situation.
“There seems to be a disconnect between the WNBL and the Opals,” Mitchell said.
The WNBL’s situation has prompted calls for NBL owner Larry Kestelman to take over to ensure the competition’s future.
Bogut understands this in theory, but in reality he believes it won’t work for now.
“Basketball Australia has got to find some money,” Bogut said.
“They run the WNBL and let’s be honest if the NBL runs the WNBL or a local restaurant runs the WNBL, the money is the elephant in the room.
“It is hard to see a league like the NBL, which is already battling to give funding for grassroots and the league in general, to throw money at something that they are not going to get a return on.
Congratulations to Kia. But, we’re really not having an awards night to celebrate the fantastic achievements of the individuals in our 40th season of the league? I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed https://t.co/lGvIErG1Uu
— Jenna O'Hea (@JennaOHea) February 13, 2020
“Not yet anyway, but maybe one day.
“I think we are five to 10 years away from that happening — that is the harsh reality of it.
“The eyes should be squarely on Basketball Australia and what they are doing with their government funding.
“We talk about women in sport and equality, well maybe the CEO and people involved with BA can take a little bit of a pay cut and put on an awards dinner.
“I mean, that would go down well I think.
“If anyone puts something on for the girls right now, I think it should be Basketball Australia.”
The rise of the AFLW, especially in Melbourne, has had a significant impact on women’s domestic basketball.
A host of WNBL players, including ex-Melbourne Boomer now Richmond Tiger Monique Conti, have jumped ship to join the Australian rules ranks.
Bogut says the AFLW also have a significant financial advantage over the WNBL.
“I think a portion of that can be credited to the amount of investment they are getting through the government and the AFL,” he said.
“Basketball would love to get that kind of money to be able to prop our girls up more, but it comes down to money.
“Who is going to pay for it?
“The NBL is in no position to go to a sponsor or an arena and try to leverage the WNBL like the AFL can for the AFLW.
“The NBL will lose sponsors, whereas the AFL have government funding and they have their hands in all these pockets, so they can afford to take a loss.
“But we just can’t afford to do it with our women’s game.
“It was only less than a decade ago when the NBL was rumoured to have gone bankrupt, so for us to be funding other leagues when the league isn’t where it needs to be in terms of funding itself and making money.”
Basketball Australia has been accused of having too much on its plate as a national organisation running multiple forms of the game.
Bogut can relate to this suggestion.
“We were a victim of that with the Boomers,” he said.
“It has been the same story since I’ve been involved in 2004.
“We are on our eighth CEO, which is pretty mind boggling and there are no real changes.
“It is kind of one step forward, two steps back.
“As frustrating as it is, there are also a lot of things that contribute that people don’t know about that happened in the lead up to last year’s men’s World Cup.”
NEWLEY’S HOODOO
In-form Sydney Kings swingman Brad Newley has played across the world throughout his illustrious career, but he is yet to be part of a championship-winning team.
Newley’s resume includes stints in Greece, Turkey, Lithuania and Spain, but he hasn’t got a team trophy to go with his impressive travel miles.
He has played in four grand finals and lost them all – two in the EuroCup, one in the Spanish Cup and one in the Lithuanian league.
This could change this year with the Sydney Kings favourites to win the NBL championship following an historic regular season.
Newley has been outstanding for the Kings with his trademark drive to the basket, his pinpoint shooting from range and his dogged defence.
For all his recent success, he isn’t getting carried away as shown at the Finals media call in Melbourne this week when he refused to touch the championship trophy.
To be fair, Newley wasn’t the only player that didn’t want to make contact with the trophy for hoodoo reasons.
MAGNAY’S NBA CLAUSE
Will Magnay’s new two-year contract extension with the Brisbane Bullets includes an NBA-out.
Magnay penned his upgrade this week, but I’m told the Bullets won’t stand in his way if the big man picks up an NBA offer.
Club officials see him as a potential poster boy for any Queensland kid aspiring to go from the local junior ranks all the way to the world’s best basketball league.
The Brisbane-born 21-year-old is set to play at this July’s NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.
Magnay has a host of franchises chasing his signature, including Philadelphia, New Orleans and Golden State.
He will also play for the Brisbane Capitals in NBL1 North competition this season.
TATE COLLECTS
Jae’Sean Tate created history on Wednesday night when he dominated the Sydney Kings’ awards night.
Tate became the first player in franchise history to claim three trophies at the annual awards evening.
The Ohio State Buckeyes product claimed the Most Valuable Player, the Players’ Player of the Year and the Members Player of the Year.
A host of players, including Andrew Bogut, Ben Madgen and Jesse Sanders have won two trophies at the awards night but no player has won three.
Admittedly, the Players’ Player of the Year is a new award, but it doesn’t take away from Tate’s remarkable season with the league leading Kings.
Watch for the hard-working forward to pick up an NBA deal in the off-season.
CADEE CONSIDERS EUROPE
Fresh off claiming the NBL’s best Sixth Man award, Brisbane Bullets guard Jason Cadee will consider an off-season stint in Europe.
Cadee has already signed to play with the Brisbane Capitals in the NBL1 North competition this off-season, but he will also weigh up Europe if he receives the right offer.
The former Sydney King and proud Bankstown junior previously played a season in Greece in 2017.
Originally published as Patty Mills should be Australia’s flag bearer at the Tokyo Olympics