Quotes from Patty Mills

We play the right way at the Spurs. We don't go about business the wrong way, we play hard and represent the Spurs the best way we can.

I am ecstatic and filled with immense pride to have the world's most renowned professional basketball league join forces with IBA - the work we are going to do together will make a real impact to the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youths.

At a young age, I was going around the islands singing 'spread love, it's the Brooklyn way' and not really understanding what the hell that phrase meant.

I have been instilled with culture from such a young age that I know who I am, and I know once sporting is out of the picture, I will have this to come back to and continue the customs and traditions that I've been taught.

I made the team for the 2008 Olympics and you're playing the U.S.A. in the quarter-finals and it's like, this is awesome, this is a great feeling. We lose the game. And as a young kid like you don't understand really what that means, you just got your backside handed to you by all-time greats.

My life is going from journey to journey, mate.

I think an all-around type of mentality is the thing that I have tried to have always. I am not too happy with myself when I start to float around and just be out there.

I'll always say this: my name is Patrick Mills, I'm a Kokatha man from South Australia, and I'm a Naghiralgal and Dauareb-Meriam man of the Torres Strait Islands.

It's good to be taken out of your comfort zone - it's part of the NBA grind - a challenge I'm ready for.

If you take control of yourself and you make the right cut or the right screen, then something good will come out of it.

When it comes to the green and gold, the passion starts pouring out from me to be able to create something special in that basketball space for our country. I'm absolutely dialled in when it comes to that.

You have games when you miss shots and when you make shots. But knowing you're here for a reason and you're an NBA basketballer helps.

I think it's important for everyone to understand that if you have a background and culture... to really use that as motivation to fuel the fire. It brings meaning to what you do. It's not just sports - whether it's in the classroom, in the office or whatever it may be - it just brings passion and excitement out when there's meaning behind it.

When something happens - good, bad or ugly - you find a way to be able to do your part for your community. How do you better the lives of Indigenous people, how do you give back to the land, how do you stay connected? All of this is the same question.

To be honest, I think NBA experience and years trumps everything else. It's unfortunate but when you come from somewhere else it's known that you don't have NBA experience and the NBA is so different to everywhere else so in that sense you need those years.

It's about finding the chemistry on the court and where you can get to your spots and where you can find open ones.

As San Antonio Spurs players, we have a responsibility for our community.

Things are bigger than basketball. The Spurs are great at helping you know that you're not just at the gym every day to throw a ball around, but you're here to represent.

People talk about the Spurs and how we do a decent job at playing basketball. But there is a deeper meaning to who we are, where we come from, and at the same time, why we play basketball.

San Antonio is more of a home than anything to be honest. They saw me as a huge part of their organisation to continue this Spurs culture and that's nice to know, and that's something I'm really keen to do.

The values I have as a person are the same as the whole Spurs organisation and that's why it feels like home.

Now that I get a chance on the big stage, it's even more important to remember where I came from.

Learn that you can stand up for who you are, stand up for your heritage and be proud.

I'm trying to help inspire kids to achieve their dreams and never give up.