Entering the 2009 NBA Draft, Patty Mills was about as unheralded a player as you could think of. Mills was selected 55th overall by the Portland Trail Blazers out of Saint Mary's College and entered the league without much expectation. In his two seasons with the Blazers, Mills didn't make much of an impact, but after the 2010-11 season Mills signed with the San Antonio Spurs and his career took off. Mills has been a big part of the Spurs for the past four seasons, but his role figures to grow even more this season, according to Roy Ward of The Sydney Morning Herald.
Mills has been a Spur for four seasons now and was a huge part of helping them win the NBA Championship in 2014, but even after that he didn't realize how important he is to the team. It took being asked to help recruit LaMarcus Aldridge for Mills to realize how much he means to the organization.
"The role I have now with the Spurs has grown and not just by my teammates but the whole organization, and I'm realizing it now where I don't think I did before. Being amongst that whole deal was a good experience, obviously I had a relationship with LaMarcus from when I played with him in Portland. I get lost in it sometimes in not realizing what I bring to the team," said Mills.
Mills will be a huge part of a Spurs team that will enter this NBA season as one of the favorites to win it all. Tony Parker has had injury issues over the past couple of years, so he can't be expected to play big minutes like he used to, and Mills is now his primary backup since Cory Joseph went to the Toronto Raptors in free agency. Mills dealt with a shoulder injury last season but came back from it towards the end of the year and should be fully healthy entering this season.
In his four seasons as a Spur the Australia native has averaged 7.9 points per game while making 40 percent of his three-pointers. Mills has averaged 15.8 minutes per game as a Spur, but that figures to go up this season now that he is the main point guard off the bench in San Antonio.
