NBA star Patty Mills is the perfect choice for the ACT Australian of the Year

His accolades stretch far beyond championships, Olympic Games medals and basketball jerseys hanging from the rafters of arenas.

Because the 33-year-old NBA point guard has been crowned the ACT Australian of the Year for the sporting achievements which inspired a nation and his work as an Indigenous mentor.

Off the hardwood Mills is a leader, an inspiration, a conduit between the mainstream and marginalised voices that need to be heard.

He was the driving force behind the Boomers' historic bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics, the Games at which he was one of Australia's flag bearers. His bottom lip trembled as he declared "it's time to bring an Olympic medal home ... Back to our country, Australia, so I can hang it up at mum and dad's place".

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A nation cried as this plucky point guard's voice quivered with the realisation he had achieved a dream he had been chasing since he ran around the backcourts of Belconnen for a humble basketball club started by his parents Benny and Yvonne.

But Mills' greatest legacy goes beyond four quarters of basketball. Katrina Fanning knows what it is to be the ACT's Australian of the Year after claiming the award one years ago.

So it was fitting the Wiradjuri woman, a women's rugby league pioneer, was on hand to accept the prize on Mills' behalf at a ceremony in Canberra on Friday afternoon.

"I first met Patrick when I was working for his mum at the ACT government. I think he might have been about seven or eight at the time," Fanning said.

"He wasn't allowed to play for the Valley Dragons or the Shadows basketball team unless he did his toastmasters and his homework, so I've known him for a very long time.

"It's wonderful that he has been recognised. This award helps the rest of Australia to understand that what he does is not just on a basketball court.

"His foundation is helping bringing clean, fresh water to communities; building other capacity for our communities to do well.

"He's never forgotten where he comes from, and that includes Canberra, the schools he went to and the people he met. He's just been, and will continue to be, a wonderful ambassador.

"I was only saying at our table earlier, what Australia thinks Patty has achieved on the basketball court, is probably nothing compared to what he is going to achieve over the rest of his life because he is just an amazing guy."

The kind of guy whose heart will always be at home, even if his mind is focused on the court in a tireless pursuit of a second championship ring.

Wind back to February 2020. The NSW south coast was ravaged by bushfires from which communities are still recovering.

It was the NBA's All-Star break, a week that would have given Mills a chance to stay home and take a breath amid the chaotic nature of life in the world's premier basketball competition.

Instead he was on a plane with his partner, bound for bushfire-affected communities to deliver supplies. They built an animal shelter and solar-powered hydropanels, they provided clean drinking water for a small Aboriginal community.

He created Indigenous Basketball Australia to encourage Indigenous people and Torres Strait Islanders to play the game. Last year, IBA donated $1.5 million to organisations tackling racial inequality.

Mills is the driving force behind the We Got You anti-racism campaign. He founded the Team Mills Foundation "supporting and championing culture, diversity, women and underprivileged families and enacting positive change for the environment worldwide".

That's why Mills' legacy stretches far beyond a basketball court, why we'll be saying his name long after his sporting career is finished.

"Just how he approaches his craft every day is an inspiring thing to anybody," Mills' Brooklyn teammate and NBA superstar Kevin Durant said recently.

That's why we cheer as Mills beats his chest and brings crowds to their feet, why we watch every Australian game just for a glimpse of "Boomers Patty".

It's why he transcends the game of basketball. We watch Mills thrill, and we know "he's never forgotten where he comes from".

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