'It's about how I can inspire others': Patty Mills claims The Don award

Mills has become the first basketballer to win Sport Australia's The Don Award, after his inspiring performance led the Boomers to a maiden bronze medal at the Olympic Games.

The annual honour from the Sport Australia Hall of Fame selection committee is given to an athlete or team who has inspired the nation over the previous 12 months.

Few have done so like this Canberra product, whose legacy stretches far beyond the confines of a basketball court or the name and number on the back of a Boomers jersey.

Mills became the first Indigenous Australian to carry the flag into an Olympic opening ceremony, and then flourished as the men's national team secured an historic bronze medal as if it was written in a script.

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"I never set out to win awards like this," Mills said from his United States base.

"I go about my craft as a professional and learn ways to get better, trying to carry myself in a way that I think can inspire others.

"Being recognised in this way to me isn't about who I sit alongside, it's about how I can inspire others with my journey."

Australia defeated Slovenia 107-93 in Tokyo's bronze medal game with NBA sharpshooter Mills topping the scoring with 42 points.

The Brooklyn Nets guard finished the Olympic basketball competition second on total points with 140 from six games, and third in assists.

Mills was fittingly named as a guard in the FIBA All-Star Five representing the five best players at the Olympics.

John Bradman, son of legendary cricketer Sir Donald Bradman, said his father was a believer in the idea one of sport's finest qualities was its power to inspire.

Few athletes embody that better than Mills.

"He's not just a champion player, he's a champion person, a leader, a star on and off the court, and most of all an inspiration to all of us," Bradman said.

Tennis great Evonne Goolagong Cawley was awarded the inaugural Dawn Award, named in honour of Dawn Fraser, which recognises courage, bravery and a legacy which changed sport for the better.

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