Hoop dreams:Patty Mills breezes past Luka Doncic (77) and Mike Tobey (10) for an easy basket.Credit:AP
Bronze felt like “rose gold” to Mills and Ingles alike,with the pair dreaming of this moment since they went to the AIS together and rode around Canberra in Mills’ old Mazda 626. Now they are NBA fixtures and have piloted Australia’s men’s program to their first medal in Olympic history.
“I’ll start by saying that our motto that we were living by was ‘gold vibes only’,and yes,our goal is to win gold. We’re at the Olympics,that’s what everyone’s goals and dreams should be,” Mills said.
“If you don’t have that goal set out for yourself as a team,as individuals,then what are you doing here? But that mentality and that belief is what got us this (bronze medal). We talked about gold vibes only as being the standard. And if it’s below that,we don’t want it. Whether it’s on court,off court... anything.
“So,yes,it does feel like gold,rose gold. And that’s the thing that I’ll say that hasn’t been said yet is the Aussie spirit is the Aussie spirit. And if you’re Australian,you understand what that is,especially when it comes to the team sport.
“And what we’ve done is just being able to take that Aussie spirit,which has always been there,and just put belief in our group and our team that we can achieve this. It’s taken a while to get there but that belief in one another,a belief in the group,is what has got this done.”
But to interpret this as a moment for Mills alone would be to miss the wider picture of what the Boomers have tried so hard to achieve as a group for so many years. Yes,Mills has been central to that,but he of all people wouldn’t want to take the acclaim.
Roar emotion:Joe Ingles and Patty Mills are pumped up as success against Slovenia looms.Credit:AP
This has been about players like Ingles deciding to forego NBA off-seasons and plunging headlong into the national program. Mills has long been one of Ingles’ best mates,and together they have sacrificed time with family and the chance for their bodies to recover to ensure the Boomer culture continued to grow and thrive.
On Saturday night,their returns finally matured. Ingles said he knew Mills was going to bring it home and could feel the whole nation ride every play as they finally skipped clear of Slovenia over the final minutes.
“Our paths have been different throughout our careers,but the continuous constant factor and consistent thing was the national team. Every summer for 12 years we’ve come back to this thing,to build it and build it and build it. And obviously in Beijing,we were,I was 20,Patty was 19 turning 20. And we’ve continued to build this,” Ingles said.
“We’ve got this unbelievable relationship. We catch up on the road and in our regular seasons and talk about the Boomers. It’s always been brought up,it’s been such a focus for us. It’s very,very special to be able to do it with him.
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“There was no doubt in my mind that going into this he was going to bring it home for us. You’re going to make me a little bit emotional... not just a hell of a basketball player but a hell of a guy. The whole country was riding on him.”
Both Mills and Ingles will be in their mid-30s in Paris but it is clear they aren’t done yet. And by that time,new faces like Josh Giddey and,hopefully,Ben Simmons will have added a new dimension and look to the Boomers,who want this now to be the baseline for success,not the top of the summit.