Patty Mills, born and raised in Canberra, Australia and currently is an NBA guard for the Brooklyn Nets. He comes from a diverse background, being of Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal Australian descent. Mills is known for his deadly 3-point shooting, quickness, and leadership on and off the court.

He began playing college basketball for the Saint Mary’s Gaels before being drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers in 2009. After two seasons with the Blazers, Mills played for the Melbourne Tigers in Australia and the Xinjiang Flying Tigers in China during the 2011 NBA lockout.

In 2012, he signed with the San Antonio Spurs, where he became a key contributor off the bench and helped the team win the 2014 NBA championship. In 2021, Mills led the Australian Boomers to their first-ever medal in international competition at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. He has a long history of being a valuable asset to the teams he played for, and his leadership qualities and dedication to the game are evident. Unfortunately, Mills has not received the minutes he became accustomed to during his playing career. While Mills isn’t typically a starter, he would still garner the team’s 6th man spot on the roster. Let’s examine why he has yet to crack that part of the rotation for the Nets this year.

The shooting guard position for the Brooklyn Nets is highly competitive, with three talented players in Seth Curry, Joe Harris, and Patty Mills. Each player brings unique skills to the table, making it a tough decision for the coaching staff on who to play. Joe Harris signed a four-year, $75 million deal in November 2020, and Seth Curry, acquired via trade, has been earning most of the minutes at the guard position. However, this does not take away from the fact that Mills is a valuable asset to the team. He has been averaging a career-high true shooting percentage of 64.2%.

The biggest reason Mills isn’t playing over Harris and Curry is that the Nets went out of their way to pay more and trade for them. This suggests that ownership may be why Mills is not earning more minutes on the court. If you boil down what the three guards have in common, they all are sharpshooters. However, each player gives a slightly different look on marksmanship. Joe Harris is your prototypical stand-in-the-corner-and-wait guy. While he moves well off the ball, he relies on teammates driving and dishing him the ball. Seth Curry is a watered-down version of his brother Steph. I would argue that Seth is a better jump shooter in the catch-and-shoot game. Much like his brother, Seth likes to operate with the ball in his hands. Mills uses his quick step and acceleration to find holes in the defence. He buzzes around screens, picking the correct points to shoot. Defensively, Mills is a better option than the other two guards. Mills has active hands and likes to camp in the passing lanes on defence, leading to steals and fast break opportunities.

Given the “recency bias” in how the Nets acquired and retained Harris and Curry, it should be no surprise that Mills is the odd man out of the rotation. I wouldn’t be surprised if Mills were traded soon.