As part of the Stolen Generations, she and her four siblings were taken from their parents by the Australian state after her parents' separation in 1949.
Mills has said that learning of his mother's past was a "turning point" in his understanding of his identity as Indigenous Australian.
Mills' uncle is former Olympian basketballer Danny Morseu, the second Indigenous Australian to represent Australia at the Olympics in basketball; Mills would be the third, thirty years later.
He is the cousin of rugby league players Edrick Lee, Brenko Lee and fellow basketball player Nathan Jawai.
Mills' great uncle is Indigenous land rights activist Eddie Mabo.
Mills first took up basketball as a four-year-old for a local Indigenous club his parents established called "The Shadows".
Growing up, he was the ball boy for the Canberra Cannons of the National Basketball League (NBL).
Mills' future coach at Saint Mary's College of California, David Patrick, played for the Cannons during that time and developed a relationship with the Mills family.
In addition to playing basketball, Mills also played underage Australian rules football at a high level.
He had an opportunity to pursue a career in the Australian Football League (AFL), but decided to concentrate on basketball instead.
1988
Patrick Sammie Mills (born 11 August 1988) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Mills was born and raised in Canberra, and is of Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal Australian descent.
Mills was named the WCC Newcomer of the Year and earned All-WCC First Team honours after helping the Gaels earn a top 25 ranking for the first time since the 1988–89 season.
He started all 32 games for the Gaels as a freshman, posting a team-high 14.8 points, 2.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.8 steals in 32.1 minutes.
2004
Mills attended Canberra's Marist College, but left at the end of 2004 to attend the Australian Institute of Sport and Lake Ginninderra College.
2005
In 2005, he made a strong impression at the Australian Olympic Youth Festival, an event considered to be a showcase for future elite sporting talents.
2006
In January 2006, Mills was awarded the prestigious RE Staunton Medal at the U20 Nationals in Perth.
As a member of the 2006 Junior National Men's Team, Mills helped Australia defeat New Zealand and qualify for the 2007 Junior Men's World Championships.
In April, Mills was a member of the World Junior Select Team that competed against the United States in the Nike Hoop Summit.
Mills was named the 2006 SEABL U/21 Australian Youth Player of the Year, averaging 18.1 points and 3.9 rebounds per game and helping the AIS to a 16–10 regular season record.
He finished the season third in assists in the SEABL, averaging 4.37 per game.
Also in 2006, Mills was the youngest athlete selected in the 22-man extended Australian Boomers squad ahead of the 2006 FIBA World Championship.
In July, he was named the 2006 Junior Male Player of the Year at Basketball Australia's annual Junior Basketball Awards.
Mills was named the "most promising new sports talent" at the 2006 Deadlys Awards.
The Deadlys Awards honor Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders achievements in sports, music, entertainment and community.
In addition to receiving the Deadlys Award, Mills was named the 2006 Australia Basketball Player of the Year and the National Sportsperson of the Year by the NAIDOC.
In November 2006, Mills signed to play college basketball for Saint Mary's College of California beginning in the 2007–08 season.
2007
In 2007, he became the third Indigenous basketball player to play for the Australian national team.
He joined fellow Australians Lucas Walker and Carlin Hughes on the Gaels for the 2007–08 season.
He set a Saint Mary's freshman record for points in a season with 472, and set the school freshman mark for points in a game with a 37-point performance against Oregon on 20 November 2007.
He was also a three-time WCC Player of the Week honouree (16 November, 24 December and 19 February).
2009
Mills was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 55th overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft after playing two years of college basketball for the Saint Mary's Gaels.
Mills played for the Portland Trail Blazers for two seasons.
2011
In 2011, during the NBA lockout, he played for the Melbourne Tigers of the National Basketball League (NBL) and for the Xinjiang Flying Tigers in China.
2012
Mills returned to the United States in March 2012 and signed with the San Antonio Spurs.
2014
He became a strong contributor off the bench and helped the Spurs win the 2014 NBA championship.
In 2021 he led the Australian Boomers to their first ever Olympic medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Mills is known for his three-point shooting and his leadership qualities.
Mills was born in the Australian capital city of Canberra.
Mills' father, Benny, is a Torres Strait Islander (Muralag) and his mother, Yvonne, is Aboriginal Australian (Kokatha ), the daughter of a white man and an Aboriginal woman.
