San Antonio Spurs: Patty Mills is a man possessed going into this season

Entering his 12th NBA season, Patty Mills appears to be more pumped than ever to hit the hardwood with the San Antonio Spurs.

Patty Mills is not messing around this year. Going into his tenth season with the San Antonio Spurs, the Aussie has been all over social media talking a big game about his upcoming campaign. Although the team’s focus appears to be heading toward a focus on the youth movement, Mills is letting it be known that he’s nowhere close to done yet.

Patty is coming off a season in which he scored 11.6 points per game, which is the highest average he’s had in his NBA career. While his role may be reduced with the influx of talented, young guards eager to prove their value, there’s still plenty to be said about the last man standing from the 2014 NBA champion squad.

“They haven’t witnessed that dude over here yet…but they will now,” tweeted Mills on December 2nd. The message was in response to a tweet pointing out that Patty led all scorers in points per game in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.

As the star of the Australian basketball team for over a decade, Mills has proven time and time again that he can score with the best of them when given the opportunity. After leading all players in points per game in 2012, he was second to only Bojan Bogdanovic in the 2016 Rio Olympics, averaging 21.3 to Bojan’s 25.3.

Patty’s tweeting didn’t stop there, as he responded to another fan the next day who asked if he’s coming for the throat this year.

That’s a nice way of saying it. https://t.co/yJM7HYZJwq

— Patrick Mills (@Patty_Mills) December 3, 2020

Maybe it’s feeling fortunate to still be playing the game he loves in such a crazy time. Perhaps it’s a renewed sense of urgency after missing the playoffs with the Spurs for the first time. Or maybe it’s just Patty Mills expressing his Patty Mills energy more than ever before.

Whatever the reason might be, Mills is looking more determined than ever as we head toward Saturday’s first preseason game against the Thunder.

Had to refine my direction. Mind shifted. Leveled up my focus and ambition. Now that fire inside of me.

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It’s good to be back – I’m comin’ for it. pic.twitter.com/UxTnuMY9JA

— Patrick Mills (@Patty_Mills) December 6, 2020

With Derrick White and Keldon Johnson potentially missing some time early on, the Spurs will need their veteran point guard to be as tenacious as he’s ever been to make sure they don’t fall behind early in the Western Conference. As Patty likes to say, “game day, balla, game day” is just around the corner — and he’s ready.