Spurs: Patty Mills' unusual gift to a fan sums up his heart

After he wrote his recent heartfelt goodbye messages to the San Antonio Spurs community, it finally sunk in: Patty Mills is no longer on the team. After spending the last decade winning the hearts of an entire city, he's now on his way to Brooklyn to potentially win another ring as he enters the later stages of his NBA career.

While Mills' philanthropy has been worldwide and helped millions, it was a local gesture of his that recently caught my eye. Replying to his goodbye message to the Spurs, a fan named Priscilla had this to say to the departing guard.

Naturally, this sparked my interest, so I spoke with Priscilla to get more details on the exchange Patty helped coordinate from a simple Instagram comment.

"I commented on one of his photos saying I make cups out of Topo Chico bottles," she told me. "He sent me a DM and hooked me up with their bottles for about 6 months until COVID hit and I couldn’t go anymore. I got to go inside a couple times. It was so dope."

The original comment was made on this Instagram post of Mills sporting a "Topos & Tacos" shirt in the Spurs' tunnel.

"I had season tickets so we'd go scoop them up before games. We'd literally walk on the court through the workout area to the lounge and they'd put a couple of totes onto the car, and then wheel them out through the back to my car. It was nuts," said Priscilla.

The avid Spurs fan estimates she probably amassed a few hundred bottles through the exchange, which she uses for her recycle-based Etsy store that repurposes them in creative ways.

I can't think of many NBA players who would take a simple Instagram comment and make such an arrangement as Patty did. It's another example of the type of guy Brooklyn will soon be getting, although I wouldn't be surprised to see him back in the Alamo City before too long, even if not as a member of the Spurs.

"It's one of the coolest things that's ever happened to me," Priscilla said. "I'll always cherish it."