What do you think?
Rate this book
Patty Mills: Beyond Basketball
The story of Indigenous Australian basketball star Patrick ‘Patty’ Mills and his journey in the sport and outside it. A must-read for general sports fans and basketball (NBL and NBA) lovers. Interest in basketball (playing, NBL and the NBA) continues to rise annually in Australia and we have a growing presence in the NBA with record numbers of Australian players.
- GenresBiography
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2022
3 people are currently reading
9 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 14, 2024
As with the other reviews, the format of the book really lets it down. It consists mostly of detailed match reports, recapping Boomers or Spurs games, with stat lines and play sequences. It is the worst sports book for doing that that I have ever read.
I am unclear on how much this is Boti Nagi’s book or Patty Mills’ because I think that ‘feature’ is mostly because the writer/project team is trying to say ‘Patty Mills is the focus of this book, and Boomers team, but it is a team effort, so we’ll acknowledge that by calling it out in each match!’
I thought drawing focus like that could have been done by interviewing more people and then you could have players more in certain moments reflecting on the events, rather than wading through another Joe Ingles or Brock Motum stat line!
However, in still not thinking this is the best way to do it, the weight of this detail means that you can follow the threads of Patty’s playing career, and when it comes to the Bronze in Tokyo, it feels more significant. And this format does sit with Patty’s values- giving credit to culture and the past- exemplified by things like getting a party and Akubras made up for all the past Boomers once the first men’s medal is won. This understanding of the past also means the book can give credit to Australian women’s teams appropriately while still focusing on the men’s team journey. It also helps to place Patty’s career in the NBA context in a good way. He is not an NBA legend, but he is a Spurs one, and sometimes Australian players’ achievements get oversold or misplaced, because people want to fluff them up, so I’m glad this doesn’t happen here. I’d say the book’s credibility is excellent, it’s handling of many issues is well thought out. (I might just check if FIBA really hates Australia that much!)
I am unclear on how much this is Boti Nagi’s book or Patty Mills’ because I think that ‘feature’ is mostly because the writer/project team is trying to say ‘Patty Mills is the focus of this book, and Boomers team, but it is a team effort, so we’ll acknowledge that by calling it out in each match!’
I thought drawing focus like that could have been done by interviewing more people and then you could have players more in certain moments reflecting on the events, rather than wading through another Joe Ingles or Brock Motum stat line!
However, in still not thinking this is the best way to do it, the weight of this detail means that you can follow the threads of Patty’s playing career, and when it comes to the Bronze in Tokyo, it feels more significant. And this format does sit with Patty’s values- giving credit to culture and the past- exemplified by things like getting a party and Akubras made up for all the past Boomers once the first men’s medal is won. This understanding of the past also means the book can give credit to Australian women’s teams appropriately while still focusing on the men’s team journey. It also helps to place Patty’s career in the NBA context in a good way. He is not an NBA legend, but he is a Spurs one, and sometimes Australian players’ achievements get oversold or misplaced, because people want to fluff them up, so I’m glad this doesn’t happen here. I’d say the book’s credibility is excellent, it’s handling of many issues is well thought out. (I might just check if FIBA really hates Australia that much!)
April 30, 2023
An easy read. Patty is everything professional sportspeople should aspire to be.
Felt the book was a little too play-by-play when it came to some of the on-court descriptions and could have been trimmed. Renaming it “History of the Boomers over the past couple of decades” wouldn’t be completely misleading.
Nagy’s customary quirky humour unfortunately didn’t feature here, although wasn’t the most appropriate forum for it perhaps.
Felt the book was a little too play-by-play when it came to some of the on-court descriptions and could have been trimmed. Renaming it “History of the Boomers over the past couple of decades” wouldn’t be completely misleading.
Nagy’s customary quirky humour unfortunately didn’t feature here, although wasn’t the most appropriate forum for it perhaps.
December 14, 2022
A book for every Aussie Basketball Fan. If you thing Patty is a No. 1 NBA Player well by reading this book you are going to find out how much he is loved by the Basketball Coaches, playing partners in America.
You will learn that Patty is even a better Human Being. His roots are sound; he has been brought up to be an amazing person.
You will learn that Patty is even a better Human Being. His roots are sound; he has been brought up to be an amazing person.
February 14, 2023
A little too much play-by-play, but a worthwhile read. Patty Mills is a legend.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews