SAN ANTONIO (June 24, 2013) – The San Antonio Spurs today announced that guard Patty Mills has exercised his player option and will return to the Spurs for 2013-14 season.
Mills, a 6-0, 185-pound product out of St. Mary's College (CA), was signed by the Spurs on March 27, 2012 and later re-signed with the Silver and Black on July 12, 2012. In 74 games with the Spurs, Mills has averaged 6.2 points, 1.4 assists and 1.1 rebounds in 12.4 minutes. In his final two games of the 2011-12 regular season Mills set career-highs for points and assists. On April 25, he registered a career-best 27 points at Phoenix only to surpass that the following night in Golden State by scoring 34 points and handing out a career-high 12 assists.
Originally drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 55th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, Mills appeared in 74 games in Portland, averaging 5.1 points and 1.5 assists in 11.1 minutes. For his NBA career Mills has appeared in 148 games, averaging 5.7 points and 1.5 assists in 11.7 minutes.
A native of Australia, Mills has been a member of the Australian National Team since 2007 and represented the Boomers in the 2012 and 2008 Olympics. He was the leading scorer in the 2012 Olympic Tournament in London, averaging 21.2 points while helping guide Australia to the second round. Mills posted a tournament-high 39 points vs. Great Britain on Aug. 4, 2012. In 2008 he was the only collegiate basketball player to play in the Olympic Tournament and became the youngest player (21) in the history of Australia to compete in Olympic games in basketball. In six games he averaged a team-best 14.2 points.
Mills spent two seasons at St. Mary’s College. He was named the WCC Newcomer of the Year in 2008 and earned First Team All-West Coast honors as a freshman and sophomore.