Patty Mills was a promising standout in the 2024 Paris Olympics, showing off his impressive talent at a high level when he delivered strings of fiery performances in the big stage for Australia. Now that it is all over, it seems that the blazing scorer from Down Under takes his talents back to the NBA possibly for the last time with the Utah Jazz in the 2024-25 season.

The Jazz have agreed to bring in a promising veteran in Mills, who enters his 16th year in the NBA after playing for the Atlanta Hawks and the Miami Heat in the 2023-24 season. The Jazz missed the playoffs in the same season, and adding the Australian guard could definitely see them some improvement in the coming campaign.

Selected 55th overall in the 2009 NBA Draft, Mills has been a promising player in the NBA as well, playing for a total of six teams before signing with the Jazz. Utah gets a reliable veteran and a reliable scorer in Mills, adding him to their array of guards in the roster heading into the 2024-25 season.

An Elite Performer in the International Stage

Mills has been praised for his ability to play at a high level for Australia when it matters most. Playing in all five Olympic Games for Australia, Mills led them to win their first medal back in 2020 in Tokyo, where they finished with a bronze award. On top of that, Mills led Australia to a gold medal finish five times in the FIBA Oceania Championship going for the winning campaigns in 2007, 2011, 2013, and 2015.

At the end of his national team run, Mills would finish as the fifth all-time scorer in the Olympics with 550 points, passing Wlamir Marques in the recent campaign. Mills has been revered as one of the best scorers for Australia, and it cannot be denied that he is definitely still at his high level of play despite being at the age of 36.

Mills iconically drilled a fadeaway jumper to force overtime against Serbia in the quarterfinal over NBA MVP Nikola Jokic. Serbia would go on to win the game, 95-90 in overtime, but it was one of the most iconic games for Mills, who finished the game with 26 points on 11-of-21 shooting.

What Does Mills Bring to the Table for Utah

Now slated to play under head coach Will Hardy, there are a lot of expectations for Mills to play at a high level for the team. With Collin Sexton and Keyonte George locking up the starting roles in the backcourt for the team, it is easy to say that Mills will come off as a reserve in the squad and will even be providing the needed veteran leadership in the team in the season.

At his peak, Mills won the 2014 NBA Finals with the San Antonio Spurs when they defeated the Miami Heat – led by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. Mills was praised at the time for his fiery shooting from three and even scored a combined 31 points in the final two games of the series.

For the 2023-24 season, he averaged 5.8 points, 1.5 assists, and 1.2 rebounds in 13 games with the Miami Heat. He did not play a lot of games ever since he moved from the Spurs, but Mills sure can offer an impressive push in his game if given the chance in Utah.