Carried by their Irving-Durant duo then reinforced by the arrival of James Harden, the Nets thought they could reach the summits. It must be recognized that they came close, one shoe size, for them to eliminate the Bucks, future champions, at the conference semi-final stage of the 2021 playoffs. But destiny decided otherwise and the project ended up collapsing at the end of last season with the quick departures of Kyrie Irving for Dallas and Kevin Durant for Phoenix.
Back in New York to face the Knicks with his new Atlanta team, Patty Mills returned to this beautiful mess in which he participated from 2021 to 2023. For the Australian leader, NBA champion with the Spurs in 2014, it was the numerous extra-sporting episodes which ended up getting the better of this group.
“There were obviously a lot of other things besides basketball. It’s difficult to be in a place where you’re competing to win a title, and I’ve been there before, where you have to try to keep the disruption to a minimum.” he confided. “It doesn’t matter if you’re fighting for a title, or if you have a target on your back, there will be things that will disrupt you. It’s just a matter of knowing how to deal with it. And we haven’t done the best job possible of managing these distractions. That’s what you have to be able to do at the end of the day.”
Kyrie Irving at the heart of too many controversies
It must be said that these famous “distractions” were numerous at this time, and mainly caused by Kyrie Irving between his vaccination status which prevented him from playing all of his team’s matches and his promotion of an anti-Semitic film which earned a suspension. We can also mention the inexperience of Steve Nash who ended up being swallowed up by these extra-sporting controversies, and finally the knee injury to Kevin Durant in January 2023 to complete it all.
“I think wherever you go, the best case scenario is it’s all about basketball, and figuring out how to get better on the basketball court. So when you look at the situation here, there have clearly been a lot of times where there have been disruptions that got the better of us and that had consequences.”he added.
While for his part, Kyrie Irving, who faced the Nets on Friday night with his new Dallas team, was delighted to have been able to leave Brooklyn, Patty Mills also said he was happy to have come out of this slump and having found a healthier atmosphere in Atlanta and more focused on basketball, even if the results are not there yet.
“It’s a great environment. What Coach Snyder has put together here is refreshing to me. It reminds me a lot of when I was in San Antonio with Gregg Popovich and I was able to run a ship. But the best part is the guys in the locker room. They are hungry, they are enthusiastic, they are talented and they want to progress”he continued. “You don’t have to worry about the work ethic of any person here. They are eager to improve and ask me questions. So it’s great for me to be able to add value not only on the pitch, but also in the locker room.”
| Patty Mills | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2009-10 | POR | 10 | 4 | 41.7 | 50.0 | 57.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 2.6 |
| 2010-11 | POR | 64 | 12 | 41.2 | 35.3 | 76.6 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 5.5 |
| 2011-12 | SAN | 16 | 16 | 48.5 | 42.9 | 100.0 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 0.1 | 10.3 |
| 2012-13 | SAN | 58 | 11 | 46.9 | 40.0 | 84.2 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 5.1 |
| 2013-14 | SAN | 81 | 19 | 46.4 | 42.5 | 89.0 | 0.4 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 10.2 |
| 2014-15 | SAN | 51 | 16 | 38.1 | 34.1 | 82.5 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 6.9 |
| 2015-16 | SAN | 81 | 21 | 42.5 | 38.4 | 81.0 | 0.3 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 2.8 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 8.5 |
| 2016-17 | SAN | 80 | 22 | 44.0 | 41.4 | 82.5 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 3.5 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 9.5 |
| 2017-18 | SAN | 82 | 26 | 41.1 | 37.2 | 89.0 | 0.3 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 2.8 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 10.0 |
| 2018-19 | SAN | 82 | 23 | 42.5 | 39.4 | 85.4 | 0.3 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 3.0 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 9.9 |
| 2019-20 | SAN | 66 | 23 | 43.1 | 38.2 | 86.6 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 11.6 |
| 2020-21 | SAN | 68 | 25 | 41.2 | 37.5 | 91.0 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 10.8 |
| 2021-22 | BRK | 81 | 29 | 40.8 | 40.0 | 81.4 | 0.2 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 11.4 |
| 2022-23 | BRK | 40 | 14 | 41.1 | 36.6 | 83.3 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 6.2 |
| Total | 860 | 20 | 42.6 | 38.9 | 85.4 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 9.0 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
