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Clippers 2025 Exit Interviews: Patty Mills
Our exit interview series on the 2025 Clippers continues with Patty Mills, the seldom-used veteran guard.
Basic Information
Height: 6’2
Weight: 180 pounds
Position: Point Guard/ Shooting Guard
Age: 36 (37 in August)
Years in NBA: 16
Key Regular Season Stats: 3.1 points, 0.4 assists, and 0.1 rebounds in 5.1 minutes per game across 12 games played (zero starts) on 50/50/88.9 (1.5 3PA, 0.8 FTA attempts) shooting splits (77.2 True Shooting)
Postseason Stats: Only played four minutes in Game 7 in garbage time
Expectations
Patty Mills was considered a throw-in to the Drew Eubanks
deal, salary filler to help make the deal work. However, widely regarded as one
of the best teammates and locker room presences in the NBA, Patty Mills was
expected to remain on the Clippers as a vibes bringer for the postseason run.
On the court, it was hoped that he would provide a steady presence in garbage
time and settle his younger teammates if needed.
Reality
That’s almost exactly what happened. Mills barely played at
all in the regular season (61 minutes) and even less in the postseason (4
minutes) with nearly all of his appearances coming firmly in garbage time.
Instead, he was most notable for his active presence on the bench, with
constant towel waving, shouting, and excited gestures of various sorts for good
Clippers plays. There was no doubt that teammates and the coaching staff loved
having him, and every shot he took at home the crowd was ready to cheer their
guts out for him. There were no contributions on the court, but the vibes were
just as good as advertised.
Future with Clippers
This season very well may have been the end of the road for Patty as an NBA player. Patty will be 37 years old by the start of next season, and as a small role playing guard who has barely played the past two years, that’s a tough sell. I think it’s possible he gets signed by a team – Clippers or another squad – as a locker room presence and leader, but teams usually don’t like to “waste” roster spots like that unless it’s on a franchise legend. Maybe the San Antonio Spurs, the organization that Patty was part of the longest, would be interested in a farewell tour, but I find it a bit unlikely. If anything, Patty might go back to his native Australia and play there a season or two before calling it quits.
It has been an exceptional career for Mills, the 55th pick all the way back in 2009. He played almost 20,000 minutes in the NBA regular season and playoffs and won a championship in San Antonio. It was a pleasure to have him on the Clippers this past season, and I wish him well.