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Patty Mills: Bala, Brother

Half of the students at Holy Trinity Primary School were enthralled by Yvonne Mills’ stories of Indigenous Australian history, but her time was up. She had another commitment before the assembly for older grades.

No problem, Yvonne said. There was an expert at the school who could give the same presentation, someone who could teach on 50,000 years of Aboriginal history.

Her 9-year-old son, Pat.

Almost 20 years later, Gregg Popovich gave a similar lesson on heritage to a crowd of Mills and his 14 teammates. It was June 3, 2014 – Eddie Mabo Day. The Spurs were about to begin the NBA Finals, and Popovich shared the story of the man who fought for land rights for Aboriginal Australians and was the first to win in 200 years.