Australian flag bearer Patty Mills: It's about identity, and being proud of who you are

History was made in more way than one as Australia announced their flag bearers for the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony.

The Australian Olympic Team will be represented by four-time Olympians Cate Campbell (swimming) and Patty Mills (basketball) at the Opening Ceremony in just 15 days.

Mills will become the first Indigenous Australian to carry the flag into the Olympic Games.

“As a proud Kokatha, Naghiralgal and Dauareb-Meriam man it’s incredible," he said during the live broadcast.

"As the first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flag bearer my connection between our country - the land, the sky, the sea, our culture, our history and this particular moment runs extremely deep.”

In what was a departure from Olympic tradition the announcement of Australia's flag bearers was made live on national television.

Normally, a special function would take place in the Olympic Village a few days before the Opening Ceremony, but this time the Australian public along with athletes bound for Tokyo all found out at the same time.

In an hour-long live virtual ceremony, members of the Australia's Olympic Team tuned in across the globe from the rugby sevens teams, swimmers to rowers in North Queensland at their training camps, to Western Australia where the hockey teams are based. While it was an early wake-up call for the basketball teams in Las Vagas, where it was 2:00 a.m.

Upon hearing the announcement, Mills received the Australian flag from his team mates before taking in the special moment.

The 32-year-old is one of Australia's best basketball players, winning the NBA in 2014 with his current team the San Antonio Spurs.

He first wore the green and gold for the Boomers - Australia's men's basketball team - in 2007 before making his Olympic debut under Brain Goorjian at Beijing 2008.

READ MORE: Brian Goorjian: The window of opportunity

Mills has always been a key member of Australia's squad, including their best Olympic finish at Rio 2016, where they feel just short of the podium.

Trying to put into words how much being named one of the flag bearers meant to him, Mills gave a heartfelt response.

"It's going to be hard for me to really wrap my head around this moment and even describe the feelings both me and Cate are feeling at the moment," he said. "But for me, what does it mean? I could probably try my hardest to describe it but I think, what does it mean to everybody else throughout Australia.

"The team, the thousands of expats that live across the world, the next generation - the young ones that are coming through, the ones that have come before us.

"At the end of the day I think it's about identity, I think it's about being proud of who you are and really showing that and being passionate about that."

Mills has been an active voice in the Indigenous Australian community even whilst plying his trade abroad in the United States. Earlier this year he launched the Indigenous Community Basketball League which connects with around 1,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youths across Australia.

"I think that you don't set out on your journey to become something like this, it's fair to say that everyone goes about their business...I think on the other side on the fence it's about staying connected to where you're from and your country and even more so when you move across the other side of the world," he said.

"I come from a small community so to be in a position where I can give back to where I came [from], is obviously important. Not only to the community where I'm from but else where as well."

For the first time, the International Olympic Committee has decreed that a male and female carry the flag of each nation at the ceremony.

While this isn't the first time Australia has had dual flag bearers - that honour goes to sprinter Denise Boyd and long-distance runner Max Metzker at the Moscow 1980 Games - Mills was looking forward to being able to share the moment.

"I'm looking forward to being able to share this moment with someone, in past experiences so far it's been the lone solider at the front so to be able to share that moment will be very special," Mills said.

And even though it was 3:00 a.m, Mills excitement didn't appear to be dying down anytime soon.

"Everyone keeps telling me I can go to sleep now, but how can I sleep after a night like this. I will still be wide awake."

Mills will become the third basketball player to be Australia's flag bearer after Andrew Gaze at Sydney 2000 and Lauren Jackson at London 2012.

On the hunt for gold

More history could beckon for Mills at Tokyo 2020 when Australia takes to the court.

The Boomers have never won an Olympic medal, finishing fourth on four occasions but at this year's Summer Games, more than ever do Australia want to bring home a medal.

And while some might say being named a flag bearer could be a distraction for the veteran Boomer, who plays a major leadership role within the Australian squad, Mills doesn't see it that way.

"We're here to... be able to achieve something that we have never achieved before," Mills said.

"For me who really gets going off stuff like this [being a flag bearer], like I said I think it compliments it. It adds fuel to the fire, it adds that other burning sensation to go on and achieve a gold medal."