Aussie swim team's beautiful act for Boomers coach
The Australian swim team has given bronze medal winning Boomers coach Brian Goorjian a hero's welcome as he arrived back in Australia to quarantine.
In a post to Instagram on Tuesday evening, Goorjian showed off the team's heartwarming welcome as he returned from the Tokyo Olympics with the Boomers' first medal in tow.
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“Big time welcome from some of the Aussie swimmers as I start my 14 day quarantine in Darwin,” he wrote on Instagram on Tuesday night.
“Sound up.”
Australia's returning athletes have mostly been completing their mandatory two-weeks of quarantine in the dedicated Howard Springs facility in the Northern Territory.
The reality of the Boomers finally achieving the coveted goal of a podium finish was still sinking in for Goorjian in the hours after the victory over Slovenia.
Goorjian, 68, had returned for his second stint as coach after helming the sides that finished 9th in Athens in 2004 and 7th at the 2008 Beijing Games.
After the utter heartbreak of their loss in the bronze medal match at the 2016 Rio Olympics, as well as the 2019 FIBA World Cup, Goorjian was determined to ensure the Boomers would remain at the peak of international basketball.
"When you get to this game and to this point it was really the two guys next to me (Mills and Ingles) were the most invested in this; 12 years of work to do something that our country has never, ever done," he said.
"The game plan and what took place was the ball was put in these two's hands to make decisions in the half-court offence and carry the ball.
"We kept things pretty simplistic and it was something that they wanted and they wanted control of and it was decided before the game that was where we were going to go offensively.
"And we put numbers on the board that we haven't put on through the tournament ... these two decided the game for us."
Brooklyn Nets confirm NBA deal for Patty Mills
The Brooklyn Nets have confirmed they have signed Boomers captain Patty Mills.
While they did not disclose terms, Mills has reportedly inked a two year NBA deal worth $12 million.
Still buzzing from inspiring Australia's Tokyo Olympic bronze medal playoff win, Mills is now preparing to link with the Nets after spending the last 10 seasons with the San Antonio Spurs.
The 12-year NBA veteran averaged 10.8 points on 41.2 per cent shooting (37.5 per cent from three-point range) in 24.8 minutes per game over 68 games (one start) last season, hitting a career-high 161 three-pointers.
Overall Mills - who turns 33 on Wednesday - has appeared in 739 career NBA games, averaging 8.9 points, 1.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists.
The Australian guard was a second-round pick in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, where he spent two seasons before joining San Antonio.
Mills ranks first in three-pointers made off the bench (1,095) and third in points scored off the bench (5,919) as well as minutes played off the bench (13,007).
His 1,095 three pointers off the bench are the fourth-most in NBA history, trailing only Kyle Korver (1,385), Jamal Crawford (1,259) and Lou Williams (1,198).
He has missed just 12 regular season games over the last six NBA campaigns, appearing in 80 or more games five times in his career.
A regular member of the Boomers since 2007, Mills is coming off an outstanding Tokyo Olympics where he averaged 23.3 points and 6.3 assists.
Saving his best until last, Mills dropped 42 points in Australia's 107-93 bronze medal playoff win over Slovenia as the Boomers secured their first ever men's Olympic basketball medal.
With AAP
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