Mills, Samad and Hachimura chosen as flag-bearers for Opening Ceremony

TOKYO (Japan) - Patty Mills has shone on the big stages of basketball with Australia and the San Antonio Spurs and now he'll experience an even greater honor by carrying the flag for his country at the Tokyo Olympics' Opening Ceremony on July 23.

Mills, 32, is among several international basketball stars that will take center stage at the Opening Ceremony, with Iran captain Samad Nikkhah Bahrami and Japan star Rui Hachimura also being named flag-bearers.

FIBA Women's EuroBasket MVP Sonja Vasic was recently named as Serbia's flag-bearer while 3x3 star Agnis Cavars will have the honor for Latvia. 

Mills follows in the footsteps of basketball greats Andrew Gaze and Lauren Jackson, who were Australia flag-bearers at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and 2012 London Games, respectively.

Mills will be the first Indigenous Australian to carry the flag at the Opening Ceremony.

"Patty is an inspiration for all Indigenous Australians," said Australian Olympic Team Chef de Mission for Tokyo, Ian Chesterman. "He holds culture and country close to his heart as a proud Kokatha man (South Australia) and Naghiralgal and Dauareb-Meriam man (Torres Strait).

"Importantly, he is someone who turns ideas into action. Through his creation of Indigenous Basketball Australia (IBA), there are new opportunities for young Indigenous athletes to forge a successful path in sport and life, embracing their culture and unleashing their potential."

Mills made his Olympic bow at the Beijing Games in 2008

Mills played at the Olympic Games in Beijing (2008), London (2012) and Rio de Janeiro (2016). 

"As a proud Kokatha, Naghiralgal and Dauareb-Meriam man it’s incredible," he said. "A very passionate moment I can feel in my bones. But what does it actually mean to me to be a flag-bearer?

"My answer comes from how this particular person in past years, in this role, has impacted me. It's leadership, representation and it's insanely meaningful. It's inspiring. It's symbolic. It's emblematic.

"But I think my honest answer would be, what does it mean to everyone else? What does it mean to the team? What does it mean to everyone in Australia? The thousands of ex-pats living around the world? What does it mean to the next generation? The people that have come before us?

"Because those are the people I proudly represent and will carry the flag for. 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."

Swimmer Cate Campbell will serve as Australia's other flag-bearer at the Tokyo Games.

Iran captain Samad will bring further attention to his national team by carrying the flag.

Making the announcement in the Social Media, the Iran Olympic Committee said: "With the approval of the Olympic headquarters, Samad Nikkhah Bahrami, the captain of our national #basketball team, was selected as the flag bearer of the Iranian convoy in the #Tokyo 2020 Olympics."

Samad, 38, helped Iran capture the FIBA Asia Cup 2007 title and then played at the Olympics in Beijing the following year, so this will be his second time at the Summer Games. Iran have been one of the best teams in Asia for the last decade and a half.

Hachimura, who is just 23, has been a star in the Japan national team program for a long time, playing first for the youth teams and now with the senior team. In 2019, he appeared in his first FIBA Basketball World Cup in China. Hachimura was a standout collegian at Gonzaga University and now plays in the NBA with the Washington Wizards.

"The Tokyo Olympics is the stage I've always dreamed of," Hachimura said. "I am very honored to have such a big role."

The Summer Games were postponed for a year because of the coronavirus pandemic but measures are in place to keep spectators and athletes safe and healthy.

"Your health and safety are our top priorities right now, but I hope that many people, including children all over Japan, will take this opportunity to watch the performance of my teammates and myself nationwide during the Olympic Games," he said.

Yui Susaki, a gold medal hopeful in women's wrestling, is also carrying the flag for Japan.

In addition to Vasic, water polo star Filip Filipovic will be a flag-bearer for Serbia.

FIBA