It's a world away from his Monash backyard and a childhood of waking up to see if there was a new basketball under the tree at his family home.

But the San Antonio Spurs guard still gets that special feeling when he runs on to the court for a Christmas Day sell-out and a chance to keep living his boyhood dream.

That's why you won't hear him complaining about trading ham and turkey for a chance to edge closer to a second NBA title.

"We'd always do something with the family on Christmas eve in Canberra, Christmas Day was more relaxing and enjoying the presents," Mills said.

"It was always time to have fun with the family, but now it's flipped and it's almost the busiest time of the year.

"The basketball hoop that is still in my backyard in Canberra is from Christmas, all the family came over and helped set it up. I still remember having to put water in the bottom of it to stabilise it.

"It is crazy that 10 years later or whatever it is, I'm over here [in the United States] doing what I do now ... it's a big difference."

The Spurs will play the Houston Rockets on Christmas Day (Saturday AEDT), continuing Mills' stretch of playing every Christmas Day since breaking into the league in 2009.

The players do their own Kris Kringle and deliver presents around the locker room and in true NBA-million dollar style the presents range from gags to luxury.

But for Mills, it's about spreading the love. That's why he dressed up as Santa, complete with a Spurs Christmas hat, and delivered presents to local kids this week.

Some of the parents were reduced to tears as Mills joined teammate Rasual Butler handing out gifts and putting on a show as Slam dunkin' Santas.

"We still send out Christmas cards to teammate and do a Kris Kringle in the locker room. Some guys give some silly stuff and others put a bit more meaning into it," Mills said.

"It's work for us [on Christmas Day] and business in terms of trying to get better and chasing that goal for the season.

"But it's also about entertaining that we provide for families and the community. Families can come and check out basketball on Christmas Day. There's always a lot of buzz around it.

"There's a sense of Christmas for us as players, and we know it's not a regular game day. But you try to keep it as regular as you can. We're a family in the team, but we know it's game day and we have to get better."

The Spurs are second in the western conference rankings, sitting behind defending champions the Golden State Warriors.

The Spurs and Warriors have won the past two NBA titles, with Mills becoming the first indigenous Australian to lift the championship trophy last year.

Mills' 2014-15 campaign was hampered by a shoulder injury, but the Canberra junior is now fully fit and averages 8.5 points per game off the bench.

"I think I'm happy with the way I've been playing all season, I feel I've made vast improvements as a player and point guard," Mills said.

"We're still working towards that No. 1 goal as a team and that's to get back to that NBA championship. We're putting all of our experience together, we've got a new team and we want to maintain and keep developing."