Canberra star Patty Mills still feels he's contributed to the San Antonio Spurs' bid for NBA championship glory despite a mystery injury ruining his dreams of being on court for the defining moments.
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The Spurs will ramp up their pursuit of the title in game six of the series against the Miami Heat and sit just one win away from clinching their championship rings.
If they win the game in Miami on Wednesday, Mills will join greats Luc Longley and Andrew Gaze as the only Australians to win a title.
It should be the biggest moment of his career and a chance to soak up the excitement and jubilation at the potential of being on court when the Spurs win the title.
But in a cruel twist, a foot injury has left the talented point guard shattered as he prepares to cheer from behind the bench just days after having surgery.
It hasn't changed Mills' view on his role in the team and a championship ring would ease the pain of his busted foot.
''This is the NBA finals, an environment that I've never been in before and I don't want to miss it for the world,'' Mills, 24, said.
''It doesn't matter what kind of little scratch I've got on my foot … given the circumstances I can't throw my jersey on any more, but I can still play my role and do my job.
''That's supporting the guys and being there for the big plays … It's still the same feeling. I feel like I've contributed something to the team.''
Mills first noticed a problem after game three of the series last week.
He had surgery and just hours after he was released from hospital he was cheering his teammates as they secured a 114-104 win to take a 3-2 series lead.
Mills had only played 14 minutes in the series and would likely have only seen limited court time in the last two games.
Mills' ankle and foot started to swell up after he played six minutes in the Spurs' 113-77 thrashing of the Heat a week ago.
Doctors were unsure what the problem was, but a scan revealed an infection and he spent two days in hospital after surgery.
Now he's limited to cheering and using his cult following as the towel-wave master to help get the Spurs to another championship.
With the series returning to Miami for the last two games, Mills said the message to the Spurs players from coach Gregg Popovich was simple: ''We haven't won anything yet.''
