The loss of three big names hasn't deterred Patty Mills from believing Australia can win it's first Olympic Games medal in men's basketball in Rio.
NBA youngster Dante Exum and top prospect Ben Simmons have ruled themselves out of the Boomers squad to concentrate on their burgeoning careers, while veteran Andrew Bogut is in grave doubt.
Bogut admits he needs a miracle to be fit for the Games, which start on August 5, after suffering knee bruising in game five of Golden State's NBA Finals series loss to Cleveland.
"Hopefully Bogut will be OK but he's a professional player and is going to do whatever it takes to be on the court for the green and gold," star guard Mills said on Thursday.
"But without them we still have a great team.
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"We still fully believe in what we can achieve in Rio and we've got our game faces on to get it done."
The Boomers tasked themselves with winning Olympic gold after qualifying for the tournament last August.
It's a goal they're sticking to and reaffirmed at meetings over the past 12 months, particularly among the squad's US-based NBA contingent.
"All the boys are on the same page with our goal and aspirations with what we're trying to achieve in Rio - and we mean it," said Mills, who is in Melbourne ahead of the Boomers camp from July 5.
"We're on a mission, we've got our game faces on.
"We'll go into camp with a meaningful purpose: to try and do something that no other Australian team has done before and we all believe it."
Mills said the amount of noise Australians were making in the US - namely Matthew Dellavedova, who is still celebrating his NBA championship win with the Cavaliers - provided an extra boost.
"We just hope that the support we've been getting for so many years keeps on going and keeps on building to make basketball a powerhouse sport like it was back in the 80s and 90s."
