HO – Why Queensland champion Johnathan Thurston went ‘fanboy’ over an athlete from a completely different sport MINUTES before State of Origin kicked off

He was part of the greatest Maroons dynasty to ever play State of Origin but all Johnathan Thurston could think about minutes before game one in Sydney on Wednesday was basketball.

In a bizarre pre-game package, Channel Nine featured the Queensland champion interviewing Australian Boomers point guard Patty Mills minutes before Origin kicked off at Accor Stadium.

And Thurston could not hold in his excitement at interviewing the NBA champion, with Channel Nine anchor James Bracey saying he was acting like a ‘fan boy’ over Mills.

As it turns out, Mills is a massive Queensland supporter who grew up worshiping Steve ‘The Pearl’ Renouf.

Mills was born and raised in Canberra and is of Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal Australian descent, but his uncle is Queensland legend and Olympic basketballer Danny Morseu.

Thurston and Mills chat before State of Origin I at Accor Stadium in Sydney on Wednesday

Mills dressed as his hero, Brisbane Broncos and Queensland Maroons star Steve Renouf

Thurston and Mills spend time together in Townsville in 2017 at their bromance began to blossom

He explained to Thurston why he loved Queensland so much – and how he used to dress up as Renouf before Brisbane Broncos and State of Origin matches.

‘I always got chewed out for wearing it for every game, jersey, shorts, socks, [I would] decorate the TV console or wall or couch and everything was just this colour – Maroon,’ Mills told Origin.

‘I am Maroon to the bone.’

Mills, who won the 2014 NBA Championship with the San Antonio Spurs was also born in 1988, the same year the Brisbane Broncos entered the competition.

He is also a proud indigenous man just like Thurston and the two have built a powerful bromance in recent years.

Mills was interviewed wearing a Broncos jersey by Thurston before a New Zealand Warriors match last year.

He also made an impromptu appearance in Townsville in 2017 where he danced with local Torres Strait Islanders as an official ambassador for the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.

On Wednesday, he cheekily stole the microphone off Thurston and became the interviewer instead of the interviewee.

He asked Thurston who his greatest inspiration was as a child, with the Maroons champion humbly answering that it was his parents.