The 20-year-old has been the toast of Otago since she started making provincial representative teams while still at secondary school.
But the Tall Ferns guard just hopes she can remain cool should she bump into the likes of American NBA star LeBron James or sprinter Asafa Powell at the Olympic village.
"I just don't want to be too buzzed out asking for autographs and photos," Bates said.
"I'll try and be a bit cooler than that," she added, laughing.
Bates is part of a 12-strong squad which will fly the flag for New Zealand at the Beijing Olympics in China next week.
The Tall Ferns have been drawn in Group B with heavyweights China and the United States and also have matches against Mali, Spain and the Czech Republic.
The Ferns will need to win at least two of their matches to make it to the second round and are targeting a win over Mali in their opening game on August 9.
"We've watched a bit of tape and they are very tall and athletic, sort of like Angola, who the girls played in Europe. It is a must-win for us and then we have to get one more."
Unfortunately, the timing of the game means the Ferns are likely to miss the opening ceremony, which is scheduled to begin about 8pm local time.
It is expected the squad would not get back to the Olympic village until 1.30am and, with the game getting under way before noon, coach Mike McHugh has suggested the team skip the launch.
"He [McHugh] has put it to us that we are going to be pushed for time and we're going to be on our feet for a while. So we have to make a team decision about it."
The players will do that once they get over there and get acclimatised.
But with so much at stake the team would probably opt out, Bates hinted.
For Bates it is a blow, especially when she is not sure how much court time she will get.
She is the third-string point guard behind Angela Marino and Noni Wharemate and will sit deep on the bench.
"He [McHugh] definitely said I was going to get some opportunities but it will depend on how the games are going, and who we are playing and whether I match up."
Should Bates get on court, her immediate family will be there to support her.
While she had made some big sacrifices and worked hard to earn a spot in the Tall Ferns Olympic squad, her siblings were getting a free ride to Beijing, she joked.
Tom (26), Henry (23) and Olivia (17) will join parents Robin and Jo in supporting Bates in Beijing.
Robin made the decision to shell out for the family after hearing his daughter had made the squad.
Getting tickets to the games and finding accommodation was a costly undertaking and cause for a sense of mirth for Bates.
"I'm the free one," she said.
"If I didn't make the team I wonder if we would have still gone."
However, while she enjoys taunting her brothers and sister about free-loading on her parents, she does not envy them fighting their way through traffic to get to the games.
She will be quite happy tucked away in the sheltered enclave of the Olympic village looking out for tall American basketball players and Jamaican sprinting stars.
