Pauly belongs to the Wirangu and Kokatha peoples from the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia.

He has over 20 years’ experience in elite sport, youth development, and community engagement, including founding the Aboriginal Basketball Academy which provides mentoring, education, and basketball pathways for Aboriginal youth. He also has a strong background in executive leadership, cultural safety frameworks, and stakeholder engagement at the national level.

Pauly is currently the Indigenous and Multicultural Engagement Manager for the AFL and Indigenous Lead for Basketball Australia.

Pauly is a former professional basketball player for the Canberra Cannons (NBL), he was also a member of the Melbourne Tigers Development Squad and played over 350 games in NBL1 (formerly ABA) for Woodville District Basketball Club.  He is currently coaching an U16 Girls Division 1 team at Woodville Warriors.

Pauly has been the Chair of Reconciliation Action Plan Working Group for Basketball Australia since 2021 and was appointed to the High Performance Committee in 2025.