Jazz vet Conley: 1st All-Star selection 'would mean the world to me'
Mike Conley has consistently put up quality personal numbers for winning teams throughout his 14-season NBA career.
However, the veteran Utah Jazz point guard has never been named to an All-Star team, a distinction that weighs on one of basketball's most beloved characters.
"That would mean the world to me, obviously," the 33-year-old told reporters following the Jazz's 116-112 defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon.
Even with Friday's loss snapping the team's nine-game winning streak, the 24-6 (.800) Jazz retain the NBA's top record. Utah sits two games up on the second-place Los Angeles Lakers in the league standings nearing the halfway mark of the abbreviated 72-game campaign.
Conley's been a major part of that success on both ends of the floor.
After struggling through the 2019-20 campaign following 12 seasons as one of the faces of the Memphis Grizzlies, Conley has bounced back with 16.5 points, 5.6 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.4 steals in just over 29 minutes per game. Both his 3-point output (6.7 long-range attempts per contest) and success rate (41%) are on pace to be career highs.
"It would say a lot about me as a person after the year I had last year, to come back and compete at the level I've competed at," Conley continued. "I do feel like I've played well enough to be in that conversation and to, quite frankly, be one of those reserves."
Defensively, Conley's impact goes beyond the fact that he often shares the court with big man Rudy Gobert, the two-time Defensive Player of the Year. In 700 minutes with Conley on the floor, the Jazz's second-ranked defense has conceded a stingy 99.7 points per 100 possessions. That rate stumbles to 110.8 points per 100 whenever Conley takes a seat.
In 576 minutes with Gobert and Conley together, the Jazz have allowed an even more anemic 99.3 defensive rating, outscoring opponents by 16.3 points per 100 possessions overall.
The NBA's coaches will vote for the West's seven reserves. The path of least resistance might be to send Jazz pair Gobert and combo guard Donovan Mitchell, who were both named All-Stars in 2020.
But with Utah on track to own the league's best record when the remaining All-Stars are announced on Feb. 23, Conley thinks the timing is right to finally earn his own nod.
"I think this year, everything has fallen into place where we (have) the best record and we've got (Jazz coach Quin Snyder) coaching the team," Conley said. "It's all falling in line, so if it's not going to happen this year, that would be tough."