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Why Mike Conley should have made the 2017 NBA All-Star team
Mike Conley’s reign as the most deserving active NBA player to never make an All-Star team lives on.
During Thursday’s edition of Inside the NBA on TNT, the Memphis Grizzlies floor general didn’t hear his name called as NBA All-Star Game reserves were announced, continuing his long-standing snub streak. Though Conley was by no means a shoo-in to make the roster, he was well-deserving of the honor nevertheless.
An ill-timed back injury may have wound up costing the Ohio State product an All-Star spot, as he missed 12 of the Grizzlies’ first 47 games this season. Conley was never going to beat out Russell Westbrook for a reserve selection, but the injury may have hampered his case against the likes of Klay Thompson, Gordon Hayward or even his own teammate, Marc Gasol.
Though Conley isn’t the biggest All-Star snub among Western Conference point guards—that honor belongs to Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers—his exclusion is nevertheless notable for the following three reasons in particular.
Jan 25, 2017; Memphis, TN, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley (11) dribbles in the second half against the Toronto Raptors at FedExForum. Memphis defeated Toronto 101-99. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
He’s playing at a career-best level
Pick a metric, any metric. Almost regardless of which one you choose, Conley will be performing at a career-best level in 2016-17.
For those beholden to per-game production, the 18.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.3 triples Conley has averaged through his first 35 outings all represent career highs. He’s also setting new personal bests in player efficiency rating (21.1), true shooting percentage (57.1), Win Shares per 48 minutes (.178) and Box Plus-Minus (4.6), despite posting a career-high usage rate (25.9), too. Whereas some players struggle to maintain their efficiency with an increased number of possessions, Conley has thrived in such a role.
As ESPN.com’s Zach Lowe noted when discussing his All-Star reserve picks, Conley is living up to the massive five-year, $153 million contract he signed with Memphis this past summer:
Conley has always played with a certain caution. Some of that comes from the level of craft in his game — the change-of-pace dribbles and crossover moves he uses to prod defenses before finding something he likes. Some of it reflected a reluctance to be selfish, and take over. That is gone. Conley understands the Grizzlies need him to assert control over games, and he has the confidence to do it. He has amped up his scoring without sacrificing his always-feisty defense.
Here’s some additional food for thought: Conley ranks 10th league-wide among point guards in ESPN.com’s Real Plus-Minus metric (which does not include James Harden at that position). Among the Western Conference compatriots who rank ahead of him, Chris Paul likely missed out on an All-Star spot because of the thumb injury that’s expected to sideline him until March, George Hill has played only 24 of a possible 48 games, Patrick Beverley isn’t putting up anywhere near All-Star-caliber numbers and Eric Bledsoe plays for one of the league’s biggest doormats.
CP3 was an even more egregious snub than Conley, but in a perfect world, Paul should have earned a reserve bid and Conley should have been his injury replacement, as ESPN.com’s Kevin Pelton advocated.
Dec 29, 2016; Memphis, TN, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley celebrates a three point basket from the bench in the first half against the Oklahoma City Thunder at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
He may be Wolverine
The Grizzlies were one of the pleasant surprises in the first month of the 2016-17 season, but on Nov. 28, disaster struck.
During the third quarter of their contest against the Charlotte Hornets, Conley planted his feet and drew a charge against Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, but he didn’t emerge unscathed from the confrontation. Instead, the impact sent him hurdling back into Frank Kaminsky’s legs, which caused him to suffer transverse process fractures in the vertebrae in his lower back.
At the time, the Grizzlies estimated Conley would be sidelined for the next six weeks, which appeared to put their playoff chances in grave jeopardy. Conservative estimates pegged him to miss 22 of Memphis’ remaining 64 games at the time, which would have left the Grizzlies precious little leeway given Chandler Parsons’ infrequent availability.
Instead, Conley missed only nine games. He returned two-and-a-half weeks after going down, shattering his projected timetable and raising questions about whether he has adamantium coursing through his body. Between his sooner-than-expected recovery from this injury and him only missing three games with a facial fracture during the 2015 playoffs, Conley has basically become the NBA’s version of Wolverine.
“I was in the training room eight hours a day,” he told ESPN.com’s Ramona Shelburne when asked about his speedy return. “It was one of those mind-over-matter things. You just believe in positive thinking. And you can do a lot more with the body than you think you can.”
What’s even more insane: Based on his per-game production before and after going down, you’d have no way of knowing the amount of trauma his body endured. Prior to getting hurt, Conley poured in 19.2 points, 5.7 assists, 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 triples and 1.4 steals in just 32.2 minutes across his first 17 games. Since returning, he’s averaging 18.1 points, 6.6 assists, 4.1 rebounds, 2.1 treys and 1.1 steals over his past 18 outings.
Last March, a bulging disc in my back relegated me to spending most of my waking hours on a couch for a month. Two-and-a-half weeks after BREAKING HIS DAMN BACK, Conley was suiting up in an NBA game again. Coaches should have rewarded his toughness with a reserve nod, but it wasn’t to be.
Jan 20, 2017; Memphis, TN, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley (11) leads a fast break as Sacramento Kings guard Matt Barnes (22) and center Kosta Koufos (41) look on in the second half at FedExForum. Memphis defeated Sacramento 107-91. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
He deserves to shed the ‘underrated’ label
Is it oxymoronic for the player with the richest contract in league history to still be dubbed “underrated” in some circles? Not when it comes to Conley.
“At first, it didn’t faze me at all, and then I got better and better as each year went on and I felt like I deserved a little more,” Conley told Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune in November. “I never kind of got that spotlight—and rightfully so, because there are so many good point guards in the West.”
While the point about his competition out West is valid—good luck outshining Paul, Stephen Curry and Russell Westbrook—Conley has been deserving of more national recognition for years. In a January 2015 article for Grantland, Jonathan Abrams argued as much, writing, “He is one of the league’s best orchestrators for one of the league’s best teams, and he serves as the guiding, steadying influence on an emotional roster.”
In the two years since, nothing about that sentiment has changed. Last season, the Grizzlies had a net rating of plus-1.6 with Conley on the court as opposed to the minus-6.4 they posted with him on the bench. The difference hasn’t been as profound this year—they have a plus-1.4 with him on the court and a minus-0.6 with him off—but he remains a two-way fulcrum for the never-say-die Grit-and-Grind Grizzlies and has them headed toward their seventh straight playoff berth.
Though Conley’s place in Memphis franchise history is long secure, he recognizes the lack of All-Star appearances could affect his legacy down the line.
“There’s a little bit of that respect that’s left out there,” Conley told ESPN.com’s Ramona Shelburne. “Like if you could just make it, you know, get that under your belt, get that label, that people would respect you more. Because people will always say, ‘He never made that, he never did that, he can’t be as good as this person or that person.'”
Unfortunately, Conley must now wait at least one more year for that type of validation.
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