Outside of Memphis, Mike Conley has never been the most popular guy around the league. He’s always struck as an underrated player, a guy who can get the job done on both ends of the floor, but whose team’s pace doesn’t help him put the kind of numbers you’d expect from a top-tier point guard.
That, surprisingly, has prevented him from making a single All-Star Game throughout his career even though he was one of the biggest names on a perennial playoff team. In fact, he’s even made one All-Defensive team, yet he’s never gotten the All-Star nod.
Most people speculate that his 14th season in the league could be the one when he finally gets the praise and recognition he deserves, as he’s having a huge bounceback year and the Utah Jazz have the best record in the Western Conference.
So, when asked about the subject, Conley kept it 100% real and honestly admitted that it would be huge for him to make the game this season:
“That would mean the world to me, obviously. 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. I do feel like I’ve played well enough to be in that conversation and to, quite frankly, be one of those reserves,” Conley told the media, as quoted by Tim McMahon of ESPN.
Mike Conley was supposed to make a big impact in Utah last year and was a huge disappointment for most of the season. He finally turned it up in the bubble and picked up things where he left them this season.
Right now, he’s averaging 16.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.4 steals, and 2.8 three-pointers per game on 45/41/82 shooting splits, and while those numbers may not reflect what he’s doing on the court or scream ‘All-Star player’, he definitely deserves to get the chance.
