After spending his first 12 seasons with the Grizzlies, Mike Conley returned to Memphis, where his Utah Jazz took down Ja Morant and co. to take the 2-1 lead in their first-round series.
During his days with the team, he became a legend in Tennessee, taking them to surprise big teams and play for important things during his 12-year tenure at the FedExForum.
Now he’s facing his former team in the playoffs, trying to beat them to help his current side compete for the NBA championship. After the Jazz beat the Grizzlies, 121-111, Conley talked about his return to the city, saying this is a good challenge, but he’s still ready to do whatever it takes to help his team.
“It’s amazing to be playing against a guy like Ja, first off,” Conley said, via ESPN. “Just seeing a guy that’s so talented, he’s a young superstar in the league, wearing the jersey that I’m so used to wearing. Getting the cheers from the crowd that I’m so used to hearing. It’s surreal. It’s like full circle. You never thought that it would be this way. I never did, at least.
“It’s like sometimes you live long enough to become the villain, and I’ve become that for the Memphis Grizzlies now. Just got to take that in stride, continue to do what I do and have fun with that, have fun with the game.”
The Jazz finished with the league-best record this season and now they’re trying to make it to the Finals after those two trips in 1997 and 1998. They have Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert as their leaders. With Conley helping the two stars, this team might have a big chance to play in the Finals this season.
The journey won’t be easy, but this team has big expectations this campaign. First, they need to beat the Grizzlies, and, seeing how things have gone in the past two games, they are on the right track.
