Rudy Gobert spoke about Mike Conley’s importance after shootaround on Saturday morning, before the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 109-106 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
“He connects all of us on and off the court,” Gobert said. “He’s giving himself away for the service of the team, and that mindset is contagious. … It’s been a blessing to –”
Gobert paused for a second.
“I always talk like this, like he’s going to die or something,” he added, laughing, “But no, it’s been a blessing to have him for all of us.”
Conley isn’t dying, at least as far as we know. Still, for the 18-year veteran, the inevitability of retirement looms. While Conley hasn’t formally announced this will be his final season, his role and minutes have diminished. Conley is no longer starting for the Wolves, and his career-low 19.3 minutes per game suggest he’s entering a new phase of his career.
Pretty much every non-advanced statistic is at a career low. Conley’s 5.5 points per game is a career low, and his 38.1% field goal percentage is also a career low. Conley is pulling in 1.8 rebounds per game, also a career low. His 3.2 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.1 blocks are, you guessed it, all career lows.
However, you wouldn’t know it by how his teammates talk about him. They talk about Conley like he might be the most important player outside of Anthony Edwards on the Timberwolves. Veterans praise him, young players credit their careers to him, and he appears to be the driving force behind Minnesota’s championship aspirations.
Donte DiVincenzo explained why Conley is so valuable shortly before Gobert on that Saturday morning.
“He’s like the moral compass of the team, that’s Mike,” said DiVincenzo. “Everybody goes to him. If stuff’s going good, everybody goes to him. Even if stuff’s bad, individually and collectively, when he goes out on the floor, it’s a level of calmness.
“But also when he’s calling you over to the bench, your ears perk up to listen to what he has to say. It’s also a perfect example when he hits that three, he daps up and has a handshake with every single person on our team. That’s just who he is, and everybody rallies around him because his demeanor is what carries the team.”
Almost everyone on the Timberwolves says the same thing about Conley. He appears to be everything for the Wolves behind the scenes, but he seems to have been particularly crucial for the young players on the Wolves. Rob Dillingham explained Conley’s impact on his career this last Summer League.
“Very important,” said Dillingham. “I watched him do everything, like how he set up at the beginning of the game, how he set players up, [and] when he gets his shots. It meant a lot for sure, just to be able to see Mike do that.”
Dillingham later explained Conley’s importance to his life outside of basketball.
“Yeah, that’s my dog, honestly,” Dillingham said. “I don’t even know how to explain it. That’s my dog. I hit him up for anything. He’s the person I can relate to most, so I always hit him up, and he don’t ever hold it back, he tells me the real.”
Jaylen Clark echoed a similar sentiment after his rookie season.
“He’s one of the best people I’ve ever met,” said Clark. “He respects everybody the same way, he’s always on point time, never late. Always has a great positive attitude, never gets out of character. … Like, just how to be an all-around good person, he showed me how that translates to the game.”
But Dillingham’s impact stretches further than Minnesota’s roster. Even Iowa Wolves players credit Conley with helping them develop.
“Biggest takeaway from watching Mike is his everyday professionalism,” said Amari Bailey, a guard in Iowa last year. “How he’s just elite for everyone and how he’s uplifting because his body might not be how it was.”
After one season with the Wolves, Iowa Wolves starter Tristen Newton shared his thoughts on Conley unsolicited during Summer League.
“He means a lot,” said Newton. “Just him, see what he does… everything he does is about winning, so just watching him is going to help evolve your game.”
Literally every player up and down the roster, past and present, has spoken on Conley’s impact on the team. From late-night Call of Duty gaming sessions to staying late after practice to work on plays and actions. He even sits next to Edwards to help with film reviews.
Conley’s impact is everywhere in the Wolves’ DNA.
Jaden McDaniels described how Conley has helped his career after Minnesota’s win over the Clippers.
“Mike’s meant a lot for my career,” he said. “He’s someone I go [to] if I don’t know what’s going on or I just want to talk. Mike is a great vet, but he’s more than a vet to me [in] my life. He’s a friend, and it’s great to just have him on the team.”
Conley is more than just a vet to lean on for the Timberwolves. He appears to be the culture. From Iowa all the way up to the main roster, everyone realizes what they can do to repay Conley – win a championship. In the playoffs last year, DiVincenzo explained why the drive to win is, in large part, for Conley.
“Absolutely, that’s not just myself, but collectively,” DiVinenzo said. “We don’t know how much time Mike has left in his basketball career. We want to grab every opportunity we can and take advantage of it. … We all want to win for him.”
Gobert shared a similar sentiment when asked last season.
“For sure,” he said. “We all realize that every year you don’t get an opportunity to win a championship. … Wnd with Mike every day I’m like who knows, this may be his last year playing like (this).”
After the postseason ended, a reporter asked Anthony Edwards how much losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder hurt him.
“I’m hurt more so for Mike,” said Edwards. “I came up short for Mike. We tried last year and couldn’t get it. We tried again this year, and we’re going to try again next year.”
From a media perspective, Conley has also been valuable. Whether it’s his long-form interviews with Jace Fredrick at the Pioneer Press or his weekly appearances on KFAN’s Bumper to Bumper show, Conley is always available to talk on the team’s behalf. Conley has always given me the time of day to talk about how the role of point guards has changed, being a dad in the NBA, and even breaking down his excitement over fans winning the “bricken for chicken” contest in the fourth quarters of Wolves games.
It’s hard to explain to fans just how important Conley is to the team. He’s everyone’s confidant. He helps in every area of basketball, from film studies to even the simple things. In the video below, he tries to show Dillingham how to draw fouls.
Conley sets the tone off the court. He’s always the same, on time, and working hard. He mentors younger players and is a close friend to everyone in the organization. In essence, Conley’s legacy might go down as one of the greatest teammates in NBA history. Still, he says he never thinks about that when asked and usually deflects the compliment.
“No, I don’t think about it at all, and I’m not that nice, honestly,” he said.
“Y’all just know a side of me, ask Donte for real,” he said, laughing. “He’ll be like, ‘He’s not that good of a dude,’ but you just be yourself.
“As much as you can be authentic, as much as you can, and I’ve always done that regardless of the environment I’m in or how much pressure I’m under or whatever. It’s always lead the way I lead, and do what I do. It’s come off how it’s come off, and it’s truthfully who I am. I’m not trying to maintain it or anything, I’m just acting normal.”
The Wolves have started the season 15-9, putting themselves in prime condition to repay Conley for all that he’s meant to them. They’ll have a difficult road to the finals in the Western Conference, but the team is acutely aware that Conley likely doesn’t have much time left. (As a player that is. He’s not dying.)
However, if he never raises the Larry O’Brien, Conley will undoubtedly have left his mark on countless Wolves players during his time with the team.