Before Mike Conley Jr. was 10 years old, he filled hotel bathtubs with ice and sat in them because that’s what he saw his father, Michael Conley Sr., do to prepare for track meets. Today, he most likely soaks in ice baths regularly after playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves to recover properly. A ten-year-old doesn’t need to soak in ice baths, but he began a practice that has helped him become an 18-year NBA veteran.
It all started with him trying to Be Like Mike, his father, that is.
Conley Sr. attended the University of Arkansas. From 1984 to 1985, he tallied nine NCAA long jump and triple jump titles while earning 17 All-American honors. Conley Sr. broke numerous school records, including indoor and outdoor triple jump. The Razorbacks inducted him into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2023. However, before that, he competed in the Olympics, winning a Gold Medal at Barcelona in 1992 and a Silver Medal at Los Angeles in 1984.
Conley Sr.’s son Michael was five when his dad took home a gold medal. Being the child of an accomplished athlete can be difficult. People immediately have expectations for you, especially the media. However, parents can also pressure their children, which often discourages them from following in their parent’s footsteps and makes playing sports less joyful.
That wasn’t the case for the Conley family. Mike’s father allowed him to pursue what he wanted, but Conley Sr. ensured that whatever his son did, he would do it the right way.
“He allowed me to be what I wanted to be. He wasn’t forcing me to run track or follow in his footsteps,” Conley Jr. told Dan Barreiro on KFAN in September. “I felt no pressure from that end. He knew that I had a gift for basketball, and he pushed me to that. Like, ‘If you are going to play basketball, you will do it the right way.’ I learned that at a young age.”
However, Conley didn’t follow directly in his father’s footsteps. “I ran track a little bit in my freshman year of high school, but I hate running,” he said, laughing. “If I am going to run, I would rather have a basketball in my hands.”
His father’s impact on his athletic career remained prominent even after Conley Jr. decided he wanted to pursue basketball.
“My dad was my coach for the majority of my young life,” Conley explained to Barreiro. “He was always hard on me and tough on every decision I made, which allowed me to respect [the coach] even if they’re wrong. We were built a little differently [in the early 2000s] – you don’t let their words or anything like that get to you.”
The Memphis Grizzlies drafted Conley Jr. No. 4 overall in 2007 after one year at Ohio State. He has suited up for three teams and played over 1,100 games, which only 88 other NBA players have accomplished. During that time, Conley never picked up a technical foul. He consistently brings a level-headed approach to every game, a highly valuable intangible for a point guard.
His father taught him early on the importance of respect on the court, and Junior has never forgotten that, even during intense moments or when he disagrees with an official’s call. As a result, the NBA has rewarded him with the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year award twice. Once in 2018-19 and again in 2023-24.
However, never getting rattled and staying even-keeled wasn’t something Conley learned from his parents. He picked that up on his own.
“I didn’t get that from my dad or mom,” said Conley. “They both can get a little spicy. But they read the room well and easily, which is part of something I can do on the court really well in understanding people and different situations. But I can tell you if they were in some of the situations I was in, my mom is going crazy, and my dad might snap.”
Communication is vital in being a productive point guard. When the Wolves traded D’Angelo Russell to the Los Angeles Lakers in a three-team deal to acquire Conley in 2023, Chris Finch knew he was getting a pass-first guard who limits turnovers. However, Conley’s impact goes much deeper than what shows up in the stat sheet.
He helped unlock former teammate Rudy Gobert, who had issues fitting in with the Wolves after they traded for him before the season. Conley and Gobert reestablished the connection they found during three seasons together in Utah, a driving factor in the Wolves making their second Western Conference Finals appearance in franchise history last season.
“We’ve gotten to the point where we really don’t need to speak on a lot of things,” Conley explained to Barreiro. “Like in a game situation, there might be ten trips where he’s been setting screens and not really touching the ball. Then, I’ll look up at him; he will just clear out a side and tell everyone to move out of the way – one-five pick-and-roll, I know what that means.”
Conley, now 37, logged 28.9 minutes per game last season. Finch had a tough time taking him off the floor because he was important to Minnesota’s success. The Wolves had a 115.9 offensive rating when Mike was on the bench. When he was on the court, they had a 116.1 offensive rating. There isn’t much disparity between those numbers, but the Wolves missed his level-headed presence when Conley wasn’t playing.
Last season, only five players from the 2007 draft were still playing: Kevin Durant (36), Al Horford (38), Jeff Green (38), Thaddeus Young (36), and Conley.
Mike played the second-most minutes and games of those five, averaging 11.4 points and 5.9 assists on a career-high 44.2% from three-point range. Playing into your late 30s is impressive in and of itself, let alone anchoring one of the top teams in the West at the most talent-rich position in the league. It is a feat not only Conley’s dad could have predicted.
“No way,” responded Conley Sr. when Darren Wolfson of KSTP asked him if he predicted his son would still play at a high level this late in his career. “I thought if he wanted to, he could play for a long time if he stayed healthy, but only because of how he plays. It doesn’t matter if he jumps higher than you … [even though] he had a 41-inch vertical jump coming into the draft, but people don’t realize that. He is crazy fast, but you don’t realize that about him either. … He doesn’t necessarily use all of that when he plays the game.”
On top of being an accomplished track athlete, Conley Sr. – who stands at 6’1″ – competed in the 1992 Footlocker Slam Fest, where he dunked from behind the free throw line.
“He took off, probably about a foot behind the free throw line, which helps when you are a long jumper,” Conley Jr. said about his dad’s dunk. “He could bounce and had big hands, so he could palm it and stretch out. That is one of his claims to fame.”
Conley Jr. always had his father’s athletic gene, but he chose to focus on the long term early in his career – one of the many decisions that have helped him play for so long.
“In high school, I was dunking all the time. But then I started doing this thing that I call a floater, which took over because I was tired of getting knocked down,” Conley Jr. explained to Barreiro. “When you jump up there and get your legs taken out for a little person, it’s a long way down. I wanted to play for a long time, so I changed that and worked on the other parts of my game.”
Finding little ways to prolong his career led Conley further in the NBA than he probably imagined. He has come a long way from taking ice baths as a preteen, paving an illustrious professional basketball career.
Entering his 18th season in the NBA, Conley remains Minnesota’s starting point guard. He will again lead his team’s offense, as he has done for nearly two decades. We know he is capable, even at his older age, but the challenge now lies in finding him a balance.
“When he is all in, he is all in,” said Conley Sr. “If I called Mike and said, ‘Hey, I think you need to rest the first game,’ he would look at me like I have three heads. The only thing he can think about is not letting his team, the fans, or Minnesota down.”
Conley injured his Achilles in Game 4 of the second round against the Denver Nuggets last year. The Wolves ruled him out of Game 5, his first missed playoff game since June 16, 2021, because Conley could not walk. He has always been a warrior, dating back to his time with the Memphis Grizzlies, only taking games off when he has no other choice.
“There were games where, instead of taking them off, he is getting IVs and oxygen at halftime or playing with a pulled hamstring,” explained Conley Sr.
If teams aren’t cautious, injuries can become inevitable as players age. The Wolves will prioritize limiting Conley’s minutes and hopefully giving him more games off this year.
“We have to be aware of [Conley’s] age and all the miles he’s put in, but we really feel like we are a team that wants to play every night,” Tim Connelly told Barreiro on Friday. “Rest can be helpful at times, but some teams overdo it … Mike is really bright; he will tell us when he needs a night off. We know he isn’t going to play all 82 [games].”
Keeping Conley healthy and his legs fresh for the playoffs is crucial this season. However, he’s proven to push himself further than most players, so maybe he won’t tell the coaching staff when he needs a night off. As hard as it may be for Conley, he can’t bite his tongue anymore.
He is the master of Minnesota’s offense, and without him, it looked like a disheveled version of itself. Conley may feel helpless watching from the bench, but as he gets older and his role downsized, he can lean into another intangible defining Conley’s career.
His leadership.
Mike learned how to read a room from his parents. He understands that communication with his teammates differs depending on the person. Conley has mentored Anthony Edwards, and the two have developed a close relationship. They are entering their second full season together, but Conley already knows how to connect with the budding superstar.
“With him, it’s being direct and honest,” Conley told Barreiro. “His personality can take over a room with his voice and aura. It’s easy for guys to take a back seat and just let him go and start taking. But sometimes you have to tell him to refocus.”
It’s all about constructive criticism between Edwards and Conley. Their relationship isn’t like that of an ordinary young player to a veteran because Edwards is advanced in his development. He’s already a bonafide star. Instead of needing a vet to show him the game’s nuances, Edwards needs someone to push him in practice and hold him accountable.
“[Ant] might call you out for something, so you call him out right back,” explained Conley. “Just allowing him to understand there is a constructive way to speak to each other. And that is why he is so special to me. He has all of that. He can dish out leadership and tell people stuff while simultaneously realizing, ‘Oh, I was wrong, my bad.’ That is important to have at a young age.”
Excluding Joe Ingles, Conley probably acts as the veteran for everyone on the team, being the second oldest. But he has taken 19-year-old rookie Rob Dillingham under his wing after the Wolves traded up to select him as No. 8 overall out of Kentucky to eventually replace Conley as Minnesota’s point guard of the future.
“We have a lot in common regarding our size, being 6’1” and 6’1”,” said Conley. “He is a little taller than I am … I think I can help him understand learning nuances.”
Minnesota Mike still appears to have a lot of high-quality basketball left in his career. However, as he eventually takes a step back, passing on the lessons he learned from his father and all the other tips and tricks he picked up along the way will always earn Conley a role in the NBA.
Conley Sr. is now an NBA agent, with his son and Isaiah Joe as his two clients. Conley Jr. could follow in his dad’s footsteps again, perhaps getting a coaching or front office gig in the NBA once his playing days are over. Those are positions that only the most intelligent and well-regarded players earn once they retire.
Some kids grew up trying to Be Like Mike, Michael Jordan. Perhaps those kids bought his shoes, wore No. 23, and pretended they were Jordan, hitting a game-winner in their driveway. The Chicago Bulls won their second-straight championship in 1992, and Jordan won his third MVP. Conley probably knew vaguely about it, hearing it from a friend on the playground or seeing it on the news. However, his dad won an Olympic gold medal that same year. Unlike most kids in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Conley tried to be like a different Mike, his father.
