Memphis Grizzlies: 15 best NBA Draft picks of all time
Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. PG. 1. player. 2007 - Round: 1 / Pick: 4. Mike Conley. 211
“I’ve never liked the system. I feel terrible for our fans in the sense there was great anticipation. There are two superstars in this draft. Sure, there have been No. 1 picks that have failed. But there are two guys in this draft that won’t fail. It’s disappointing for the two worst teams in the league to get No. 4 and No. 5.”
Jerry West just after the lottery in 2007. The Grizzlies had the highest odds of landing the No. 1 overall pick and ended up with the fourth. The first overall pick went to the Portland Trail Blazers. Portland used it to pick Greg Oden. The Grizzlies took Mike Conley with the fourth pick.
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“I’m ecstatic. We dispelled the notion that our franchise can’t get lucky.”
This was Chris Wallace in 2009 after Memphis was projected to pick at sixth and shot up to the No. 2 spot. He used the second pick on Hasheem Thabeet. James Harden, Tyreke Evans, and Ricky Rubio followed were the three next picks. Stephen Curry was the seventh pick, one behind the sixth spot where the odds had the Grizzlies projected to be picking.
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Wallace took good luck, lit it on fire and tossed it into a wood chipper, the whole time feeling great about it because the team had finally been lucky. West wasn’t happy about the lottery results, it seemed like bad luck, but when the Grizzlies were on the clock, he made the right decision.
Since then, Conley has spent 11 seasons in Memphis and played more games than anyone other player. He’s been the point guard, the conductor if you will, for a stretch that includes seven of the team’s 10 playoff appearances, the three best playoff performances, and the three best regular season records in team history.
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He’s the all-time leader in assists, steals, threes, and offensive win shares and has single-season records in steals and assists. Conley’s been on the NBA All-Defense Team, but hasn’t made an All-Star team mostly due to the fact that he’s played point guard in the Western Conference with Chris Paul.
He’s averaged as high as 20.5 points per game in a season and 24.5 over the course of the playoffs. His high for regular season assists is 5.7 per game and in the 6.7 in the playoffs.
Over the last three seasons, he’s been hurt or Marc Gasol has been hurt, way more games than they’ve been healthy together. That’s given the team no chance of being competitive. Of the last 12 players the Grizzlies have drafted, only one is still in the NBA and he’s No. 14 on this list: Jarell Martin.
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He’s had five different coaches and embraced every single one. Conley has never picked up a technical foul, is respectful and humble in every possible situation. He’s simply been the most valuable and consistent player to every put on a Grizzlies uniform.