Memphis Grizzlies: Mike Conley One Step Closer to Next Level Following NBA All-Star Weekend

The Memphis Grizzlies’ Mike Conley has finally gotten a taste of NBA All-Star Weekend. Is this his last year missing out on the All-Star Game?

2019’s edition of NBA All-Star Weekend has come to a close. For the Memphis Grizzlies, it was new to see Mike Conley participate in one of the events, though it was not the Sunday game.

This is growth for Conley, now in his 12th NBA season. He had not participated in the All-Star Weekend festivities since 2008 when he earned the right to play in the Rising Stars Challenge for the rookie squad.

Mike has gone all decade without earning NBA All-Star accolades. Snub after snub, he has been right there. He has continuously earned the title “underrated,” but at this point, it feels more of a dig at his game rather than a form of praise.

Though Mike Conley is as humble of a starting point guard as you will find in today’s NBA, he has the right to beg for an All-Star appearance at this point. 12 seasons in and at 31 years of age, time is running out for the Ohio State product.

With the Memphis Grizzlies shipping Marc Gasol to the Toronto Raptors at the NBA Trade Deadline, a wonderful era of basketball came to an end. The Gasol and Conley pairing is no more. As the rebuilding phase begins for the Grizz, it feels as if this was Mike’s last big swing at an All-Star bid.

This is likely the case, assuming Mike Conley will play for the Memphis Grizzlies beyond the 2018-19 season. This is a portion of the reason why the Front Office has placed his name in trade discussions and will continue to shop him when trade season reopens prior to the 2019 NBA Draft.

It will take a change of scenery for Conley to finally achieve his All-Star dreams. Additionally, it will likely take a trade to an Eastern Conference club for this dream to come to fruition.

For instance, the lesser conference has provided five NBA All-Star selections to Toronto’s Kyle Lowry, a player in which Mike beat out for the starting point guard job in Memphis. This is the move that forced the Grizzlies to deal Lowry in the first place. Also think of Jeff Teague. Kemba Walker. These names have been and are All-Stars, but not Mike. Crazy, right?

If Conley would have been dealt to, say, the Utah Jazz at the NBA Trade Deadline, he would have been placed in the same scenario for All-Star voting. Western Conference. Lots of elite guards. A team with a mediocre record.

There are not many potential scenarios that could help boost Mike Conley to the next level. The league knows who he is, and at the age of 31, there is not much improvement he could demonstrate. He is good, but not “All-Star good” as long as he is residing in the Western Conference.

The face of the Memphis Grizzlies franchise took another step forward during this NBA All-Star Weekend. He received the invite to participate in Saturday’s Skills Challenge. Plus, he put forth a nice effort and nearly knocked off the eventual winner. Grizz Nation should be ecstatic that Conley earned the opportunity to represent Memphis and the Grizzlies in Charlotte.

Mike Conley is right there. He was already close to an All-Star bid, but now he is scratching the surface even more. Had the Grizzlies held on tight to their winning ways from the first several weeks of the 2018-19 season, it would have been a no-brainer to throw “Captain Clutch” into Sunday’s All-Star Game.

The Skills Challenge participation boosts Mike to another level — a mid-level, if you will. The full leap would be an NBA All-Star selection, but this was a consolation prize of sorts. He could have been bitter and not accepted, but he did the right thing and showed the basketball world that they should invite him back again in the near future.

For now, Mike Conley and his fans wait. He is in good health, and it will be time to prepare for the 2019-20 season soon enough. It will be another opportunity for him to get back to NBA All-Star Weekend.

Regardless of what his future beholds, similar instances have taken place with NBA players that were borderline All-Stars. According to Basketball-Reference, the top names that have boasted similar careers (statistically via win shares) to Conley through 11 seasons are as follows:

• Walter Davis (six-time NBA All-Star)
• Jeff Mullins (two-time NBA All-Star)
• Kevin Martin (zero selections)
• Mike Bibby (zero selections)
• Derek Harper (zero selections)
• Doc Rivers (one-time NBA All-Star)
• Dan Majerle (three-time NBA All-Star)
• Joe Dumars (six-time NBA All-Star)
• Billy Knight (two-time NBA All-Star)
• Lenny Wilkens (nine-time NBA All-Star)

Of these 10 names, three failed to add “NBA All-Star” to their respective résumés. It really boils down to winning and conference. Even a top-tier Western Conference scorer like Kevin Martin could not force his way to the All-Star Game.

Popularity and luck are also key factors in the All-Star equation. While Mike Conley has nearly exhausted his popularity in Memphis, Tennessee, perhaps a change of scenery could give him that extra boost he needs to get to play in the Sunday game.

As you can see from the aforementioned 10 names, Mike Conley has played his way into the conversation of some of the game’s best two-way guards. However, when it comes down to All-Star selections, it is due to things that are not fully within his power. For this, you cannot blame Mike. He is as good as an official NBA All-Star; he is only missing the label.