The drought is over.
It took 14 seasons, but former Buckeye owner and current Utah Jazz owner Mike Conley Jr. finally made his first NBA All-Star team. He will join Team Durant as the replacement for Devin Booker, who will be left out with a sprained left knee after winning an All-Star bet in place of Anthony Davis, who lost the game due to a strain on his right calf.
Mike Conley: #NBAAllStar
Congratulations, @ MCONLEY10!!! pic.twitter.com/aXzMNgY1Da
– utahjazz (@utahjazz) March 6, 2021
For years, Conley has earned a reputation as one of the best players who has ever played in the All-Star Game, despite a career spanning almost a decade and a half during which he averaged 14.9 points, 5.6 assists, three rebounds and 1.4 steals.
Former No. 4 of the Ohio State National Team in the 2007 NBA Draft, Conley starred for years with the Memphis Grizzlies before being traded to Jazz before the 2019-20 season, when his former team began reorganizing their cast and start a rebuild. He struggled with his transition to Utah a year ago, averaging his lowest number of points per game (14.4) in eight years.
However, Conley recorded 16.1 points, 5.7 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game as a 33-year veteran point guard this season. He was not initially elected an All-Star, but due to injuries, his streak of just missing the cut came to an end on Friday night.