Jazz owner Mike Conley Jr. was reportedly added to the NBA All-Star Game’s 2021 list, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic. Conley’s addition to the mid-season festivities is pending his release from the league’s medical protocols.
Conley will replace Suns guard Devin Booker, both in the All-Star game and in the 3-point competition. Booker is dealing with a sprained left knee.
Conley, who is 33 and in the NBA’s 14th season, will make his first All-Star appearance in his career. He averages 16.1 points, 5.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game in 29 games this year, the second with Jazz.
In the All-Star draft between Team LeBron and Team Kevin Durant, the last two choices were Jazz All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. The decision seemed like an affront to the team leading the Western Conference, especially since LeBron noted that his team needed size before choosing Domantis Sabonis from 6’11 “over Gobert from 7’1”.
Mitchell and Gobert drew the ire of the league recently when they criticized the referee after a loss in the 76ers overtime. Mitchell called the missed calls from the referees against Jazz “f —— ridiculous”, while Gobert believed that Jazz was losing the advantage due to its status as a small market team. Both players were fined for their comments by the league on Friday.
“We can’t get some calls that everyone in the f —— league gets,” said Gobert. “We know that we are Utah Jazz, and there may be some people who don’t want to see us go as far as I think we can go.”