Mike Conley Dishes on Jazz's 'Brand of Basketball'
Utah Jazz point guard Mike Conley came into the 2022-23 season with an all-time low trade value, considering his contract and age. But the 35-year-old lefty and 15-year veteran has started the year as one of the most impactful players on the roster.
The season is early, only 11 games in, but it appears as though Conley has turned back the clock to his former self. He is averaging a career-high in assists (7.5) and effective field goal percentage (.561), along with a career-low turnover rate at only 1.5 per game.
In a recent quote to The Athletic’s Tony Jones, Conley made it clear how much fun he's having.
“I’ve loved every second of being on this team, and we play a brand of basketball here that we haven’t played in a while," Conley told Jones.
It's obvious that the Jazz are indeed having fun together, and it seems the team has the leader it needs going into such an uncertain environment.
So many of the players on this roster have floated around the league without a stable environment to grow and progress. Conley has been the anchor for these players, arriving in Utah, and the mentor they need, including Collin Sexton, who continues to praise Conley anytime he can in interviews.
Sexton is returning from a torn MCL and is shooting a career-high effective field-goal percentage (.542) and a career-low in turnovers (1.7). He has a long way to go to being an impactful starting point guard, but if his strides in 11 games are thanks to Conley, his impact is even greater than he is given credit for.
Conley has always been a strong and influential voice in the locker rooms he shares, but over the past couple of years, he has had this voice drowned out by all the drama that came with a Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert locker.
In just 11 games, Conley may have restored his stock as a player, but his value in the locker room and on the court may be more important to the Jazz than his return on the trade market. Conley might not be the best player on the roster, but he surely is the most impactful, in more ways than one.
Follow Andrew on Twitter @ArembaczNBA.
