Mike Conley's All-Star Case
At the age of 33, in one of the most talented Western Conferences ever, Mike Conley might be at his most deserving of an All-Star nod. Does he deserve to make the cut?
Let’s start by looking at the players ahead of him that should be All-Star locks (based off of first looks--order is insignificant in this case):
Guards
Starters: Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic
Reserves: Damian Lilliard, Donovan Mitchell
Frontcourt
Starters: Lebron James, Nikola Jokic, Kawhi Leonard,
Reserves: Paul George, Anthony Davis, Rudy Gobert
That leaves us with two wild-card spots to try and fit in: Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Jamal Murray, Mike Conley, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, De’Aaron Fox, Christian Wood, Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, DeMar DeRozan, and a few others.
That’s a large and very talented pool.
If you were to look at just counting stats, Conley’s 17/4/6 would be at the bottom of the list. Therefore, the case for Mike starts and ends with advanced stats. But fortunately, it's a pretty compelling one.
Let’s start with on/off:
In other words, Mike Conley for MVP?
Probably not.
But...
He is also leading the league in FiveThirtyEight’s RAPTOR metric. Plus, he’s top 20 in RPM, BPM, Win Shares, Net Rating, and VORP.
Further, he’s the lead ball-handler on the team with the best record in the NBA. And (my personal favorite fact about his season so far), in the year that he has spent the most time off the ball, he’s posted career-high assist numbers per 36 minutes.
Bonkers.
Now, I concede that it’s unlikely for the Jazz to get three All-Stars despite having the best record in the NBA. And for a guy averaging less PPG than his back-up (24 PPG per 36 mins JC!). Further, the casual fan will not vote for a 33 year-old playing in Utah who is not an explosive athlete or previous champion/All-Star or a lead-leaguer in any of the traditional categories. But often, players receive a vote in part because of their legacy. I think this year's legacy nod has to go to Mike Conley (sorry Chris Paul!). It’s kind of like when someone wins an Oscar for their body of work rather than a particular performance. Well I think Mike Conley deserves one for his body of work AND because he is in the midst of his best performance ever. The dude is due. Cast your vote here.
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