Leaving Utah for Minnesota, Mike Conley found Rudy Gobert and a more ambitious sporting situation in the immediate future. On the other hand, he had to leave his wife and three sons in Salt Lake City…
“I came home and tried to explain to my kids that they weren’t going to cheer for the local team, which was Utah, anymore.”, he explains to Andscape on his transfer. “My 6-year-old son understands a little better than the others (who are 4 and 2 years old). They were all like, ‘Minnesota? I never heard of it. I’ve never been there’. So they were a little excited. But I told them that I would be leaving the next morning, that I was going to catch a flight to Minnesota and that I wouldn’t be back for a while. »
This is also the rough business of the NBA. For Mike Conley, who did not want to move everyone during the school year, it is all the more complicated since his three children are very young. And that his wife, Mary, must now manage the small troop alone, with only contact with her husband by FaceTime.
“They are disobedient, cry a lot and don’t listen. We can see that they are not on their plate”continues the leader. “Once my 6-year-old son came to his wife and said, ‘I miss having two adults.’ These are his words. Have two adults, rather than just one. These things hit you and you think, ‘What can I do?’ We FaceTime as much as we can, we keep in touch, I call them every night before they go to bed, I read to them and stuff like that. »
Mike Conley has already experienced this with his father
Nevertheless, it remains a personal ordeal for the 35-year-old player and his wife.
“They’ve had a hard time and they’ve made life difficult for their mom for a while because I wasn’t there… They can’t wait to come to Minnesota.” I don’t think they want to finish school now. They just want to go to Minnesota” he explains thus.
Mike Conley is in a good position to understand his children because his father was also often on the move, since he was a professional athlete. Specialist in the long jump and the triple jump, he was thus Olympic champion and world champion, having to move away from his wife and their four children for long periods.
“I missed the birth of my second son. I returned from Europe urgently but arrived a few hours late. Yes, it was hard” explains Mike Conley Sr, who called his family from the hotel as often and as long as possible, his telephone bills being able to reach 800 dollars! “Sometimes I had to be away for months for the big championships. That’s what made things difficult. I think the first words I heard from Michael were on the phone: ‘I love you, dad’. I was thousands of miles away. It touched me a lot at that time. I was happy to hear it but I wasn’t there. I couldn’t even hug him. And at the time, he was my only child.
| Mike Conley | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2007-08 | SAME | 53 | 26 | 42.8 | 33.0 | 73.2 | 0.4 | 2.2 | 2.6 | 4.2 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 1.7 | 0.0 | 9.4 |
| 2008-09 | SAME | 82 | 31 | 44.2 | 40.6 | 81.7 | 0.3 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 4.3 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 0.1 | 10.9 |
| 2009-10 | SAME | 80 | 32 | 44.5 | 38.7 | 74.3 | 0.4 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 5.3 | 2.2 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 0.2 | 12.0 |
| 2010-11 | SAME | 81 | 36 | 44.4 | 36.9 | 73.3 | 0.4 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 6.5 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 0.2 | 13.7 |
| 2011-12 | SAME | 62 | 35 | 43.3 | 37.7 | 86.1 | 0.4 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 6.5 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 0.2 | 12.7 |
| 2012-13 | SAME | 80 | 35 | 44.0 | 36.2 | 83.0 | 0.5 | 2.3 | 2.8 | 6.1 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 0.3 | 14.6 |
| 2013-14 | SAME | 73 | 34 | 45.0 | 36.1 | 81.5 | 0.6 | 2.4 | 2.9 | 6.0 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 0.2 | 17.2 |
| 2014-15 | SAME | 70 | 32 | 44.6 | 38.6 | 85.9 | 0.4 | 2.6 | 3.0 | 5.4 | 2.0 | 1.3 | 2.2 | 0.2 | 15.8 |
| 2015-16 | SAME | 56 | 31 | 42.2 | 36.3 | 83.4 | 0.5 | 2.5 | 2.9 | 6.1 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 15.3 |
| 2016-17 | SAME | 69 | 33 | 46.0 | 40.8 | 85.9 | 0.5 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 6.3 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 20.5 |
| 2017-18 | SAME | 12 | 31 | 38.1 | 31.2 | 80.3 | 0.0 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 4.1 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 17.1 |
| 2018-19 | SAME | 70 | 34 | 43.8 | 36.4 | 84.5 | 0.6 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 6.4 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 21.1 |
| 2019-20 | UTH | 47 | 29 | 40.9 | 37.5 | 82.7 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 4.4 | 2.2 | 0.8 | 2.0 | 0.1 | 14.4 |
| 2020-21 | UTH | 51 | 29 | 44.4 | 41.2 | 85.2 | 0.7 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 6.0 | 1.9 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 0.2 | 16.2 |
| 2021-22 | UTH | 72 | 29 | 43.5 | 40.8 | 79.6 | 0.7 | 2.4 | 3.0 | 5.4 | 2.0 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 13.7 |
| 2022-23 * | All Teams | 63 | 30 | 42.2 | 37.9 | 83.2 | 0.5 | 2.3 | 2.8 | 6.8 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 0.2 | 11.6 |
| 2022-23 * | UTH | 43 | 30 | 40.8 | 36.2 | 81.3 | 0.4 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 7.7 | 2.2 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 0.2 | 10.7 |
| 2022-23 * | MIN | 20 | 31 | 44.9 | 41.2 | 86.8 | 0.8 | 2.6 | 3.4 | 5.1 | 1.9 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 13.6 |
| Total | 1021 | 32 | 43.8 | 38.2 | 82.0 | 0.5 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 5.7 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 0.2 | 14.7 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def= defensive rebound; Tot = Total bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; Points = Points.
