It was in 2020, in the “bubble”, in the first round of the playoffs. The Jazz lost to the Nuggets after a final missed shot, at the buzzer, by Mike Conley. A shot that the Wolves leader has never forgotten, and he will have waited four years to erase it, and get his revenge.
“It’s hard to escape it. I haven't thought about it in the last 48 hours, but for four years.”, he confided before the meeting. “This action goes on a loop. Sometimes it shows up on my phone, when I'm not even looking for it. I don't want to bring up this memory too much. But at the same time, it's something I thought about during training sessions. I think about it when I'm having a difficult day, when I miss a shot. I tell myself that I have to succeed because I could find myself in this situation again. I might have the opportunity to do it again. »
Mike Conley, “arguably the most underrated player in the NBA”?
This night, the Wolves did not need a shot at the buzzer to win, but Mike Conley was again decisive with his defense, his leadership, but also his calm in the middle of the storm.
“I thought about it every series, because maybe it was an opportunity to break through and have a chance to win a title”he explained about this missed shot. “Opportunities don’t always come like that. We don't often get the opportunity to be so different. Some teams still seem to be at the top of the league. But right now, I feel like a lot of teams have the opportunity to go all the way.”
Indeed, for the sixth year in a row, there will be a different champion. There are still four in the running: the Celtics, the Pacers, the Mavericks and therefore the Wolves.
For Mike Conley, this is only the 2nd conference final in twelve attempts, and it is even the first time that he has won a Game 7 after four failures. Enough to receive the tribute of Nikola Jokic. “Mike Conley is arguably the most underrated player in the NBA. I love this guy. He's so good! »
