Conley confident heading into 20th season

Basketball is a young man’s sport.

But Mike Conley, a 38-year-old who is entering his 20th season in the league, is determined to contribute in his new role with the Boston Celtics.

Brad Stevens signed Conley to a one-year, $3.9 million deal earlier this summer but, after 19 seasons, it is unclear what he might bring to his fourth — and potentially final — team.

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Heading into the 2026-27 season, Conley is one of only three players on Boston’s roster over the age of 30 (Paul George, 36, and Derrick White, 32, are the other two) and the oldest of the bunch. He’s from the same 2007 draft class as Al Horford, Kevin Durant, and Jeff Green, and has enjoyed a long, fruitful career. He will become the 14th player in NBA history to play 20 seasons when the 2027-28 campaign begins on Oct. 20.

However, his performance in recent years has sparked questions about how long that career may continue.

Last season, Conley averaged only 4.5 points and 2.9 assists in 18.4 minutes per game over 54 games for the Minnesota Timberwolves — a team that was desperate for solid backup guard play. His efficiency also nosedived last season. Despite career shooting averages of 43.6% from the field and 38.7% from three-point range, those percentages dropped to 33.5% and 33.7%, respectively, in 2025-26.

Nevertheless, Conley expressed confidence in himself while speaking with the NBC Sports Boston crew on Media Day.

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Shortly after Marc D’Amico pointed out that Conley was drafted only four months after his rookie teammate, Chris Cenac Jr., was born, Conley talked about how he’d like to impact the team.

“Come in and be the voice, be a leader, be professional everyday like I normally am and, when my time is called, I’m sure I’ll have opportunities to impact the games on-court, I’m always going to be ready to go and be that guy this team can lean on whenever that time is needed. So I’m just excited to kind of fill that role and be the guy that can help the team in any way,” he said.

Conley, who has yet to win a NBA championship, said his drive to win one is “never-ending” and that he hopes to impose his urgency for a ring…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/conley-confident-heading-20th-season-100000986.html

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Publish date : 2026-09-29 10:00:00

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