The Memphis Grizzlies are off to a good start as they are starting the season with a complete and healthy line-up.
What's more, Mike Conley is playing greater basketball for the team after missing some crucial games in the playoffs earlier this year. Despite that, he showed a lot of heart when he went on to play against the Golden State Warriors despite having a facial fracture.
Now, he's getting the attention he deserves after being labeled nearly as a bust after not living up to his draft status during his earlier years in the league. He was drafted in the 2007 NBA Draft, after his long time teammate in high school and Ohio State Greg Oden, former MVP Kevin Durant and Al Horford.
"It was definitely gratifying to know that finally, after eight seasons, people are starting to notice, it took me to break my face to get the attention," Conley told Yahoo. "Because I felt like I've been doing it for so long. And I've been that same player, but it really drew a lot of attention to me and my team and I'm really happy [the recognition] happened."
The point guard didn't let that affect his morale and now, he is considered as one of the premier point guards in the league.
"I use everything that was said negatively throughout my career, everything that wasn't said, all the years of being overlooked, all the years of being in the shadows, I was working, knowing that one day, I'll get my opportunity, one I'll prove to everybody what I can do," Conley told Yahoo. "And I just make sure that I'm ready."
This year, he was asked if he believes he should be part of an All-Star team. The point guard said, with a stacked Western Conference, it is easy to be missed out but that is not his concern at all.
"I got caught up in it a little bit last year," Conley told Yahoo about the All-Star team. "I really thought I was going to make it, and then I didn't. I'm just worried about the team. It's always been about the team. If I make All-Stars, I make All-Stars. If I don't, I don't. I understand it's so much talent and people deserving of it."
