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.
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.
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 onto the rest of the team.
He acknowledged his longevity in the league, but reiterated a statement he made during his introductory press conference with the Celtics: he’s got a lot left in the tank.
“I’m waiting on the day when I wake up and I’m like, ‘I can’t move, I can’t do this.’ I don’t feel that. I wake up and I’m still moving quick. I’m able to guard defensively, still shoot, still do all the things. The role has changed a bunch — you know, as you get older, you start to get less on your plate and less on your plate — but I think that doesn’t necessarily speak to what a person’s still capable of doing,” Conley said. “Yeah, as the years go on, I do less and less and less as far as numbers and all these other things, but the impact and what I can still bring and how I can still effect games with my brain and with my body — I can still do it.”
Stevens, who said on Media Day that he may have first seen Conley play basketball in the 90s while they were both in Indiana, also voiced his confidence in Conley’s ability to contribute to the Celtics both on- and off-court.
“Mike’s just a guy that understands what it’s all about. He’s been in the league for 20 years. He still, when he moves, looks like he’s floating on the court. He’s always been that kind of athlete. But, beyond that, it’s just this wherewithal of how teams function, how to bring the best out in the people next to you. I think that, in an era where you probably don’t see as many ‘pure point guards,’ he was a pure point guard who sees the game, reads the game, thinks the game, like Joe wants our entire team to,” Stevens said. “I think it’s a great resource for our guys, and he can still really play, and so it’ll be fun to have him around.”
Luka Garza, who played with Conley during his time in Minnesota, said the Shams Charania tweet announcing that his old teammate was joining the Celtics was “one of the best Shams notifications ever.”
“I immediately texted him and was super happy,” Garza said. “What he brings to the table fits so perfectly with what’s going on here. … The professionalism, the mindset, the showing up everyday to work and the ability to be in a locker room and just have that vulnerability, that openness, to communicate with everybody there. It seemed like he was the glue that kept our teams together in Minnesota, so to have him here, I know he’s just going to have a great impact on everyone around him.”
John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
