MEMPHIS, Tenn. — For a dozen seasons, Mike Conley would wake up on game days and head down to the FedEx Forum on Beale Street in downtown Memphis. Over those 12 years, he had developed routine, but on Friday, Nov. 15, 2019, things would be different in many ways.
Conley would still wake up on a game day, go to the same arena and see the same familiar faces he’d known for years and would play point guard that evening. But, for the first time, he’d be doing so in a new uniform on a new team playing against the men he’d called teammates, brothers and friends on his old team. This would be his new reality.
“It’s really weird. I’m not gonna lie. Everything just seems backwards because I’m used to coming in the players’ entrance and now we’re coming in a different entrance. I’ve never been to the away locker room before so I’m interested to see that and stay in the hotel.” — Mike Conley
“It’s really weird. I’m not gonna lie. Everything just seems backwards because I’m used to coming in the players’ entrance and now we’re coming in a different entrance,” he said. “I’ve never been to the away locker room before so I’m interested to see that and stay in the hotel.”
Conley is making his first trip back to his adopted hometown since being traded to the Utah Jazz this summer. Before this season, he had played every game of his NBA career for the Memphis Grizzlies and had become a local icon for his play on the court and work in the local community.
He arrived in the Bluff City in 2007 as a highly-touted young 20-year old rookie who was making the leap from big-time college hoops to the world’s best professional basketball league in a city that was still trying to forge an identity after getting its first NBA team when the Grizzlies relocated from Vancouver in 2001.
Having flown in Thursday night, Conley met with media Friday morning to field questions about his return to Memphis to play his first game against his former team in front of his old fans.
“Yesterday was a lot of seeing a lot of familiar things — the airport, seeing family when you get in and getting to go eat — just almost like it was yesterday we were doing the same things we were doing when I was a Grizzly. It felt good,” he said.
Regarding what it will be like to actually play his old team, Conley said he is looking forward to tipoff and going up against former teammates — many of whom he still is in contact with.
“I expect it to be competitive. I talked to (Grizzlies guard) Dillon (Brooks) and (Grizzlies forward) Jaren (Jackson) before we flew in so we’ve been talking for a few days (and we’re) very excited to play against each other,” Conley said. “Just like any Grizzlies team, you know that they’re going to play hard and it’s going to be a dogfight so I’m excited to compete against them.”
Regarding how he expects to be received by the fans when he is introduced before the game, Conley said he believes it will be positive.
“I expect it to be a great atmosphere. I know that we had the same feelings towards each other,” he said. “I love the city. I love the community and we’ve done a lot for each other so I’m excited to just be able to play in front of them.”
Grizzlies player support director and radio analyst Elliot Perry called Conley the “most significant player” to wear the Memphis uniform in the history of the franchise. Humbled, Conley said he was grateful to be thought of so highly and attributed the comments to time spent reaching out into the community as a member of the Grizzlies organization.
“That’s amazing to hear him say that. Elliot’s a great friend of mine and I think what he means more than anything is outside of basketball,” Conley explained. “I don’t have a lot of accolades to my name or anything but I was able to impact in a whole other way that I feel is even more important than on the basketball court. Hopefully, that’s the kind of legacy I can continue to leave here.”
Asked how the thinks he’ll play tonight with so much emotion built up heading into the game, Conley said he will do his best to keep his emotions in check.
“Thankfully enough, guys around me and the team, the coaches have just done a great job of supporting me through the whole last few days getting prepared and they’ve all said they got my back regardless of what happens,” he said. “I’m gonna go out there and play like we’ve been playing, try to stick to game plans and try to continue doing what we’ve been doing defensively and trying not to get caught up too much in the moment.”