Mike Conley added another accolade to his 16-year NBA career Friday.
The former Ohio State and current Minnesota Timberwolves guard was named as the recipient of the 2022-23 NBA Sportsmanship Award, getting the Joe Dumars Trophy for the fourth time in his career: the most in league history.
The award is given to a player who “best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court.” Conley was selected from a list of 30 team nominees by nearly 300 current NBA players.
Conley also earned the NBA Sportsmanship Award during the 2013-14, 2015-16 and 2018-18 seasons when he played for the Memphis Grizzlies. He is the first Timberwolves player to win the award.
“To be able to win this award once says a lot to me, let alone four times,” Conley said when he learned of earning his fourth NBA Sportsmanship Award. “But it just speaks on what I think is the most important thing: the character of us as human beings. There’s so much made about us as athletes and what we do on the court; our skills and the things we are able to do in front of you and entertain. But this means so much more to me.
“If there’s one thing I can take away from being in the NBA for 17 years, I want to take four of these away, along with an NBA championship. Taking four of these away just speaks to so many people ahead of you and people before you — your family, your mother, your father, your brother, your sister, your teammates, coaches, everybody who’s impacted your life in a positive way. Even the negative things you’ve been through in your life, things that have made you stronger , things that have made you more aware, things that have brought more out of you. It says a lot and I am truly super surprised right now and super grateful.”
Last season for the Timberwolves and Utah Jazz, Conley averaged 11.9 points and 6.7 assists per game, shooting 42.8% from the floor. He became the 149th player in NBA history to reach 15,000 career points on April 8.
Conley was a first-round pick out of Ohio State in 2007 by the Grizzlies after averaging 11.3 points and 6.1 assists in 39 career college games in 2006-07.
in 16 seasons split between the Grizzlies, Jazz and Timberwolves, Conley has averaged 14.7 points in 1,024 career NBA games.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Mike Conley, former Ohio State guard, wins fourth NBA Sportsmanship Award