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 17 years in the NBA, 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 have 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