Mike Conley Jr. has played for three teams over 19 NBA seasons. Now he’s making it four. The veteran guard signed a one-year deal with the Boston Celtics on Monday, according to Shams Charania of ESPN. Conley is 38 years old and will become the 14th player in NBA history to play 20 seasons. That group includes LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kevin Garnett, and Chris Paul.
Conley’s agents, Steven Heumann and Jessica Holtz of CAA Sports, talked to the Celtics on Wednesday morning. Charania reported that Conley had also consulted with other teams before settling on Boston. The Celtics had a chaotic free agency period so far, with all the noise around Jaylen Brown’s situation. But they quietly added a steady hand here.
Last season Conley played for the Minnesota Timberwolves. He averaged 4.5 points and 2.9 assists while shooting 33.5% from the field. Those numbers aren’t going to jump off the page. But Conley’s value has never been purely about stats. He’s known for his basketball IQ, his floor spacing, and the kind of veteran leadership that doesn’t show up in a box score. After the Timberwolves got eliminated in the second round by the San Antonio Spurs, Conley made it clear he wasn’t done playing. He said he wasn’t retiring.
Conley will likely come off the bench as a backup point guard for the Celtics. He can soak up meaningful minutes in tight spots, especially late in games when composure matters more than athleticism. That’s a role that fits him well at this stage of his career.
He was drafted fourth overall by the Memphis Grizzlies in 2007. He spent 12 seasons there, then played four years with the Utah Jazz before his short stint in Minnesota. Conley made the NBA All-Defensive Team in 2013 and was an All-Star in 2021.
The Celtics went 56-26 last season but lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Philadelphia 76ers. That’s not where they wanted to be. Adding a guy who has seen just about everything over two decades in the league — and who can still run an offense — is a low-risk, high-experience play. Boston’s rotation just got a little deeper and a whole lot smarter.
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