Report: Mike Conley Added to All-Star Game Roster
Jazz point guard Mike Conley Jr. has reportedly been added to the 2021 NBA All-Star Game roster, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic. Conley's addition to the mid-season festivities is pending his clearance of the league's medical protocols.
Conley will replace Suns guard Devin Booker, both in the All-Star Game and in the 3-point contest. Booker is dealing with a sprained left knee.
Conley, who's 33 and in his 14th NBA season, will be making his first career All-Star appearance. He's averaging 16.1 points, 5.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game through 29 games this year, his second with the Jazz.
In the All-Star draft between Team LeBron and Team Kevin Durant, the last two picks were Jazz All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. The decision felt like a snub against the team that's currently leading the Western Conference, especially as LeBron noted that his team needed size before picking the 6'11" Domantis Sabonis over the 7'1" Gobert.
Mitchell and Gobert drew the ire of the league recently when they were critical of the officiating following an overtime loss to the 76ers. Mitchell called the referees' perceived missed calls against the Jazz "f------ ridiculous," while Gobert believed the Jazz were getting the short end of the stick due to their status as a small market team. Both players were fined for their comments by the league on Friday.
"We’re not able to get some calls that everybody else in the f------ league gets,” Gobert said. “We know that we’re the Utah Jazz, and there may be some people that don’t want to see us go as far as I believe that we can go."