There was more than food on the menu for Mike Conley at a Memphis restaurant recently. He got a taste of humility.
As the Memphis Grizzlies point guard was eating with his father, Mike Conley Sr., a fan asked, “Mike Conley, can I have your autograph?”
As Conley Jr. reached to sign the paper, the fan snatched it away and gave it to Conley Sr., a world champion and Olympic gold and silver medal triple jumper.
“My dad started laughing and he was like, ‘Yeah, you are still my son. I am no longer known just as your dad,’” Conley said.
Staying humble is one of the character traits that Conley said his father taught him, along with being respectful and honest, working hard and carrying himself at a high level.
Conley’s mother, Rene, added another ingredient: faith.
“My mother is my biggest spiritual role model,” he said. “She has great faith and has always been very religious — her mother and her mother down the line. Everything she has done in raising me, I really look up to her for it. She got me headed in the right direction.”
Conley’s journey of faith has taken him through the rigors of the NBA, with its challenges, criticisms and lofty goals.
“Life is much easier [with faith],” he said. “You cut out a lot of nonsense. There are obviously a lot of temptations in the NBA. Being on TV, running into a bunch of people, you are always vulnerable to a lot of things. Being able to block that out and concentrate on your faith and living a good life is important.”
Drafted in 2007 in the first round (fourth overall) out of Ohio State, Conley has spent his entire career in Memphis and this season is having near career highs in scoring (13.4 points per game), steals (2.2 per game) and 3-point field goal percentage (.371). He became the all-time assists leader Dec. 21 with 2,223 when he passed former Grizzlies point guard Jason Williams.
A key to Conley’s accomplishments has been his unflappable demeanor, which puts the game into perspective.
“I understand that it’s never really too bad or really too good,” said Conley, who wears jersey number 11 because of his Oct. 11 birthday. “Having faith and believing in something regardless of the situation keeps you at an even keel and allows you to do the things you do.”
Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph said Conley was brought to Memphis to be a leader.
“He gets on us,” Randolph said. “He’s not a rah-rah guy. He is a great person. He’s got a great family and his faith has always been there.”
As Conley watched his family overcome difficult situations, including the death of loved ones, he knew there was something that got them through.
“[My mother] always seemed to have some kind of strength in her,” he said. “I just wanted to be like her more than anything.”
Conley’s message centers on Christ.
“Jesus means the world,” he said. “Jesus means everything. It’s what I live for. He is what I do my work for in the community, passing on as much as I can to anybody that needs it.”
Conley prays during the day and attends Bible studies before road games. He is a member of New Haven Missionary Baptist Church, West Helena, Ark., where his uncle Rodney Corbin serves as pastor. At age 10, Conley was baptized at Christian Life Cathedral, Fayetteville, Ark, and he attended Eastern Star Baptist Church, Indianapolis, when his family moved.
“It’s something that changed my life,” said Conley of the move, which happened when he was 12. “It got me really focused on basketball and allowed me to get where I am today.”
Tony Parker, an All-Star point guard for the San Antonio Spurs who has won three NBA championships, calls Conley one of the league’s 10 best point guards.
“He is one of the guys I have a lot of respect [for],” Parker said. “He is a great competitor, and I like the way he plays the game. He is very unselfish and aggressive when he needs to be. He plays good defense. He knows when to shoot, when to pass. He has great tempo and great patience.”
Conley, who is 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighs 185 pounds, has used faith to overcome critics.
“My inspiration to keep going is just being motivated by all the people who said I couldn’t do something in life, whether it is basketball, being too small or whatever it is,” he said.
He relies on his favorite Bible verse of Isaiah 54:17, which says, “No act performed against you shall prosper.”
“I forgave [the critics] after a while,” he said. “You get used to everybody being so critical of you that you just go about your business and worry about getting better. I never said, ‘I told you so,’ or anything like that. I always thank them and try to use it in some way in a constructive way. I’ve grown in a lot of areas. I’ve been able to handle a lot of adversity, a lot of ups and downs.”
Off the court, Conley plays video games, bowls and goes to movies. For the last two years he has been learning to play the piano.
He recently became engaged to Mary Peluso, whom he met at Ohio State.
“We have not set a [wedding] date,” he said. “We are being real patient.”
This transitional season, with its trades, has demanded patience as players adjust.
“Having faith and staying strong, just believing not only in myself but in my team and my new teammates and my coaching staff that we’ll be alright is getting us through,” Conley said. “Being a follower [of Christ], my life has changed. I have developed into the man that really appreciates life. I am not the perfect man. I make mistakes. I am willing to repent of them and sacrifice my time for others and try to be there for everybody else.”
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