Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Mike Conley Jr. has a goal of playing in 20 NBA seasons. This is according to a story by Andscape’s Marc J. Spears.
Conley is currently helping the Wolves battle the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals during his 18th season. He is mainly remembered as a Memphis Grizzlies legend after spending his first 12 seasons with the franchise. This is Conley’s second full season with Minnesota. He spent four seasons with the Utah Jazz in between.
Now 37 years old, Conley was drafted fourth overall in the 2007 NBA Draft. Only 11 players have played at least 20 seasons in the NBA. He is looking to join the esteemed company of the players below:
22 – Vince Carter, LeBron James
21 – Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Garnett, Kevin Willis, Robert Parish
20 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Udonis Haslem, Jamal Crawford
“I’m having a ball, bro, honestly,” Conley told Andscape. “I tell the guys all the time, ‘If you see a day where I’m not smiling and not having a good time and loving being here, tell me to retire. Tell me to go home.’ That is one reason why I’m here. Being around these guys, the atmosphere, the game. The competitive atmosphere every day.
“You don’t get this anywhere else in life, especially at my age getting older. You really can’t take it for granted.”
This is Conley’s third appearance in the Western Conference Finals, having reached there once in 2013 with the Grizzlies and last season with the Wolves.
Diet Changes Key To Conley’s Longevity
The year 2018 was a turning point for Conley after he underwent surgery on his left heel to address issues of a sore heel and Achilles.
After doing blood work, he recognized his body was deficient in certain things. He stopped eating red meat and made a strict habit of waking up by 7:30 a.m. every day but won’t eat until at least 11 a.m. He only consumes water during that time. He eats dinner around 6:30 p.m. and doesn’t eat after that.
“I do a good job of cleansing my gut and my stomach,” Conley said. “You got to get to healing from the inside-out at my age. Cut down the inflammation that’s causing pain and slowing you down at 35, 36, 37 years old.”
In addition, Conley says he does the cold tub twice a day and red light sauna, as well as pool work daily. It doesn’t stop there. He also puts in time for red light therapy, cryotherapy, stem units and lays on a softball to release pain from sore areas.
