Can Mike Conley drive Wolves success

Now 38 years old, the public assumption seems to be that Minnesota will continue to wean itself off Mike Conley during the 2025-26 season. Every public comment from Wolves coach Chris Finch suggests otherwise.

Conley has been mentioned as a solution for jumpstarting the team’s transition play, improving point-of-attack defense and varying its late-game offensive approach.

That would all suggest a bigger role for Conley this season, not a smaller one.

Minnesota likely only has a championship-level ceiling if Conley is a heavy ingredient in the team’s formula. The floor general acknowledged as much, noting it’s why he put so much of an emphasis on making sure he was in good shape mentally and physically coming into the season.

A wrist injury effectively eliminated Conley’s offseason in 2024, and he struggled mightily coming out of the gates, never resembling his traditional form until midway through the campaign. Conley knows he wasn’t where he needed to be as a player for the Timberwolves to be at their best last season.

As soon as the buzzer sounded on Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals in Oklahoma City to seal Minnesota’s elimination, Conley had one thought: “Alright, how do I get back to who I was the year before that?”

Conley noted that players his age don’t generally make drastic improvements but added, “You can get back to who you are in certain facets of the game.”

It’s about “understanding I can be more of myself than I was a year ago and be closer to what I was in the first run we had to the Western Conference Finals,” he said, “and contribute in a way that it’s not just part-time or in the corner, but actually making plays and giving guys a rest and being aggressive. Those things don’t change.”

“I know people think I’m the oldest in the world, but I’m not too much older than the guys still playing, still productive,” Conley added. “You look at some of the best in the world — Steph (Curry), (Kevin Durant), Al Horford — guys who are really productive, they’re all the same age as me. … So I’ve still got a lot of juice and am trying to just add that to what we already have here.”

But returning to and maintaining past form requires commitment. Conley’s mind tells him he can put in the same amount of work as when he was 25 years old, but his body barks back. Pushing through to stack workouts through pain is a must.

A normal day in the offseason consisted of a 7:30 a.m. yoga session, 45 minutes of weights, conditioning and shooting drills.

“That whole time, I’m moving, I’m sweating, I’m in it. I’m tired, physically drained,” he said, “but I’ll do that every day.”

Then came the most important part: Treatment.

“I have to spend more time recovering. After 11:30 (a.m.), I’ve got to sit down in the cold tub, stretch, see all my people and whatever. I’m finally done at 1 o’clock,” Conley said. “That’s something that I’m used to doing, and used to be able to do that and not feel as bad. But as I’m getting older, you start to feel more. So, you start spending more time on the first or last session of the day.”

Conley endured a few bumps and bruises in training camp — in his preseason opener against Indiana, his leg bent awkwardly after he was fallen on by a Pacers player — but he played well in his final exhibition showing in Chicago and noted he feels “really good.”

Asked about the possibility of being the player he was two years ago, Conley responded, “I haven’t thought twice about not being that. It’s not even a worry for me.”

The veteran has been more vocal about wanting the ball in his hands, noting that role produces the best version of himself. And he clarified that having the ball does not mean shooting. Frankly, it’s usually the opposite.

“I want to play … all-time quarterback. That’s what I want to do. I don’t want to move. I want to throw it to you and let you guys just have the world,” he said of his message to prolific scoring teammates Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle. “We got a lot of guys who are capable of making plays and dominating that basketball. So it’s just trying to find a balance. I don’t want (the ball) too much, but I also don’t want to not have it at all.”

Finch begged for Conley to be more aggressive at various points last season, but the point guard never grabbed the reins with aggression. And when he reflected on last season’s shortcomings, Conley wondered if a more aggressive floor general would have opened things up for the Wolves.

“It’s not just a personal thing, where I want to be the best player in the world. No, (it’s) what can help the team?” Conley said. “If I’m being more aggressive or owning the ball more, maybe that cuts down on turnovers, maybe it gets guys involved differently, maybe it gets more structure in places that we need it. I’m all for it, and I want to do that to win.”

Aiming High

Timberwolves point guard Mike Conley wants to play the 2025-26 season the way he played in 2023-24:

Stat                 2023-24    2024-25
Points              11.4           8.2
Field goal%     45.7           40
Assists             5.9             4.5
Minutes           28.9           24.7