Minnesota Timberwolves guard Mike Conley Jr. became the 157th player in the NBA history to reach 15,000 points when he scored 20 points against the San Antonio Spurs in a 151-131 blowout win Saturday night.
Conley, who went 6-9 from the field, knocked down five threes in route to reaching the career milestone.
With the NBA having been founded in 1949, over 4,500 players have been in the NBA, meaning that Conley is among the top 3 percent of players in career scoring. He currently ranks 17th among active players with 15,002 career points.
The fourth overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, Conley has had an impressive career despite only being named as an All-Star selection once. In fact, only one player from his draft class — future Hall of Fame forward Kevin Durant — has outpaced him in scoring. He leads the class in career assists, however, with 5,890.
Following the game, Conley would say this of his achievement (h/t Chris Hine of the Star Tribune):
“Guys I’ve looked up to for so long. Guys I’ve competed against for so long and to be just a part of that group to get that threshold, that’s a legacy. It’s going to be there forever.”
“Nobody can take that away from me.” he continues. “It’s truthfully a grateful situation for me. I’m happy. I don’t know how I did it because I like to pass and be unselfish, but apparently I shot and made a couple along the way.”
Conley is one of the most complete players in the league, which is what's allowed him to stick around for so long. Currently 35-years-old, Conley is under contract with the Timberwolves through the 2023-24 season.
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