Anthony Edwards says he used Mike Conley in NBA 2K as a kid

Mike Conley has become the kind of NBA 2K pick that tells on you. Anthony Edwards made that clear after Minnesota’s 104-102 Game 1 win over the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals, when the Timberwolves guard said Conley was an All-Star, one of the best point guards in the league, and a player he used to run with in the game as a kid.

“I always tell him that you used to be one of my favorite players. When I played 2K, I played with you,” Edwards said. That is the kind of line that 2K players immediately understand. Before a player becomes a résumé, he becomes a feel: the smooth left-to-right control, the quick burst, the floater that drops just often enough to make a user trust it. For Edwards, Conley was that kind of virtual weapon long before he became his real-life teammate in Minnesota.

The timing only sharpened the point. Edwards returned from injury and scored 18 points off the bench in Game 1, while Conley kept doing the same steady veteran work that has defined his second act with the Timberwolves. NBA.com noted in March that Conley’s veteran presence helps keep Edwards locked in during games, a reminder that the relationship is built on more than nostalgia. It is also built on Conley’s ability to settle a possession, steady a young star and make the right play without any extra noise.

Conley’s arc explains why he still lands so strongly with younger players. Born October 11, 1987, he was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Memphis Grizzlies and has played 18 seasons. NBA.com lists him as having appeared in 76 games for Minnesota in the 2023-24 season, when he shot a career-high 44.2% from three. That is the profile of a guard whose value has always gone beyond highlights, even if his game was made for the exact kind of 2K user who appreciates pace, touch and clean control.

Edwards had already shown that respect a year earlier, after Conley scored a season-high 25 points in a 119-100 win at Utah. Edwards said, “It may always look like me, but tonight it was also Mike.” That game carried extra weight because it was Conley’s first in Utah since the Jazz traded him in February 2023 after four seasons there. Taken together, the moments say the same thing: Conley has never needed superstar flash to matter, and for at least one All-Star teammate, he was always a 2K favorite first.