Grizzlies’ Mike Conley: ‘Very frustrating’ never to make an All-Star game

Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley is building a case to become the best player never to make an All-Star game.

Rather than carry that distinction, it seems he’d rather just make an All-Star game.

Conley, via Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune

“It’s very frustrating, but I know my team feels like I am, I feel like I am that All-Star-caliber guy,” said Conley, whose Grizzlies on Saturday played the Wolves for the third time already this season. “I just have to keep playing like that and get better as each year goes by.”

I understand Conley’s frustration. It’s easy to examine his career and believe it should have produced at least one All-Star appearance.

But it’s much more difficult to point to a certain year and a specific Western Conference All-Star and say, “Conley deserved it over him.” Absent that, any griping is moot. The Western Conference has produced great guards over his career. That might be frustrating, but that’s reality.

Besides, All-NBA should be treated as a more meaningful honor than an All-Star appearance, anyway (not that Conley has made an All-NBA team).