After an intense practice at the beginning of camp, Mike Conley reflected on the lack of true point guards around the league.
“I think a lot of these guys grew up playing in point guard-less teams,” said Conley, “and everybody’s just doing their thing as they go up the court.
“But if you have one on your team, you got to use them,” he continued. “You got to use them as much as you can. Because, yeah, I like to shoot in corners and stuff like that, but I’d much rather be in a pick-and-roll, or pushing the tempo, or finding guys on back doors, or just really kind of manipulating the game as best as I can for the minutes that I’m out there.
“That could be another way I can impact our team without necessarily just being a spacer or shooting if I’m open.”
Mike Conley further expanded on the need for his usage to increase, especially in fastbreak situations and when bringing the ball up the court.
“I told Ant and Julius…y’all know, I’m the last person that wants to shoot 20 times, so if I get the ball, it’s a good thing,” Conley said, smiling. “I promise y’all, I’m going to one of y’all, or I’m going to Rudy, I’m going to find you guys, and it’s not about me. So, hopefully that resonates a little bit and we’ll just kind of take off from there.”
At this stage of his career, Conley is truly a dying breed of player. When Conley entered the league in 2007, every team needed a point guard to set up the offense. Players like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Tracy McGrady were a rarity.
Teams needed a player to bring the ball up and run the offense. It was an era when players like Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, and Chris Paul held inherent value for their assist numbers and their ability to control an offense while shooting under 15 times per game.
So much has evolved since then. Gone are the days of a center and power forward playing in the paint as a point guard calls one for a pick-and-roll and hits the other on a lob. Gone are the days of the point guard recognizing a wing player hasn’t touched the ball in 111 minutes and hitting him with a pass. And gone are the prime Grit and Grind Memphis Grizzlies.
Mike Conley remains, though, and the Wolves need him to tap into that bygone era to control and run their fastbreak offense in the 2025-26 season.
The Wolves aren’t shying away from that. They are changing their fast break offense this season. They’ve said they need more structure.
Minnesota needs players who can run on the break, and it needs Conley to control the flow in those situations. The Wolves ranked 27th in fastbreak opportunities last season. Although they didn’t have as many fastbreak chances, they ranked third in efficiency. The premise for the change is to maximize an area of offense where the team is efficient, but it doesn’t take full advantage of it.
Chris Finch has tasked his players to add the structure that was commonplace in the NBA 20 years ago. If Rudy Gobert grabs the rebound on an opposing shot, the wings need to run in transition as soon as they realize that.
When Gobert pulls down that rebound, Conley should be the only player waiting in the backcourt for the ball. Gobert throws the pass to Conley, and Conley must sprint the ball up off the dribble or kick it further up to Anthony Edwards, Donte DiVincenzo, or Jaden McDaniels. Then, Julius Randle or Naz Reid trails behind the three, pushing the pace for a kick-back three, as Gobert runs from rim to rim as a slasher.
Mike Conley finds Anthony Edwards on 3-on-1 fastbreak for the open 3, and the Timberwolves are in the lead again. pic.twitter.com/LAOyqXhnmU
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) April 26, 2025
The play above shows what it could look like. A traditional fastbreak, Edwards and McDaniels running hard, Randle trailing above the break, and Gobert running full speed from rim to rim.
To anyone who has played basketball at a low level, or to people my age or older, this description may seem mundane. I would fully expect at least one reader to scoff and say Thanks, Andrew, for that bit of basketball brilliance.
However, it is somewhat of a rarity in modern basketball. The game has evolved past the outlet pass to the point guard. Now every team has a point forward or combo guard who comes back for the ball.
In Minnesota, this has resulted in numerous possessions where Gobert grabs the rebound, and Edwards, Randle, and Conley are all standing or running back to the ball. It’s a big reason the Wolves ranked 25th in pace of play last season. The Wolves ranked 26th in fastbreak points per game in the 2024-25 season at 13.6 points per game. If they could just turn that into league average at 15.7, that’s 2.0 points per game extra, every game.
Those two points per game alone are enough to raise Minnesota’s offensive rating from eighth last season (115.7) to fifth (117.7). The difference in the course of an entire season could be massive. Conley spoke after practice on November 11 and re-emphasized the importance of allowing him to lead the fast break.
“You can get guys easier opportunities and not having to stress as much on half-court offense and manufacturing baskets for guys or make or miss shots,” Conley said. “It’s just more about getting layups and easy looks in transition, and hopefully that’s what we’re trying to accomplish.”
Mike Conley on being the primary outlet on fast breaks again feeling refreshing
“It is, it is, it definitely does. It does a lot for a guard to just kind of have more command of the game. You get a better feel for the game, you stay in rhythm a lot easier” pic.twitter.com/WtyE3VYDTF
— Andrew Dukowitz (@adukeMN) October 11, 2025
The Wolves appear to have bought into the new system in the break. Randle has spoken about needing to run more, and Edwards has acknowledged he’s leaving points on the board by not playing in transition. McDaniels joked it’s an opportunity for him to play more of a one-on-one game. Despite the positivity towards the change, though, Conley remains realistic that it’s hard to change the human nature of younger players who have played without a traditional point guard.
“It’s about when they get in the game, like not letting their instincts take over,” Conley said. “All of us have natural instincts for the game, and a lot of our instincts are to follow that ball and go towards it after every rebound someone gets.
“So, trying to break that habit. Like they can tell me they want me to bring the ball up all they want, but if they can’t snap out of their habits, then it’ll be tough. They’re doing a good job of working on that and trying to make it easier for me and the team.”
Mike Conley on the young guys’ receptiveness to him running fast breaks
“They've all been receptive honestly. It’s about when they get in the game like not letting their instincts take over. All of us have natural instincts to the game… to follow that ball and go towards it” pic.twitter.com/DLRVeX6Ivm
— Andrew Dukowitz (@adukeMN) October 11, 2025
It’s probably unrealistic to say the season hinges on the Wolves embracing a true point guard in transition. However, the emphasis this offseason has been squarely on Minnesota’s ability to get out and run, with a plan in place to do so. Mike Conley is at the center of it, and the Wolves are asking him to do something that is not new to him.
The real question is, can the rest of the Wolves embrace the theory and let Conley control the breaks for an entire season?