On September 1, 2020, the Utah Jazz were down 80-78 to the Nikola Jokic-led Denver Nuggets. Donovan Mitchell got the inbound from Joe Ingles with only 16.5 seconds remaining. He took the ball across halfcourt. As he drove to the rim, Bruce Brown stripped the ball right in front of Rudy Gobert, who was standing baseline.
As Jamal Murray would run in transition with only Mike Conley between him and the rim, Murray opts to pass over to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who missed a layup that would have sealed the game. Gobert had sprinted from the offensive baseline all the way back on defense and scooped up the rebound. He debates between pacing it up to Ingles on his right for a split second, but ultimately lobs a pass upcourt to Conley.
Conley would get the ball with 2.5 seconds on the clock. He would take two dribbles with his left hand, burst around Brown, and set up on the left side beyond the arc. “For the win,” the announcer shouts, followed immediately by, “and it rims out, Denver hangs on.”
Mike Conley didn’t leave his house for weeks after this
He’s thought about it for 4 years, waiting for another chance
So this had to be this way. It had to be Denver. Had to be Game 7
Conley’s Corner: Another shot at the shothttps://t.co/o9vhLtIaBFpic.twitter.com/DQxzofSpAD
— Jace frederick (@JaceFrederick) May 17, 2024
The camera pans to Mitchell lying on the floor. In hindsight, that might have been the best chance for Gobert, Ingles, and Conley until this year.
Now they make up the Minnesota Timberwolves’ veteran soul.
Gobert reflected on returning to the Western Conference Finals with Conley and Ingles (for the first time) after Game 5 against the Golden State Warriors.
“We’ve been through a lot. I mean, I love him,” Gobert said regarding Conley. “I just want to, more than anything, win for him. I just know how much he cares about winning.
“I’d say I want to do it for Joe (Ingles),” he continued, “but I don’t care about Joe.”
Gobert laughed as he finished that sentence.
Rudy Gobert on being in the Western Finals with Mike Conley
“We’ve been through a lot, I mean I love him. I just want to more than anything win for him, I just know how much he cares about winning, I’d say I want to do it for Joe(Ingles) but I don’t care about Joe(laughing” pic.twitter.com/vhmIaBu4ic
— Andrew Dukowitz (@adukeMN) May 15, 2025
Utah’s loss to Denver in 2020 was an unjust end to a 44-28 pandemic-shortened season. However, the ending was supposed to be just the beginning for the Jazz. They had a rising Mitchell, a defensive mastermind in Gobert, and Gobert and Conley’s veteran leadership – Utah had traded for Conley in the previous offseason. Add in their top-tier role players, Bojan Bogdanovic, Royce O’Neale, and Jordan Clarkson, and the future was bright.
The Jazz went 52-20 the next year and finished as the best team in the West. However, they lost in the second round to the LA Clippers in five games. The Terrance Mann game “exposed” Gobert.
In 2021-22, Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks dispelled the Jazz in six after the Utah had won 49 games. Donic took advantage of Quinn Snyder’s drop coverage defense, and ultimately, Snyder decided to re-sign after the season.
With Snyder gone, Utah traded Gobert to Minnesota in the summer of 2022, and they sent Mitchell to Cleveland shortly after. Ingles tore his left ACL in January 2022, and they dealt him to the Portland Trail Blazers at the deadline for Nickeil Alexander-Walker as part of a three-team trade.
After Portland waived him, he signed with the Milwaukee Bucks that summer (2022), looking for a fresh start. Only Conley remained, but not for long. The Jazz traded him with Alexander-Walker to the Wolves on February 9, 2023.
“I’m excited. Obviously, I love Mike, I love the way he plays the game,” Gobert said about Conley after the trade became official. “I love him as a person, too, so obviously I’m happy.”
With that trade, Utah ended its championship aspirations and prepared to rebuild. The team was unrecognizable less than three years after Conley’s missed three.
In the same trade, though, a dynasty may have begun in Minnesota. Conley fit in seamlessly with the Wolves and helped the team learn to play with Gobert. Conley and Gobert helped lead Minnesota to the playoffs, but their season ended in a five-game series loss to the Nuggets.
The following season, the Wolves made it to the conference finals before Dallas eliminated them. They signed Ingles in the offseason, and Chris Finch said adding him is more impactful than it appears.
“He’s been everything for us in terms of maturity, he’s helped all the young guys, he’s helped all the vets,” Finch said.
“Everyone always talks about you have to have vets on your team to help everybody, but the dirty little secret is, a lot of vets you may not want on your team. You know, they’re trying to hang on to their career, they’re salty, they’re selfish… not all vets are created the same.”
Chris Finch on Joe Ingles impact on the team
“He’s been everything for us in terms of maturity, he’s helped all the young guys, he’s helped all the vets… everyone always talks about you have to have vets on your team to help everybody, but the dirty little secret is, a lot of… pic.twitter.com/0cJ7m09Dt4
— Andrew Dukowitz (@adukeMN) May 17, 2025
Julius Randle echoed this sentiment about Ingles and Conley after the Game 4 win over Golden State.
“It’s great. To be 50 years old and still around and for [Conley] to play with the effort he does,” Randle joked.
“I’ve talked all year about the leader he is for our team and how he kinda keeps that balance. Him and Joe Ingles, they may not necessarily show up on the box sheet [but] those guys are huge for our team.”
Julius Randle on Mike Conley and Joe Ingles
“It’s great, to be 50 years old and still around(Conley) and for him to play with the effort he does. I’ve talked all year about the leader he is for our team and how he kinda keeps that balance. Him and Joe Ingles, they may not… pic.twitter.com/TSWxIJsi8u
— Andrew Dukowitz (@adukeMN) May 9, 2025
Conley, Gobert, and Ingles’ importance to the Wolves has been undeniable. As leaders, they have mentored a relatively young Wolves team through a season of adjustments. Their energy, whether from the bench or the starting lineup, has carried a Wolves team to the playoffs and now assists them in making another deep run.
It’s something that’s on the front of all the Wolves players’ minds, as Donte DiVincenzo explained. “Absolutely, that’s not just myself, but collectively,” he said. “We don’t know how much time Mike has left in his basketball career.”
“We want to grab every opportunity we can and take advantage of it,” he continued. “We all want to win for him.”
Donte DiVincenzo on wanting to win for Mike Conley
“Absolutely, that’s not just myself but collectively. We don’t have much time Mike has left in his basketball career. We want to grab every opportunity we can and take advantage of it… we all want to win for him”#WolvesBack pic.twitter.com/P4PAPYBnC9
— Andrew Dukowitz (@adukeMN) May 6, 2025
This season may be the last opportunity for Conley, Ingles, and Gobert to accomplish what they set out to do six seasons ago. It’s also arguably their best chance.
Conley, Gobert, and Ingles only need eight more wins, and they have the Wolves and Jazz fan bases behind them. They have a great team around them with an excellent coaching staff. Most importantly, though, they have each other and all of the battles they have shared to help lead the Wolves to the title.