Chris Cenac Jr. was born four months after Mike Conley was drafted. Neither of them handled the news particularly well.
Someone at Celtics media day did the math, and nobody involved enjoyed the result. Mike Conley was drafted fourth overall in 2007, and his rookie teammate Chris Cenac Jr. was born four months later.
Cenac heard it first and refused to accept the premise. “I thought it was longer, actually,” the rookie told the press. “He was born the same year I was drafted. My reaction to that is, that’s outrageous.” He caught himself mid-sentence and reversed it, then added that Conley had already broken the news to him personally. “He’s been in a league longer than I’ve been born, so I don’t believe him.”
Conley took it about as well. “I know it’s kind of crazy for him. It’s crazy for me, too,” he said. “That’s nasty work. I need to be done. That’s all that’s telling me. I need to stop.”
He is not stopping. Conley, 38, is entering his 20th NBA season after signing a one-year minimum deal with Boston in July, following three years in Minnesota and a long run in Memphis. He is the oldest player on the roster and one of only three over 30, alongside Paul George and Derrick White.
The Celtics did not bring him in for production. Boston lost Jaylen Brown this offseason and, with him, a chunk of its veteran leadership, leaving a young roster around Jayson Tatum. Conley arrives as a four-time NBA Sportsmanship Award winner with a reputation as one of the league’s best teammates.
Brad Stevens made the pitch plainly at media day, noting he may have first watched Conley play back in the 1990s when both were in Indiana. “Mike’s just a guy that understands what it’s all about,” Stevens said. “I think it’s a great resource for our guys, and he can still really play.”
Conley has said repeatedly that he still has plenty left, and his motivation is easy to identify. He has never won a championship across 19 seasons, and he described that drive as never-ending while saying he hopes to pass the urgency along to a roster full of players closer to Cenac’s age than his own
Someone at Celtics media day did the math, and nobody involved enjoyed the result. Mike Conley was drafted fourth overall in 2007, and his rookie teammate Chris Cenac Jr. was born four months later. Cenac heard it first and refused to accept the premise. “I thought it was longer, actually,” the rookie told the press.