Mike Conley awarded as NBA Teammate of the Year for the second time

Mike Conley, the Minnesota Timberwolves' point guard, was named NBA Teammate of the Year for the second time on Wednesday. A panel of league officials chose the finalists, and current NBA players voted to choose the winner. Brooklyn's Mikal Bridges came in second, followed by Jalen Brunson of New York, T.J. McConnell of Indiana, and Georges Niang of Cleveland.

According to Yahoo Sports Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch said, "His teammates love him, they respect him, they look up to him and then it's all backed by the fact that he can still go out and play at a super high level."

Conley received 1,172 points in the NBA's voting system, narrowly defeating the Netts' Mikal Bridges, who received 1,041 votes. Jalen Brunson (Knicks), T.J. McConnell (Pacers), and Georges Niang (Cavaliers) rounded out the top five in votes. Conley averaged 11.4 points per game this season, shooting a career-best 44.2% from three and dishing 5.9 assists.

The award is named after Maurice Stokes and Jack Twyman, friends who played together on the Cincinnati Royals. It is granted yearly for unselfish performance, on-court and off-court leadership, as well as devotion and loyalty to the team. Stokes was paralyzed following an on-court injury in 1958, and Twyman became his legal guardian, supporting him until he died in 1970.

Minnesota Timberwolves to play semi-final

Conley, who is in his 17th season in the NBA, previously earned the honor with Memphis in 2018-19. He has also earned the NBA Sportsmanship Award an unprecedented four times. The only other Timberwolves player to receive the teammate honor previously was Jamal Crawford in 2017-18. Jrue Holiday, a three-time winner, is the only other player in the league who has won the award several times. 

On Saturday, the Timberwolves will play the first game of their Western Conference semifinal series against the reigning champion Denver Nuggets.