"I've Played 1,224 NBA Games and Never Gotten a Technical Foul - Here's Why!"

By Mike Conley, NBA Veteran, for "The Athletic's" "Peak" section

At least 15 times a year, I get asked by other players: “Are you going to get a technical tonight? Are you finally going to do it?”

There have been a few games where I’ve reacted immediately, jumping up and down after a non-call, and everyone else gets all excited: We thought you were going to get a technical!

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become more open to that streak. I used to think: Maybe I should just get a technical foul because people will think I don’t care. But the older I get, the more I realize it’s a superpower.

It allows me to move on very quickly. When you have a bad play or something bad happens to you (you feel like something should have been a foul), you can spend two or three possessions or even a quarter thinking about it. Man, that stinks. I can’t believe they did that. You can expend so much energy on it that you might not notice you’ve been playing terribly for the last 10 minutes because that’s all you’ve been thinking about.

Well, I never have that problem. If I do something bad or something bad happens to me, I go right back to thinking about the next play or the next shot. I keep moving forward. I think it just gives you a certain level of aura.

When I go to the free-throw line, I don’t feel anything. What should be a nerve-wracking situation feels very comfortable to me, and I think that’s because I don’t have many mental ups and downs during a game. It’s an extension of how I approach basketball in general. A lot of people think that being quiet and not showing much emotion means you’re lacking something or perhaps weak. But I disagree.

For me, it’s the opposite.

You have complete control over your emotions, complete control over every situation. You’re able to find a way to stay calm through it all and regulate your mind to the point where you’re able to think, not just react.

I’m a huge Indianapolis Colts fan. I watched Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison, and Reggie Wayne score a million touchdowns. And not once did they score and start dancing. It was just business as usual. It was like: We scored, what’s next? I wanted to adopt that approach to the game. That mindset appealed to me much more, and I wanted to be like those guys.

It really had a profound impact on my views. I tried to approach the game the way they did, and when you start approaching things that way, you begin to fall into an identity: That’s who I am. That’s my standard. That’s who I want to be when I play.

I get angry just like any other person, but it’s all about how you react. How long will you let it bother you?

We recently played a game against Detroit. We stole the ball, I ran down the court for a layup, and as they tried to throw the ball ahead to me, it went out of bounds. My teammates were all on the other end of the court saying, “Review, review, review!”

I was next to our bench and thought our coaches would call for a review. I was talking to the referee next to me. Then the referee gave the ball to the other team to inbound – I was still on the far end of the court, so it was essentially five-on-four.

Inside, I was furious. I was thinking: I’m going to end up on a highlight reel because I’m not in the right defensive position. I’m on the other side of the court while the ball is being inbounded. I’m going to let my team down. We’re going to give up points in a close game. A bunch of things were running through my head, but I pushed it all aside and just thought: How can I approach the referees and have a conversation without escalating it?

I did get one “phantom” technical. That was in 2014. There were three plays in a row where they didn’t call fouls. The referee missed another call, and the ball went out of bounds. I was like: Man, come on, brother. It was something so simple. I wasn’t looking at the referee or talking to him. Then I heard the whistle and that they called a technical. I was like: For whom??? I thought there was no way they called it on me.

The referee was Monty McCutchen. He immediately looked at me and said, “My mistake.” It was funny, and within 24 hours, the league rescinded it. The number one thing for me is breathing. It has become a very important tool. Inhale for four. Slow exhale. To the very end of the breath. Hold for a moment. Then inhale again for four.

That has always allowed me to recenter myself. To remind myself: Okay, we have a job to do. Don’t let what happened a second ago ruin what’s about to happen to us.

When you do that, you’re always the same no matter what. That, in my opinion, says a lot about your family and the people around you. That’s what matters most – representing the people around you. If I continue to find a way not to get a technical in the next year and leave the NBA “unscathed,” that’s something that will last a long time.