There has been a lot of talk lately about age in the NBA. It seems that everyone is so certain that particular players have grown too old to be playing basketball and it's only a matter of time before they need to hang up their jerseys for good.
This talk has become increasingly louder over the off-season as the Los Angeles Lakers have added a few, ahem, older stars to their roster including Carmelo Anthony, Trevor Ariza, and Rajon Rondo. Critics have playfully dubbed the Lakers the "old-star" team and have said there is effectively no chance they'll make it far with so many aging members.
But does age really affect NBA players as much as some people claim? Let's take a look and see if Father Time is slowing these guys down at all.
For our example, we are going to examine three of the most successful "older" players in the association: LeBron James (36), Chris Paul (36), and Carmelo Anthony (37). Here is a look at their minutes played, points scored, and assists from last year:
Not too shabby at all, huh? While Anthony played a few fewer minutes, all three of these guys were on the floor a lot. And while LeBron dwarfs them with his point totals, each player had respectable numbers. So it seems that even at their age, they still have stamina and play-making abilities.
Now, let's compare that to some of the younger, fresher stars in the game. Let's add Devin Booker, Trae Young, and Kawhi Leonard to the mix. These three guys are often called the fastest in the game so how do they stack up?
The results are surprising. Yes, the young players have more minutes and points but not by as much as you would think. In fact, LeBron especially hangs pretty damn close with the young crowd. And when it comes to assists, the younger players could seemingly learn a thing or two from LeBron and CP3.
Sure they're older but they're still keeping up just fine with the younger crowd. When you compensate for Carmelo's shorter playtime, even he seems competitive still.
Now, here is one place where the stats are a bit more stark: free throw attempts. As we know, the number of free throw attempts a player has is a good indication of how rough the game is getting for them and how big a target they have on their back. More free throws mean more defense stacked against them. How does this play out?
Carmelo and Chris are definitely far behind the pack when it comes to free throw attempts, meaning they don't get roughed up as much as the rest of the crowd. But LeBron, even at 36, is going to the line a lot. That usually happens when you're considered one of the greatest players of all time, I suppose.
The bottom line is this: yes, age does catch up with everyone, some more than others. Sure, Carmelo and LeBron and Chris Paul don't play as much as they used to. But when they do play, they are still absolute beasts and not ones to be slept on. NBA players just don't age like you and I do.
There has been a lot of talk lately about age in the NBA. It seems that everyone is so certain that particular players have grown too old to be playing basketball and it's only a matter of time before they need to hang up their jerseys for good.
This talk has become increasingly louder over the off-season as the Los Angeles Lakers have added a few, ahem, older stars to their roster including Carmelo Anthony, Trevor Ariza, and Rajon Rondo. Critics have playfully dubbed the Lakers the "old-star" team and have said there is effectively no chance they'll make it far with so many aging members.
But does age really affect NBA players as much as some people claim? Let's take a look and see if Father Time is slowing these guys down at all.
For our example, we are going to examine three of the most successful "older" players in the association: LeBron James (36), Chris Paul (36), and Carmelo Anthony (37). Here is a look at their minutes played, points scored, and assists from last year:
Not too shabby at all, huh? While Anthony played a few fewer minutes, all three of these guys were on the floor a lot. And while LeBron dwarfs them with his point totals, each player had respectable numbers. So it seems that even at their age, they still have stamina and play-making abilities.
Now, let's compare that to some of the younger, fresher stars in the game. Let's add Devin Booker, Trae Young, and Kawhi Leonard to the mix. These three guys are often called the fastest in the game so how do they stack up?
The results are surprising. Yes, the young players have more minutes and points but not by as much as you would think. In fact, LeBron especially hangs pretty damn close with the young crowd. And when it comes to assists, the younger players could seemingly learn a thing or two from LeBron and CP3.
Sure they're older but they're still keeping up just fine with the younger crowd. When you compensate for Carmelo's shorter playtime, even he seems competitive still.
Now, here is one place where the stats are a bit more stark: free throw attempts. As we know, the number of free throw attempts a player has is a good indication of how rough the game is getting for them and how big a target they have on their back. More free throws mean more defense stacked against them. How does this play out?
Carmelo and Chris are definitely far behind the pack when it comes to free throw attempts, meaning they don't get roughed up as much as the rest of the crowd. But LeBron, even at 36, is going to the line a lot. That usually happens when you're considered one of the greatest players of all time, I suppose.
The bottom line is this: yes, age does catch up with everyone, some more than others. Sure, Carmelo and LeBron and Chris Paul don't play as much as they used to. But when they do play, they are still absolute beasts and not ones to be slept on. NBA players just don't age like you and I do.
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