Throwback Thursday: The NBA’s old man revolution
You may not have noticed but there’s a revolution happening in the NBA.
No, it’s not unicorns or positionless basketball. It’s the NBA’s proliferation of old heads: players 40+ years old not only still playing in the league (an accomplishment on its own merit) but having a tangible impact on their teams. Seeing Vince Carter, Manu Ginobili and Jason Terry suit up for their respective teams may seem like a mundane achievement but it’s unprecedented in NBA history.
To date, there have only been 30 times a player has played into their 40s. The first, Nat Hickey, played just two games for the BAA’s Providence Steam Rollers in 1947-48.
The first NBA proper example brings us all the way to 1969-70 when Bob Cousy inexplicably suited up for the Cincinnati Royals. Cousy, the Royals’ coach, played in only seven games and was more sideshow than an actual roster member. It didn’t help that Cousy had last played in the NBA six years prior (1962-63).
It would be another 18 years until we saw a 40-year-old suit up again when the ageless wonder Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would play out the strings on his legendary career at age 40 and 41. Without a doubt the most productive 40+ year old in NBA history, Kareem averaged 14.6 and 10.1 points per game in his final two seasons playing 80 and 74 games respectively.
In the 1990s, it was Robert Parish’s turn to take the reigns as the NBA’s old head as “The Chief” played four seasons into his 40s including his final season with the Celtics (1993-94), two seasons with the Charlotte Hornets (1994-95, 1995-96) and finally, a world championship send-off with the 1996-97 Chicago Bulls. Joining him in the mid 1990s was James “Blue” Edwards, who also played with the Bulls but a year prior in 1995-96, when the Bulls won a then-NBA record 72 games.
The late ’90s would see the first glut of 40+ year old players as John Long, Charles Jones, Herb Williams and Rick Mahorn all played into their 40s. Most barely registered on the NBA radar with Williams playing only six games while Mahorn and Jones averaged under one point-per-game despite playing in 15+ games in their age-40 seasons.
In the early 2000s, Kevin Willis joined the fray first as a rotational player for the San Antonio Spurs from 2002 to 2004 before bouncing around to the Atlanta Hawks (2004-05) and Dallas Mavericks (2006-07). The Mavericks stint, which saw Willis’ play at an NBA-record 44 years old, lasted only five games and saw Willis contribute little on the floor.
Karl Malone played the final season of his NBA career at age 40 on the famous 2003-04 Lakers. “The Mailman” joined Gary Payton as a ring-chasing veteran on a Lakers team tearing apart at the seams. The Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal duo was on its last legs and while Malone, Payton, Bryant and O’Neal were able to make the Finals, their infamous meltdown and Pistons’ championship put a cloud of Malone’s send-off.
Malone’s former teammate and pick and roll partner John Stockton also played one year into his 40s, his final season with the Jazz in 2002-03. Stockton remained competitive averaging 10.8 points while dishing out 7.7 assists — far and away the highest total for any 40-year-old player in NBA history.
Other 40+ year olds in the 2000s included Charles Oakley (2003-04 Houston Rockets), Clifford Robinson (2006-07 New Jersey Nets) and Dikembe Mutombo whose three seasons with the upstart Rockets (2006 to 2009) saw him begin as a productive rotation piece and end playing only nine insignificant games in his final NBA season.
We would have to wait another four years for a 40-year-old to return to the mix when both Kurt Thomas and Grant Hill suited up. Thomas, played a surprisingly significant role on a 54-win Knicks team while Hill, who battled a litany of injuries in his early career, defied the odds and suited up for 29 games with the Los Angeles Clippers.
This brings us to the current crop of 40-year-olds: Carter, Ginobili and Terry.
Carter is double-dipping as his run with last year’s Memphis Grizzlies was the first 40-year-old season since Hill and Thomas’ 2012-13.
Not only was Carter playing into his 40s — he was damn good. “Vinsanity” started 15 games (played in 73 total), averaged 8 points per game and shot 37.8 percent from on 3-pointers. Carter’s 4.0 Win Shares in 2016-17 is the fifth-highest by any 40-year-old trailing only Stockton, Abdul-Jabbar, Mutombo and Malone.
The real story though is who joined Carter this season: Ginobili and Terry. This 40-year-old triad joins 2006-07 and 2003-04 as the only two seasons to feature three 40-year-olds at the same time.
What makes this season more significant though is how important each is to their respective teams. Both 2006-07 and 2003-04 are propped up by players who, while playing into their 40s, barely made a dent. Mutombo, Robinson and Willis all played in 2006-07 but Willis’ five games and 43 minutes definitely makes the achievement ring hollow.
The same can be said for 2003-04 which saw Malone, Willis and Oakley play but Oakley only found himself in seven games playing an insignificant 25 minutes. This year, Ginobili has started 18 of the Spurs’ 21 games, Carter has played 144 minutes off the Sacramento Kings’ bench and Terry, the least significant of the bunch, has already played 59 minutes in seven games for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Ginobili’s 7.9 points per game would put him seventh all-time among 40+ year olds just below Carter’s output from last season and behind luminaries like Abdul-Jabbar, Malone, Parish and Stockton.
The Step Back’s very own Todd Whitehead (@CrumpledJumper) helps visualize the phenomenon occurring this season:
While there haven’t been enough 40-year-olds in history to look at meaningful trends, you can see that this season — only a quarter of the way through — already sticks out as one of the best ever for 40-year-olds.
What will be most interesting to follow is the current crops staying power. Both Carter and Ginobili have expressed desires to keep hanging around, Dirk Nowitzki — currently 39 years old — could join them next season as well. 37-year-old’s such as Pau Gasol, David West and Jamal Crawford all have realistic changes to remain in the NBA into their 40s.
Next: Opportunity is knocking for Donovan Mitchell
Don’t miss out on the NBA’s old man revolution. It’s fun and unprecedented. There’s no telling if this is a one or two-year blip or something that can be sustained thanks to modern training, nutrition and the softening of the NBA schedule.
Either way, enjoy what we have now because you may never see it again.