biyombo gotta be the nicest guy in the league to still be on a roster in 2023. there's rookies coming into the league every year with a better skillset top to bottom
20% of Current NBA Players are 30+, down from 35% in 2001.
- Thread starter lib123
- Start date
The bottom 3rd of the league doesn't even play much. Even if skillset has shifted, it's still very valuable having an OG vet in the locker room as a buffer between the coaching staff and teaching young players how to approach the process.
its a combination of a lot of things, including all the foreign players
All of these players were age 35 or older in 2001 and still played in the NBA. To say that this was the weakest era in NBA history is an understatement.
| Player | Age |
| Sam Perkins | 39 |
| Tyrone Corbin | 38 |
| Patrick Ewing | 38 |
| Jerome Kersey | 38 |
| Hakeem Olajuwon | 38 |
| Detlef Schrempf | 38 |
| John Stockton | 38 |
| Otis Thorpe | 38 |
| Kevin Willis | 38 |
| Mario Elie | 37 |
| A.C. Green | 37 |
| Ron Harper | 37 |
| Karl Malone | 37 |
| Sam Mitchell | 37 |
| Chris Mullin | 37 |
| Johnny Newman | 37 |
| Charles Oakley | 37 |
| Terry Porter | 37 |
| David Wingate | 37 |
| Muggsy Bogues | 36 |
| Dell Curry | 36 |
| Olden Polynice | 36 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 36 |
| Mark Bryant | 35 |
| Chris Dudley | 35 |
| Kevin Edwards | 35 |
| Gary Grant | 35 |
| Horace Grant | 35 |
| Mark Jackson | 35 |
| Avery Johnson | 35 |
| Steve Kerr | 35 |
| Dan Majerle | 35 |
| Vernon Maxwell | 35 |
| Reggie Miller | 35 |
| Will Perdue | 35 |
| Scottie Pippen | 35 |
| Mitch Richmond | 35 |
| David Robinson | 35 |
| John Starks | 35 |
Diondon
Thanks to the lawyers uh, I marbled the foyer
Stop age shaming lol
Ethnic Vagina Finder
The Great Paper Chaser
A lot of those old guys in the 90s were there because the league was low in talent, not because of 3 and 4 year college players.
Rick Mahorn
Antoine Carr
Charles Oakley
Mario Elie
Sam Perkins
Kevin Willis
Chris Mullin
All of those players were playing into their late 30's even up to age 40. In today's game, they get the Andre Drummond/Isiah Thomas treatment at age 32. Even no-talent hack like Chris Dudley played into Age 38 in that era.
The pace of play helped. You would routinely have 83-78 final scores. And most of the best players were in the post. And the head coaches in the 90’s had way more power than coaches today.
90S HAD A NICE AMOUNT HOF DRAFTEES.
DEKE
SHAQ
PENNY
PAYTON
WEBBER
HILL
DIRK
NASH
KOBE
IVERSON
KIDD
KG
PIERCE
RAY
DUNCAN
TMAC
VINCE
ZO
BIG BEN
GINOBLI
all time performanceNo Country For Old Men.
Old useless vets don’t allow situations like what’s going on in Memphis to happen.
There’s also a reason why anytime you hear retired players talk about their careers, one of the first things they do is praise the vets who were around in their early years that showed them how to be professional. Every. Single. Time.
But in the era for you analytic nerds who have never actually been a part of a real team in your life or have actual human interaction I understand why you would feel this way.
It's not necessarily fair to say it was "weak", it was just different. The slower pace allowed older players to be able to keep up. On the flip side, there are current stars who faced injury issues early in their careers (eg Steph Curry ankles) who probably wouldn't have been able to play at a high level as long as they have without modern medical advances.
Ethnic Vagina Finder
The Great Paper Chaser
But go back and look at the drafts. 3 of the players on your list came straight out of high school. Shaq could’ve come out after his sophomore year. Most of the 90’s drafts were doo doo. TMac and Kobe were drafted low. Bobby Hurley was picked 7th the year he came out.
90S HAD A NICE AMOUNT HOF DRAFTEES.
SHAQ
PENNY
PAYTON
WEBBER
HILL
DIRK
NASH
KOBE
IVERSON
KIDD
KG
PIERCE
RAY
DUNCAN
TMAC
VINCE
ZO
BIG BEN
GINOBLI
The way GM’s evaluated talent was different. Everything revolved around the front court. To put the lack of talent into perspective, Charlie Ward was drafted in the first round and basketball wasn’t even his first choice.
Most players stayed longer in college because the NCAA’s meant more, the players were treated like rock stars and a lot of them knew they weren’t good enough anyway so why leave early.
If you think some old useless nikka wasting a premiere nba roster spot out of 15 is stopping ja morant the superstar from hitting up the club or flashing guns you out of your mind. The " vets" you speak of were utilized on the nba court and gained respect from the players on the roster. Funny enough, Memphis tried to bring on a vet in iggy who refused to report to the team. Just cause you an old nikka it doesn't mean you're worth listening too.
Not to mention theirs only 15 rosters spots, between drafts, 2way spots, g keague etc teams aren't wasting spots on old nikkas who can't help teams win on the court. The days of a old nikkas just wasting a spot is done.
Elim Garak
Veteran
Most rosters don't have the vet that's not good anymore. That's the player development coach now.
A lot of the young dudes on roster benches are garbage tho and don't really like basketball. Many are just drafted on size, athleticism, potential and probably politics (eg agents close with GM). I'd rather have a positive locker room presence or someone to call out the BS. John Wall talked about that in his recent interview, how he had to tell the young guys in Houston that what was going on there was totally dysfunctional.
Yeah even players who spent short spans with vets (eg John Wall with Gilbert Arenas for a few months before Gil got traded) praise the vets. The Wizards were a young, losing, dysfunctional team in the early 2010s. Who knows, without those few months with Gil, Wall's development may have been hindered.