Old Guys Getting it Done

It's highly unlikely that any of the following gentlemen will be winning the Finals MVP this year. None of them are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (who won the award when he was 38). That said, there's a ton of old guys doing work in the Association this season. Just pick a Knick.


Tim Duncan, 36
Drafted: 1997
Working on: 16th season
Key Stat: 27.51 PER. That's MVP of the entire league good and a career best. The rest of the story checks out too. The Spurs are one of the six best teams in the NBA at 8-3. He's a proven two-time MVP of the league so we can throw out his production as fluky. And speaking on production, he's averaging 18 ppg, 10 rpg, 2.4 apg and 2 bpg. The only other player in the NBA who has those numbers? Dwight Howard.

Andre Miller, 36
Drafted: 1999
Working on: 14th season
Key Stat: Ty Lawson 11.01 PER. Andre Miller 17.11. Lawson has been brutal this year (trust me, he's on my fantasy team, and the worst part is I took him over Kobe Bryant), and Miller, nearly a dozen years older, is outplaying him in every way save minutes. Click on that link to his career stats and marvel at just how consistent Miller has been save for his one season in Clipper red. A fact that continues to add to the notion that Chris Paul is Christ-like in his work.

Kevin Garnett, 36
Drafted: 1995
Working on: 18th season
Key Stat: 6.9 +/-    The Celtics are plus 6.9 points with Garnett on the floor. Without him, they're a negative 3.7. He's being limited to 28 minutes a game. The Celtics struggles in statistical form.

Jerry Stackhouse, 38
Drafted: 1995
Working on: 18th season
Key Stat: It's super early yet, but Stack is shooting what would be a career best 44 percent from the field. Who knew Stackhouse was still alive, let alone could still fill it up?

Rasheed Wallace, 38
Drafted: 1995
Working on: 16th season
Key Stat: I can't decide. How about we start with 9 games played and 14 minutes a game. Or how about his 18.71 PER. Or his 1 block per game. Remember, this is a dude who has taken the better part of the past two seasons off. I shake my head at Sheed. Could have been talked about in the same breath as Duncan.

Jason Kidd, 39
Drafted: 1994
Working on: 19th season
Key Stat: 8-1 Knicks record. Talk all you want about how Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith have completely transformed the way they approach the game:  actually trying on defense while blending themselves into the flow of an offensive system.. Kidd has been credited in many ways for this crucial development. He's also putting up the third highest PER of his career while shooting 50 percent from beyond the arc.

With time comes age. In time, Chauncey Billups (36), Grant Hill (40), and of course the 39-year-old Steve Nash will be rejoining their peers back on the hardwood. And it's a good bet they'll continue this age-defying trend.