Age: 40 years old
Did you expect someone else? The GOAT will turn 41 years old in December, but remains one of the league’s best and most complete players. After finishing sixth in MVP voting last season, the league’s oldest player will do everything in his power to make one more run at a championship. With an in-shape Luka Doncic as a running mate, he’ll have his best shot at a title in years if the Lake Show can stay healthy and make some slight upgrades to their roster.
Age: 37 years old
Checking in at second on this list is the NBA’s GOAT three-point shooter, Stephen Curry. Curry doubles as the best shot-maker and the league’s best-conditioned player, given the amount of running and moving without the ball he does on every play. His ability to make contested shots – which is pretty much all he gets these days – is something we’ll never see again. In these waning years of his prime, I urge you not to take Steph Curry for granted.
Age: 37 years old
While his health concerns have dropped him below James and Curry, Kevin Durant probably has the best chance at winning a championship of the trio after joining the NBA’s deepest team this past summer. Unlike the past few seasons in Phoenix, where he was overtaxed as one of the team’s best defenders, KD’s primary focus will be getting buckets – especially late in games – as the rest of the Rockets’ roster is loaded with tenacious, defensive-minded athletes like Amen Thompson and Tari Eason. If he is healthy come playoff time, look out!
Age: 36 years old
These next two old guys – James Harden and Jimmy Butler – are the inverse of one another. Harden is an ironman who plays every game, engineers a good offense, but seems to always lay eggs in the biggest playoff moments. Last year was no different – Harden was made third-team All-NBA, finished 10th in MVP voting, and then had seven points on two-of-eight shooting and finished with a minus-29 in a Game Seven blowout loss to the Nuggets.
Age: 36 years old
Jimmy Butler is basically the opposite of James Harden – he misses tons of games, he doesn’t put his foot on the gas much during the regular season, and then he turns into one of the better players in the NBA once the postseason begins. Had Steph Curry not pulled his hamstring in the second round against the Timberwolves, the Warriors might have had the experience and high-end talent to push the eventual champion Thunder to the brink. We’ll see if they can stay healthy for a deep playoff run this season.
Age: 35 years old
Beginning to notice a trend here? Seemingly, half of the Warriors’ anticipated opening night roster appears on this list. And deservedly so – it’s amazing that someone like Draymond Green, who is a small-ball center with a broken jump shot, is still a highly impactful player, especially on the defensive end of the court. In fact, he was a first-team All-Defensive performer last year and finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
Age: 36 years old
DeMar DeRozan has aged like a fine wine despite being a two-guard without a reliable three-point shot. How is that even possible in today’s NBA? Well, for one, the man has the best footwork the league has seen since Kobe Bryant, which allows him to create enough space to always get his shot off and/or draw fouls. And the other reason is because he learned how to essentially play point guard during his San Antonia years, and can elevate his teammates with his underrated distributing.
Age: 35 years old
Hopefully, last year’s falloff for Paul George can be explained away by injuries and the Sixers’ cursed season because it was a precipitous drop-off in production – 16.2 PPG on 43-36-81 shooting splits as compared to 23.3 PPG on 46-39-88 shooting splits. Nevertheless, Podcast P is still capable of generating decent secondary offense for his team and pretty high-level wing defense, and certainly belongs near the top of this list.
Age: 40 years old
The league’s third-oldest player – only LeBron and PJ Tucker (by one day) are older than him – impressively started all 82 games last season for San Antonio Spurs, averaging 8.8 PPG and 7.4 APG. While he’s no longer the Point God that drove winning to the same degree as he did for about 15 straight years, he will probably make for a very good backup point guard to James Harden this season in Los Angeles.
Age: 39 years old
Al Horford is technically still a free agent, but is rumored to be waiting for the Jonathan Kuminga saga to play out in full before he signs with the Warriors. Horford is still a very solid two-way big man who can stretch the floor on offense (40.9 percent from three the past three seasons) and more than hold his own on the defensive end. So long as he stays healthy, he should be a key rotation piece on the veteran-heavy Warriors.
Age: 35 years old
Now that he’s no longer merely a cog in a championship roster, I would expect Jrue Holiday to remain a high-level defender and improve his counting statistics a little from the past two seasons (11.8 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 4.4 APG) this year on the up-and-coming (but still years away) Blazers. That is, until he gets traded to a contender at the deadline.
Age: 35 years old
Klay Thompson is obviously a shell of the player he was before his ACL and Achilles injuries, but he remains an elite shooter and intelligent veteran for the Dallas Mavericks. With Cooper Flagg, Anthony Davis and, hopefully, Kyrie Irving drawing the attention of defenses this season, look for Thompson to continue to put up 15-18 PPG on 40 percent three-point shooting.
Age: 37 years old
Brook Lopez made an impressive mid-career reformation, changing from a traditional low-post player to a stretch-five. The evolution made him a perfect big man for a Giannis Antetokounmpo-centric team. On the Clippers, he’s going to be an awesome backup big man and give the team a totally different look from what starting center Ivica Zubac gives them.
Age: 35 years old
While he won’t be playing this season, Damian Lillard’s inclusion on this list is well-deserved as he made his ninth All-Star appearance and averaged 24.9 PPG and 7.1 APG before tragically rupturing his Achilles tendon in the playoffs. He’ll take this season off and return as the 36-year-old veteran on a young and talented Blazers squad next season.
Age: 38 years old
Mike Conley, a 6-foot, 175-pound guard, is about to embark on his 19th season. Read that again! His 19th season. Despite his slight stature, Conley has been an excellent two-way, table-setting point guard for the majority of his career. And while he’s started to show his age the past few seasons, the Timberwolves clearly still believe his leadership and steady play are an integral part of their recent success.
Age: 36 years old
Russell Westbrook just makes stuff happen. Most of it is detrimental to his team at this point in his career, but occasionally, the hustle plays, rebounding, and playmaking will swing the tide of a big game. He remains a free agent right now, but will likely end up on a roster before the season begins – he’s still a great athlete and tantalizingly talented enough to convince yet another franchise to pick him up. Keep an eye out for a point guard-needy, desperate team like the Bucks or Heat.
Age: 39 years old
Jeff Green is the spiritual successor to Rudy Gay – he was an elite athlete and lottery pick with superstar potential that never displayed enough consistency to be a franchise cornerstone, later became a journeyman role player, and spent his final years as a consummate professional. Uncle Jeff won’t play a ton for the Rockets this season, but will for sure posterize an unsuspecting defender at various points throughout this season.
Age: 37 years old
Kevin Love is more of a fringe rotation player these days, but he’s still a heady player who can knock down some threes and grab rebounds in small bursts of playing time. He’s also clearly one of the better teammates and locker room guys in the league – contending teams certainly value that trait – so expect Love to eventually reach a buyout with the Jazz and join a team like the Lakers at some point this year.
Age: 35 years old
The best shooter in the Curry family – from a statistical standpoint – led the league in three-point percentage for the first time in his career last season, nailing 45.6 percent of his attempts, which was also a career-best. Like a few of the other prominent free agents, Curry appears to be waiting for restricted free agency to finally play out and open up some roster spots on teams like the Warriors.
Age: 39 years old
Although he’s been washed for a couple of years now, Kyle Lowry gets the final spot on this list as a nod to him making it to his 20th season as a pro. With six All-Star appearances, one All-NBA season, and a ring, Lowry will almost certainly be making it to Springfield for a Hall of Fame induction someday.