Open Thread: How age impacts ever-changing landscape of the NBA

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San Antonio Spurs former vice president for strategic research Kirk Goldsberry recently posted this graphic.

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“It’s a young man’s game, and increasingly so. Over 80% of the NBA is now 29 or younger. This hasn’t always been the case but the combination of pace and space basketball with the lack of durability we associate with older players has resulted in the NBA getting younger and younger. Pretty soon it’s just gonna be 50 year-old LeBron and 500 23 year-olds!”

Goldsberry is an expert of the modern game, differentiating how the game has evolved. In addition to his time with the Spurs, he wrote for Grantland, the ESPN blog brainchild of Bill Simmons, from 2012-2015. Other notable writings include The Kobe Assist, The Evolution of King James, and DataBall. His 2019 book SprawlBall: A Visual Tour of the New Era of the NBA commented on the inefficiency of shots taken from the restricted area to the three-point line.

While the game has skewed younger, Goldsberry doesn’t delve into the rationale for the shift. Is it the pace of the game wearing players out at an earlier age? It’s commonly accepted that load management and modern healthcare allows for players to have longer careers. So why are they not?

Perhaps the propensity to draft and sign younger players feeds into the “win now” mentality that franchises have established. It pairs with the hiring and firing of coaches without allowing time for a team to fully develop.

Whatever the reason, players are entering the league younger — the “one and done” collegiate effect — and exiting…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/open-thread-age-impacts-ever-110000027.html

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Publish date : 2026-10-17 11:00:00

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