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Here is the next installment in the NBA 33 over 30 series where I’ll look at 33 players in the league who are over the age of 30 and still performing at a high level. Part 6 of the NBA 33 over 30 series features two of the best big men to ever play the game. The Big Ticket and the Big Fundamental. Here’s part 6 in this series:
DOB – 19 May, 1976
“He’s always been a great shooter, but the older you get, you pretty much know the shots you’re looking for so you become more proficient,’’ Celtics ex-coach Doc Rivers said of Garnett.
One of the reasons that Garnett is able to withstand the rigours of the NBA game and still play with the intensity of a man half his age is the days he has been taking off in between games in the regular season. Now that Garnett has just been traded to the Nets, he ought to be able to prolong his career as he won’t have to carry as much of the burden on both ends of the floor. In this season’s playoffs, Garnett averaged 12.7 points and 13.7 rebounds.
DOB – 25 April, 1976
Tim Duncan may have been to his last NBA Finals this season. The Spurs lost to the Heat in a gut wrenching fashion this time. But you can never count out the Big Fundamental. Just look at the numbers he put up in this season’s playoffs – 18.1 points per game with 10.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists.
DOB – 26 January, 1977
Vince Carter has been accused of being soft. While fielding those accusations, he has climbed his way on the scoring list and surpassed Larry Bird on the scoring list. He has just become the 28th player in NBA history to surpass 22,000 points. With the Dallas Mavericks seemingly permanently out of playoff contention, barring a free agency coup or a mega trade, Carter’s career seems to be going alright. This season, Carter averaged 13.4 points with 4.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 25.8 minutes of action, almost 10 minutes lesser than his career average.
DOB – 12 June, 1976
While he is not a big name, Antawn Jamison is actually the 9th leading scorer among active players on the all time scoring list. The Lakers have more than one player on their roster this season who has scored more than 20,000 points in his career. Antwan Jamison was an underrated part of the Lakers’ squad and helped shoulder the load on offense when the Lakers struggled this season. He averaged 7.3 points per game with 1.8 rebounds in the postseason.
Big Shot Billups is in a great situation with the LA Clippers. With the offensive weapons on their squad, there are a lot of good looks opening up on the perimeter all the time. This allows Billups to go into his catch and pop mode. This Clippers team is the most talented team Billups has ever been on, including the one which won the championship back in 2004. In the regular season, Billups averaged 8.4 points and 2.2 assists.
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