The generational change of NBA superstars is finally starting to happen as players like Jayson Tatum and Luka Doncic are taking the league by storm. However, the likes of Kevin Durant are still dominating the courts despite already being 35 years of age and are in no hurry to retire.
During this past weekend’s All-Star Game, the press was all over the NBA’s veterans asking questions about their impending retirement. Despite this, most of the older generation insisted that they aren’t obsessed with the idea of hanging up their basketball shoes just yet.
The Suns star even dared to say that players like himself, Stephen Curry and LeBron James feel good about their longevity and are able to keep playing at a high level into their 40s. “I was just trying to get to 10 years in the league, and that was my goal,” KD shared. “But then once you get to nine, eight, you’re like: ‘I feel great right now. I can keep going.’”
“That longevity has to mean something — that has to be the standard.”
— Kevin Durant on LeBron James.
🎥 (Boardroom) pic.twitter.com/kO2EdXv4lk
— 🎗NBA•Fan🎗 (@Klutch_23) February 18, 2024
The Golden State guard believes that his desire to keep playing is mostly about his love for the basketball game, not an ambitious dream of staying at the top. “If it’s meant for you, it’ll happen,” he explained during the All-Star weekend. “I think we all just love to hoop. People might think that’s a given, but I don’t think it is.”
“I think about it all the time, but the thoughts stop because you gotta get ready for the next game and there’s a routine and a cycle that goes where you embrace the now,” Steph added. “Eventually, it’ll get to a point where you’ll wake up and whatever your body is telling and your mind is telling you it’s time, but I don’t think I’m anywhere close to that.”
James is 39 already, which makes him the oldest player in the entire league. As he’s still putting up averages of 24.8 points per contest, he’s nowhere near quitting the NBA.
However, he doesn’t know yet when he’ll finally hang up his basketball shoes. The superstar holds a $51.4 million player option to remain with the Lakers next campaign, as he could decline the deal and re-sign with the team, or enter unrestricted free agency. “I have not mapped out how many seasons I have left,” LeBron shared. “I know it’s not that many.”
Durant says that he uses the younger generation’s apathy about his success to motivate him to work harder
During the same interview this weekend, KD shared how athletes before him didn’t help them as they ascended towards greatness, but rather felt like they wanted him to “try to take that from them.” With the newest generation, he credits them for not giving “a sh*t” and not caring about what he’s achieved in his career.
“Those older guys didn’t want to just say, ‘Here, young’un, you the next one up.’ You had to try to take that from them,” the Phoenix forward explained. “I’m not going out there and relying on my name and what I’ve done in the past to get that respect. I respect that about the young players. They don’t give a s— about what you did in the past. It’s about today. So that keeps me on point.”
Players like Kevin and Curry are already 35-year-old, but they know that remaining at the top of their game beyond their 40s is not an unprecedented occurrence.
Many players like Michael Jordan, Robert Parish, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are one of the most legendary examples of this, as well as more recent ones like Udonis Haslem and Vince Carter who still proved to be worthy of an NBA contract despite their old age.
