[h=1]Best 'old guards' of all-time[/h][h=3]Three over-35 guards had impact on their playoff teams this season[/h]
By Justin Kubatko | Basketball-Reference
Thanks in large part to advances in sports medicine and conditioning, more and more NBA players are extending their careers into their mid-to-late 30s. For example, in the 1970s, players age 35 or older were on the court for just 1.4 percent of all minutes played, but by the 2000s, that number had risen sharply to 5.25 percent.
But these cases are not equally distributed among the five positions. As players age, speed and quickness almost always fade before strength. Thus, players at positions that tend to rely more on speed and quickness (guards) are likely to have shorter careers than players who play positions that rely more on strength (post players).
The numbers back this up: Since the 1979-80 season, there have been 126 cases where a power forward or center age 35 or older qualified for the league leaderboard in minutes per game, but just 66 such cases for point guards and shooting guards.
In other words, guards who are able to retain their effectiveness into their mid-to-late 30s are both rare and exceedingly valuable. Here are the top five guards in NBA history based on their performance from age 35 to the end of their career, with three of the five having had profound impact on playoff-bound teams this season:
[h=3]1. John Stockton[/h]<OFFER></OFFER>
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Stockton's durability was amazing. Over the course of his 19-year career, Stockton missed just 22 of 1,526 regular-season games, with 18 of those games coming at the start of the 1997-98 season.
Although Stockton's minutes were significantly reduced starting with the 1997-98 season -- he went from playing 35-40 minutes per game to playing 25-30 minutes per game -- it was not due to a slippage in play.
On a per-minute basis, Stockton was just as effective in his later years as he was in the first part of his career. That's even more remarkable when you consider that Stockton was no slouch in his earlier years, as he was a 10-time All-NBA selection and a five-time all-defensive selection before reaching the age of 35.
To put Stockton's play late in his career into perspective, consider this: Derrick Rose averaged .208 win shares per 48 minutes in his 2010-11 MVP season, the same as what Stockton averaged from age 35 through the end of his career.
[h=3]2. Reggie Miller[/h]
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Miller was perhaps the most efficient scorer in league history. His career average of 121.5 points produced per 100 possessions is the best all time among inactive players, and his career true shooting percentage of 61.4 is the fourth-highest in NBA history among players with at least 10,000 career points.
Just nine players have had a season with 10 or more win shares after their age 34 season, and Miller and Stockton are the only guards to do so. (Stockton actually did this three times, which reinforces why he's first on this list.)
Although Miller's shooting slipped a bit in the latter stages of his career, he was still averaging .164 win shares per 48 minutes -- well above the league average of .100 -- while playing more than 30 minutes per game.
[h=3]3. Steve Nash[/h]
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There have been 10 cases in NBA history where a player shot 50 percent from the floor, 40 percent from 3 and 90 percent from the line in a single season while meeting the minimum requirements for all three shooting percentages. Nash is personally responsible for four of those cases, and incredibly, he has averaged a 50/40/90 shooting line over the past four seasons.
Unlike the other guards on this list, Nash has actually averaged more minutes per game after turning 35 than he did in his seasons prior to that. And even with slightly more playing time, Nash's scoring efficiency has remained the same, and his assist percentage has increased by more than nine percentage points.
Despite his impressive shooting and passing, Nash's win shares per 48 minutes have dipped slightly over the past four seasons for two reasons: an increase in his turnover rate and a decrease in some of his defensive numbers.
[h=3]4. Jason Kidd[/h]
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Although Kidd has been a combo guard the past few seasons, spending time at both shooting guard and point guard, he has been a point guard for the overwhelming majority of his career.
Because of this role change, Kidd's assist rates have dropped quite a bit in recent seasons, but he has made up for that with significant improvement in his scoring efficiency, in particular his 3-point shooting.
Prior to his age-35 season, Kidd took 31 percent of his shots from 3-point range and made them at a 33.7 percent clip, but since then, he has taken a whopping 65 percent of his shots from long range and hit them at a 37.8 percent rate.
Steals and blocks are two statistics that are typically associated with young, athletic defenders, but Kidd has actually averaged more steals plus blocks per 36 minutes over the past five seasons (2.38) than he did in his first 14 seasons in the league (2.21).
[h=3]5. Ray Allen[/h]
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The last spot on this list came down to Allen, Terry Porter and Lenny Wilkens. Allen was chosen primarily because he has the most win shares in that group despite playing in the fewest games.
Allen has gracefully transformed himself over the years from a primary scoring threat with the Milwaukee Bucks and Seattle SuperSonics to a lethal third option with the Boston Celtics and finally to his current role as a super sub with the Miami Heat.
And along the way, one thing has remained constant: Allen's sweet shooting. No player in NBA history has made or attempted more 3-pointers than Allen, and he ranks fourth all-time in career free throw percentage.
Over the years, Allen's assist rate has significantly dropped as he has become more of a spot-up shooter, but because he is such a good shooter -- even more efficient than he was before turning 35 -- he has been able to retain his effectiveness on a per-minute basis.
By Justin Kubatko | Basketball-Reference
Thanks in large part to advances in sports medicine and conditioning, more and more NBA players are extending their careers into their mid-to-late 30s. For example, in the 1970s, players age 35 or older were on the court for just 1.4 percent of all minutes played, but by the 2000s, that number had risen sharply to 5.25 percent.
But these cases are not equally distributed among the five positions. As players age, speed and quickness almost always fade before strength. Thus, players at positions that tend to rely more on speed and quickness (guards) are likely to have shorter careers than players who play positions that rely more on strength (post players).
The numbers back this up: Since the 1979-80 season, there have been 126 cases where a power forward or center age 35 or older qualified for the league leaderboard in minutes per game, but just 66 such cases for point guards and shooting guards.
In other words, guards who are able to retain their effectiveness into their mid-to-late 30s are both rare and exceedingly valuable. Here are the top five guards in NBA history based on their performance from age 35 to the end of their career, with three of the five having had profound impact on playoff-bound teams this season:
[h=3]1. John Stockton[/h]<OFFER></OFFER>
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| Age | G | MP/G | FG% | 3P% | FT% | AST% | WS | WS/48 |
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| 22-34 | 1062 | 32.8 | .520 | .383 | .823 | 51.2 | 151.7 | .209 |
| 35-40 | 442 | 29.3 | .504 | .386 | .835 | 47.5 | 56.0 | .208 |
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Stockton's durability was amazing. Over the course of his 19-year career, Stockton missed just 22 of 1,526 regular-season games, with 18 of those games coming at the start of the 1997-98 season.
Although Stockton's minutes were significantly reduced starting with the 1997-98 season -- he went from playing 35-40 minutes per game to playing 25-30 minutes per game -- it was not due to a slippage in play.
On a per-minute basis, Stockton was just as effective in his later years as he was in the first part of his career. That's even more remarkable when you consider that Stockton was no slouch in his earlier years, as he was a 10-time All-NBA selection and a five-time all-defensive selection before reaching the age of 35.
To put Stockton's play late in his career into perspective, consider this: Derrick Rose averaged .208 win shares per 48 minutes in his 2010-11 MVP season, the same as what Stockton averaged from age 35 through the end of his career.
[h=3]2. Reggie Miller[/h]
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| Age | G | MP/G | FG% | 3P% | FT% | AST% | WS | WS/48 |
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| 22-34 | 1013 | 34.6 | .480 | .403 | .881 | 14.1 | 131.6 | .180 |
| 35-39 | 376 | 33.4 | .442 | .373 | .915 | 15.1 | 42.8 | .164 |
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Miller was perhaps the most efficient scorer in league history. His career average of 121.5 points produced per 100 possessions is the best all time among inactive players, and his career true shooting percentage of 61.4 is the fourth-highest in NBA history among players with at least 10,000 career points.
Just nine players have had a season with 10 or more win shares after their age 34 season, and Miller and Stockton are the only guards to do so. (Stockton actually did this three times, which reinforces why he's first on this list.)
Although Miller's shooting slipped a bit in the latter stages of his career, he was still averaging .164 win shares per 48 minutes -- well above the league average of .100 -- while playing more than 30 minutes per game.
[h=3]3. Steve Nash[/h]
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| Age | G | MP/G | FG% | 3P% | FT% | AST% | WS | WS/48 |
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| 22-34 | 934 | 31.1 | .487 | .432 | .900 | 39.3 | 101.6 | .168 |
| 35-38 | 268 | 32.6 | .506 | .413 | .918 | 48.6 | 28.0 | .154 |
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There have been 10 cases in NBA history where a player shot 50 percent from the floor, 40 percent from 3 and 90 percent from the line in a single season while meeting the minimum requirements for all three shooting percentages. Nash is personally responsible for four of those cases, and incredibly, he has averaged a 50/40/90 shooting line over the past four seasons.
Unlike the other guards on this list, Nash has actually averaged more minutes per game after turning 35 than he did in his seasons prior to that. And even with slightly more playing time, Nash's scoring efficiency has remained the same, and his assist percentage has increased by more than nine percentage points.
Despite his impressive shooting and passing, Nash's win shares per 48 minutes have dipped slightly over the past four seasons for two reasons: an increase in his turnover rate and a decrease in some of his defensive numbers.
[h=3]4. Jason Kidd[/h]
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| Age | G | MP/G | FG% | 3P% | FT% | AST% | WS | WS/48 |
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| 21-34 | 1026 | 37.3 | .401 | .337 | .781 | 40.6 | 106.4 | .133 |
| 35-39 | 365 | 32.4 | .392 | .378 | .826 | 31.6 | 32.1 | .130 |
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Although Kidd has been a combo guard the past few seasons, spending time at both shooting guard and point guard, he has been a point guard for the overwhelming majority of his career.
Because of this role change, Kidd's assist rates have dropped quite a bit in recent seasons, but he has made up for that with significant improvement in his scoring efficiency, in particular his 3-point shooting.
Prior to his age-35 season, Kidd took 31 percent of his shots from 3-point range and made them at a 33.7 percent clip, but since then, he has taken a whopping 65 percent of his shots from long range and hit them at a 37.8 percent rate.
Steals and blocks are two statistics that are typically associated with young, athletic defenders, but Kidd has actually averaged more steals plus blocks per 36 minutes over the past five seasons (2.38) than he did in his first 14 seasons in the league (2.21).
[h=3]5. Ray Allen[/h]
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| Age | G | MP/G | FG% | 3P% | FT% | AST% | WS | WS/48 |
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| 21-34 | 1022 | 37.1 | .450 | .396 | .894 | 17.6 | 121.0 | .153 |
| 35-37 | 204 | 31.7 | .470 | .438 | .890 | 11.7 | 20.0 | .149 |
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The last spot on this list came down to Allen, Terry Porter and Lenny Wilkens. Allen was chosen primarily because he has the most win shares in that group despite playing in the fewest games.
Allen has gracefully transformed himself over the years from a primary scoring threat with the Milwaukee Bucks and Seattle SuperSonics to a lethal third option with the Boston Celtics and finally to his current role as a super sub with the Miami Heat.
And along the way, one thing has remained constant: Allen's sweet shooting. No player in NBA history has made or attempted more 3-pointers than Allen, and he ranks fourth all-time in career free throw percentage.
Over the years, Allen's assist rate has significantly dropped as he has become more of a spot-up shooter, but because he is such a good shooter -- even more efficient than he was before turning 35 -- he has been able to retain his effectiveness on a per-minute basis.
