NBA - Main

Science and LeBron.

Load management

It’s a different game. It isn’t a game where you bang down low and have to be really physical. A finesse game means players can play longer because shooting doesn’t go away really.

Also, HGH or some other PED. Lebron is absolutely on something and so are many others. The NBA is encouraging it because it’s better than players sitting out.

Because it's too easy to score. You can't lay a hand on anyone in the paint. Can't lay a hand on anyone while they shoot. There's so little contact anymore. So often you're seeing guys with uncontested shots because defenders play so far off their man.

Emphasis in skills particularly shooting and advancements in offensive/defensive schemes help a lot. See international basketball.

I can tell you that in the last ten years our understanding of recovery has moved forward by a lot. Just look at myofascial release for instance. That is now common practice among athletes of all levels while ten years ago it was a very niche branch of knowledge.

Hmmm

Guess

How

Wade, Melo, Dwight and Lebron are all similar ages? You treating them like different eras contradicts your premise.

The 98 finals featured 34 year old MJ, 34 year old Karl Malone, 35 year old John Stockton, 32 year old Scottie Pippen, 36 year old Dennis Rodman, and 34 year old Jeff Hornacek. It’s not that new.

All those guys you say haven't declined have declined big time.

EPO

Westbrook, Melo, klay, kevin love, Chris bosh what are you talking about??

Kareem was good until age 40.

Along with medical advancements like other people said, I think playstyle also plays a factor. Curry, kd, kawhi, Dame, butler, and even lebron all have play styles that don’t put that much pressure on their bodies. Yeah they can and do still pull off dunks pretty frequently, but comparing this lebron to Miami lebron, he doesn’t play that same way now. Blake and drose are good examples, they changed their styles and tendencies to ease the load on the lower body, and even though they did decline, they’re still playing, and drose is actually really productive for his team

It’s not only in sports. With the help of science, they discovered and discovering a lot of things that can make our lives better. Not only physically but mentally.

Load management is helpful and not playing too many mpg in their prime

Im watching podcast about soccer, and Alan Shearer spoke that he went back to Newcastle and he got directed to the sport sience guy that fixed hes knee issue and said if he was playing now he wouldn't have half of the injuries as they would have seen them coming and prevented them etc.

cause they can shoot

This is false all of them do just a select few managed to stay at the top of their game

Modern techniques, nutrition, training, etc, as well as load management during the regular season being more accepted and normal. The decline of back to back games also plays a factor.

Because they don't play defense

So many? I can think of 3 haha. Lebron, KD, Steph. Dame is 33, so he isn’t really old enough. Kawhi is showing his age pretty hard. He plays well, but it’s only sustainable for short bursts. Jimmy ain’t giving you 30 ppg through the regular season like these other guys either. As much as he rocks through the playoffs he is only super good for like two months a year. So 3 guys

load management
/thread

Science and intensity. Game is less physical.

“All they did was hit”

The rules allowed that stuff. You paid the price with a penalty- that was the decision that had to be weighed. It was a calculated part of the sport that no longer really exists.

Because it’s not old, you just don’t take care of your body

Probably because LeBron made it cool to take care of your body instead of banging groupies and doing coke everyday.

Steroids

PEDs

The game isn’t as physical vis a vis rule changes. More emphasis on shooting (shooters of old tended to play longer too).

Steroids

Sports sciences in general. I think load management has been huge. They should really just cut about 20-25 games off the season anyway but that will never happen.

Probably some selective memory here, as there were some guys playing well in their 30s in the 90s, 00s, 10s.

Although if it is true that players are playing better in their 30s than before, one factor is that the league has deemphasized back to the basket, post up offense since the early 10s.

Post up offense, whether by center or guard, requires two players grinding against each other like an offensive and defensive lineman. That has an impact on the body over 80 games, not much different then what you see happen to the knees of linemen after 10+ year careers. You can just exert so much effort to push yourself into another who is exerting all his effort to push you back for so long before those muscles and ligaments get worn.

Now it's not like every player was posting up for 48 minutes, but just removing the "football-esque" physical grind from basketball has likely had an impact on the bodies of players, and helped prolong careers.

The late 90s were dominated by players in their mid 30s. It led to a dip in scoring and kind of a boring game to watch as a fan but it was effective in an era where more physical play was allowed and encouraged

For three straight years Michael Jordan averaged 40+ minutes per game, Kobe did the same and early in his career LeBron did it four years in a row. The last time someone averaged 40+ minutes was 2010/11 when Monta Ellis played 40.3mpg. Part of the advancements of sports medicine is better understanding of the importance of rest on athletes and its long term benefits, which help extend careers.

Because sports medicine has evolved and players are taking better care of their bodies

Wasn’t melo in the same draft as lebron? It’s hit or miss but I think it’s PEDs and other science based luxury items/services. Personal chef , dieticians and trainers. Little bit of genetic lottery on top of that.

The game is not as physical. I don't know to what extent that factor is relevant, but it is true.

Load management would have something to do with it too.

Roids and hgh baby

The league becoming a more offense-oriented league also makes it harder to notice if a player is worse than before.

It would be easy to see a decline if the numbers also showed a decline, but players scoring at the same level or higher than what their actual peak years were makes it blurry and difficult to say if someone is really declining.