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Another thing about this "non-athletic" talk. It has been stated here ad inifitum that so-called non-athletic players last longer because they don't depend as much on athletic ability. This is total hor . Everybody loses athletic ability as they age, but counter it with experience and learning new skills. Non-athletic players, when they get old, can't cut it in the NBA. Super athletic players, ion the other hand, fall back into the pack in regards to their athletic ability, but still stand out as they are older and more experienced with the the same athletic ability as younger players.
Duncan is a very athletic player. As his has slowed down slightly, he contunies to learn new skills, so his overall numbers per 48 minutes are still better than his rookie year and still about equal to his peak.
This is why athletic marvels who suffered through injures can still shine as old players when they get healthy, examples being Bernard King and Dominique Wilkins. Another athletic marvel, Jabber, was still leading the Lakers in scoring in his 17th season, still being voted 1st team All-NBA, and won the finals MVP in his 16th season. And this is a player who played all four years of college. Can anyone here imagine Lebron James being first tean all-NBA in 2024? Lebron final's MVP in 2023? Kobe 1st team all-NBA in 2017? Final's MVP in 2016? That's what Jabber did.
