Can TP adjust his game to remain effective into his early and mid 30s?

[MVPCues]

Is this thread a hoax? TP to retire in two years because he won't want to play in the NBA anymore and nobody will want him? GAWD, I think this is worse than PlayBair and the loving Bonner Doc guy.

[Man In Black]

I tried earlier but it was pointless. FT doesn't know this game as he thinks he does. FT translated means Folly Trap.

[MVPCues]

No disrespect meant toward the OP, he posed a reasonable question. I would have worded it as "mid to late 30's though". I don't think there is any question about his level of play during his early 30's.

[hater]

Manu coudn't, Kobe couldn't.

Kidd could.

I give it 50-50 cause Parker seems to be an adaptable guy

[exstatic]

Since he will be 31 in May, I'd say he already has.

[wtgspurs]

TP relies on a combination of speed and craftiness to get into the lane, which allows him the high shooting percentage and also contributes to more assists on kickouts. It is inevitable that he will slow down in the next few years which will decrease the speed component of his game. Will it be possible for him to remain just as effective for 3-4 more years by adjusting his game somehow or will his MVP caliber window close in the next year or two? I feel like TP is better than ever now, a more complete player, so I hope he can remain at his peak for at least awhile somehow.

Thoughts?

It's sad to see that people believe your career is over as soon as you hit your 30's. It's like im 29 today and tomorrow im 30 i should be looking forward to start buying viagra or something. Come on peoples, age is only a figure it is your mind that causes you to go through a mental breakdown which then affects you physically. A man once said he was at his strongest at Age 52 than he was at age 30!!! Tony Parker can keep up his play for a good 5-10 more years as long as he stays fit, injury free and have a strong mind...

[LongtimeSpursFan]

he benefits playin in a league where defense is a lost art.....

dont even bring up the compe ion he plays against his position....the only time he beats them h2h is when those guys are either on the bench casual clothes, or playing with some injury...

i give tony the benefit of the doubt what he has achieve fuss far due to the above variances....

he will continue to get his and play the same style without changing, as long his in hero ball mode....remember individual glory >>> spurs glory

the only time he gets exposed is when a wing player is on him....

Are you a Spurs fan?

[exstatic]

It's sad to see that people believe your career is over as soon as you hit your 30's. It's like im 29 today and tomorrow im 30 i should be looking forward to start buying viagra or something. Come on peoples, age is only a figure it is your mind that causes you to go through a mental breakdown which then affects you physically. A man once said he was at his strongest at Age 52 than he was at age 30!!! Tony Parker can keep up his play for a good 5-10 more years as long as he stays fit, injury free and have a strong mind...

Age is NOT just a number to an athlete. They really DO begin to break down. He might play another 5 years, but never another 10 years.

[Man In Black]

Age is NOT just a number to an athlete. They really DO begin to break down. He might play another 5 years, but never another 10 years.

Jason Kidd says hi! It doesn't mean that he'll play at the same level, or that his game doesn't require an adjustment, it just means it's possible that, as long as he has useful skills...he can play another 10 years.
All of these guys on this list are solid basketball players. Are they as good as they once were? Probably not, but they are still better than half the guys that play their same position.
http://sportige.com/oldest-nba-players-10-2012-2013/
It's not beyond the realm of possibility that TP can play until 40. I doubt he will, but if those guys could, then why can't TP?

[chapnis]

He is in a similar situation to Kobe (not quite as old) in the fact that he isn't quite as old but has been playing since he was quite young so has more wear and tear than someone else his age might.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Some Spurs fans are ing idiots.

Tony Parker has had an MVP-caliber year, and for most Spurs fans he is just 'good'. You guys have no idea what you are even witnessing. While we inevitably will start seeing a decline in his speed in 2-3 years, he arguably has the best midrange shot of any guard in the league, is top 5 at getting to basket/finishing, has greatly improved his 3 point shot and vision/playmaking. Above-average defensively. Leader of this team. He isn't just a guy who is faster than everyone anymore - his game has evolved to the point where he is now just the best all around PG in the league.

I agree with a slightly less gushing verson of this: CP3 is still the best PG in the NBA, but TP ain't far off, just as he hasn't been for the past 5 years.

Yeah no team would want a veteran point guard with 3 championships and leadership capabilities. Who also is also very coach able and will do what is asked of him.

Indeed.

Parker's the 2nd or 3rd best point in the league. Anyone outside of Chicago, OKC, LAC, and Cleveland would love him on their team.

Yup.

My brain hurts reading this thread. Parker is going to go from the best point guard in the league* to having no shot of finding a starting job in two years and there's no way to argue otherwise? Yeah, okay. RC Buford sucks because he has only found two Hall of Famers late in the draft? Wow........

As for the original point of this thread, I don't know the answer. If you asked me a half decade ago, I'd say Parker would be seeing the end of his career at around 30 to 31 since he's a speed dominant player and small, speed dominant players who can't jump have historically washed out at around that age. But times are achangin'. With advances in science/medicine, players are able to play longer. , look at TD and Ginobili. TD is having one of the greatest age-36 seasons of all-time. And Ginobili is probably an even better example. Sarunas Marciulionis, the player probably most comparable to Ginobili in playing style, was done at 28. Someone like Ginobili who goes so hard and puts his body on the line in every minute of every game shouldn't be thriving at age 35. But with science/medicine improvements (and Pop not overworking him), he's probably got another two or three years left in him if no major injury strikes.

So if Parker takes care of his body, avoids big injury, Pop keeps his minutes reasonable, his shooting keeps improving and his passing continues to get more and more elite, I'm not going to put anything past him. Could he still be a top five point guard at 35 years old? I would have laughed at that question a few years ago but today I think it might be possible.

Exactly.

I thought TP would be in slight decline by now due to his reliance on speed in his early career, however he's not. He has improved his shooting and QB skills to offset any minor loss of pace he's suffered at this point, and I fully expect him to be elite for another 2 seasons at least, and then to suffer a much slower decline than you would think due to the excellent medical technology available today. The real question is what happens when he loses a step and people can stay at home on his jumper, but his variety of fakes and step-through is impressive, so maybe this won't hurt him as much as we might think.

[Dr. Robert Lee]

Yeah no team would want a veteran point guard with 3 championships and leadership capabilities. Who also is also very coach able and will do what is asked of him.

[spursfan09]

You don't believe a pg who has ran the same team for more than 10 years isn't looked to as a leader? I'm pretty sure when he calls plays the players listen.

[Pauleta14]

Don't answer him!!

TIMVPDPOY is just using an alias...

[spursfan09]

Yeah I see that now. I had TIMVPD on my ignore list. now goes his alias. talk about pathetic.