The NBA has become a YOUNG MAN’s league, data shows, as just 20 percent of players are in their 30’s

Fascinating new data shows just how young the NBA has gotten across the league, with The Association 15 percent less old than it was roughly 20 years ago.

While players such as Moses Malone and Robert Parish thrived in their later years, the NBA has generally shifted away from that trend.

Players consistently join the league as 18 or 19-year-olds after spending just one year removed from college, and The Basketball Illuminati podcast provided specific evidence on just how that’s affected the league. 

‘Look at this league, it’s a young man’s league,’ Tom Haberstroh said on the podcast. ‘We don’t realize it until we put the numbers on it. Here are the types of players that played in the late nineties era. In 1995, 27 percent of the players were 30 or older. They were in their thirties.

‘That kept going up in every season after that. 29 percent. 31 percent. 32 percent in 1997. Up again to 33 percent. 34 percent [in 2000], peaking in 2001 when 35 percent were in their thirties. One out of every three players on the floor.

‘These days there aren’t as many vets hanging around. Just 20 percent of NBA players are in their thirties.

Robert Parish (left) and Moses Malone played into their later years, but that trend is now rare

Klay Thompson (right) is now older than the average NBA player at 33 years old

Udonis Haslem is a relic of a past era as he remains in the league on the Heat at 42 years old

‘Last year it was at 18 percent. We’re a little bit higher than we were last year. That’s still half as many 30-year-old as we were in the peak nineties,’ he concluded.

Of course, there are some current exceptions to the rule.

Udonis Haslem remains in the league at 42 years old, though he is no longer a significant contributor and hasn’t averaged at least 15 minutes per game since the 2014-15 season for the Heat.

Meanwhile, players like Steph Curry (34) and LeBron James (38) have remained at the top of their games, but are relatively rare cases.

Of the 27 players named All-Stars this season (Curry, Kevin Durant and Zion Williamson didn’t appear in the game because of injury), just eight were in their 30’s.

It’s youngsters who are fast becoming the faces of the league.

The Pistons’ Jalen Duren and the Blazers’ Shaedon Sharpe, both 19, have both played significant roles as rookies and flashed their first-round talents.

Additionally, there’s not a single legitimate MVP candidate in their 30’s, as Durant, James and Curry’s cases have all been harmed by injuries. 

Shaedon Sharpe, 19, is part of a growing youth movement in the NBA

Jalen Duren is the same age as Sharpe and has also gotten a lot of minutes as a rookie