Image via Complex Original
Even the best players in the NBA have to get old. The memory of basketball fans is selective, so we collectively agree to forget things like Magic Johnson as a power forward for the Lakers or Hakeem Olajuwon putting up 7.1 points per game for Toronto. As the great Charles Barkley said, “Father Time is undefeated.”
That has held true for every single player in the history of the league, and with some of the great stars of the past decade now entering their twilight years many of us are seeing guys we grew up watching fade away. Whether it’s Kobe Bryant sitting on the sidelines for yet another Laker game or Kevin Garnett barely getting 20 minutes a night in Brooklyn, some of the greatest players in the game’s history are entering the final days of their career right in front of our very eyes.
As we approach the All-Star break and get a chance to see some of the NBA’s stars of the future, it’s important to appreciate those who are no longer quite at that level. Here are some of the biggest Declining Stars of the NBA.
*Stats are current as of 2/8/14
Metta World Peace
Team: New York Knicks
NBA seasons: 15
2013-14 stats: 28 G, 5 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 0.6 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.3 BPG
Perhaps the most stunning thing about Metta World Peace is that he has actually been in the league for 15 years. It feels like just yesterday he was sprinting into the stands in Detroit...but we digress. The man once known as Ron Artest has ceased being the defensive stopper he was throughout his early career, and his spotty shooting and non-existent rebounding and passing skills are the main reasons he has been limited to just 14 minutes per game this season with the Knicks and now reportedly may want out altogether. Metta has had a good run, but his days as anything more than an eighth or ninth man are through.
Manu Ginobili
Team: San Antonio Spurs
NBA Seasons: 12
2013-14 Stats: 42 G, 12.1 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 4.5 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.2 BPG
While he is still counted by many as one of the Spurs’ “Big Three,” there isn’t a whole lot about Manu Ginobili that is actually “big” these days. Sure, he’s been very steady the last three years; unfortunately, that version of steady means scoring about 12 points and playing barely over 20 minutes a night. It’s a big drop for a man who, at age 33 in 2010-11, made the All-Star team and the All-NBA Third Team. Ginobili certainly was a great player (one of the best foreigners in the history of the league), but his time as a dynamic scorer is long gone. These days, he is nothing more than a decent role player who remains an outrageous flopper.
Kenyon Martin
Team: New York Knicks
NBA seasons: 14
2013-14 stats: 32 G, 4.3 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.8 BPG
For years, Kenyon Martin was more than just an intimidating presence in the paint. He was a reliable scorer who could be counted on to provide his teams with high energy on both ends of the floor, too. After battling injuries for years, though, K-Mart looks absolutely done these days as he plays out the string of his career for the Knicks. He’s managing just 4.3 points per game this year despite seeing about 20 minutes of court time per game, and over the last four seasons he has barely been able to keep himself on the floor at all. The broken down Martin is yet another member of the 2013-14 Knicks who looks like he is long past his expiration date as a player.
Ray Allen
Team: Miami Heat
NBA seasons: 18
2013-14 stats: 45 G, 9.3 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 2.1 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.1 BPG
One of the league's most meticulous preparers, Ray Allen has kept himself in fantastic physical condition and maintained his sweet shooting stroke well into his "senior" NBA years. However, that doesn't disguise the fact that this man who has 10 All-Star appearances to his credit and was once one of the game's great scorers is now simply a role player and a veteran mentor to younger players. Like with other guys on this list, there's no shame in that being someone's role when they hit their late 30s. Allen can still hit huge shots, obviously, but his days as a go-to player are long over.
Vince Carter
Team: Dallas Mavericks
NBA seasons: 16
2013-14 stats: 51 G, 11.4 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2.8 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.4 BPG
Vince Carter has had a truly confounding career. He could do things like this and this, yet he has suffered through so many injuries that many would consider his career disappointing given the incredible promise he once showed. While he is one of just nine active players to score over 20,000 points in his career, Carter has only reached the Conference Finals once, and never as a "star" player. Now playing out the final few seasons of his career as a reserve in Dallas, he is asked only to provide about 10 points per game for a Mavericks team on the fringe of the playoff race.
Steve Nash
Team: Los Angeles Lakers
NBA seasons: 18
2013-14 stats: 9 G, 8.2 PPG, 1.8 RPG, 5 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.1 BPG
It has been a rough go of it in L.A. for two-time MVP Steve Nash. After being limited to 50 games last season due to a broken leg, he's appeared in just eight games this season thanks to problems with the nerves in his lower back. He hadn't even had a chance to really find his groove when on Sunday he suffered a nerve injury to the same leg he broke last year, and could now be out once again. At 40 years old, Nash may be able to make it back onto the court from all these injuries, but there's no way he can continue to be the same All-Star caliber player.
Amar'e Stoudemire
Team: New York Knicks
NBA seasons: 12
2013-14 stats: 38 G, 9.8 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 0.4 APG, 0.4 SPG, 0.4 BPG
Sorry, Knicks fans. We know this hurts. At least you have someone to blame for this one: Mike D'Antoni. After all, the then-coach knowing full well about his new player's history of knee trouble-insisted on playing Amar'e Stoudemire a career-high 36.8 minutes per game in 2010-11 and absolutely ruined him for years to come in the process. The mid-season acquisition of Carmelo Anthony certainly didn't do much to help, either, but Stoudemire's knee problems have kept the forward out of many of the Knicks' games entirely and have also severely impaired his athletic ability while he's on the floor. This is certainly not the return James Dolan and Co. were hoping for when they inked Stoudemire to a five-year, $100 million contract in the famous summer of 2010.
Paul Pierce
Team: Brooklyn Nets
NBA seasons: 16
2013-14 stats: 44 G, 13.2 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 2.9 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.5 BPG
The 15-year veteran still looks a little strange in black, and Paul Pierce has definitely struggled to acclimate to his new surroundings as a Net. His .421 shooting percentage is his lowest since 2003-04, and he no longer possesses the athleticism required to guard many of the NBA's dynamic small forwards. He's also come off the bench for Brooklyn seven times this season, which is more than twice as many appearances as he had accumulated during his entire tenure in Boston. A man who used to be an explosive scorer has been reduced to a complementary role, and in his 43 games this season he has broken the 20 point barrier just five times.
Kevin Garnett
Team: Brooklyn Nets
NBA seasons: 19
2013-14 stats: 43 G, 6.9 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.7 BPG
Maybe the Boston Celtics were onto something when they happily shipped Kevin Garnett to Brooklyn in the offseason. Getting three first-round picks for KG and his fellow aging star Paul Pierce looks like a steal in hindsight, especially when you consider Garnett's numbers this season. He has functionally become a part-time player, often getting on the court for only the first and final six minutes of each half. While that is obviously fine considering KG is No. 10 all-time in regular season games played and No. 6 in minutes played, what has to trouble the Nets is that he now looks a step slow on the defensive end in addition to his relative lack of offensive punch.
Kobe Bryant
Team: Los Angeles Lakers
NBA seasons: 18
2013-14 stats: 6 G, 13.8 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 6.3 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.2 BPG
For Kobe Bryant, all the long nights of going 110 MPH for the Lakers were bound to catch up with him sometime, and to be honest it's amazing that it has taken this long. After playing nearly 40 minutes per game last year, though, the wear and tear of 1,239 career regular season games finally caught up to Bryant as he tore his Achilles with just days remaining in the regular season. He only lasted six games this season before fracturing a bone in his knee, and now it appears he is going to need at least another week before he is ready to play. It's just not fair to expect the same level of dominance out of the Mamba once he does get back, especially since he's now 1,465 games into his NBA career.
