ESPN came out with a fun new list to close out the year, ranking the best player alive for every age from 14-40. The youngest few ages are obviously made up of high school players, while the oldest ages on the list didn’t have a lot of competition; LeBron James (40), Chris Paul (39), Al Horford (38), etc.
But in between, there was a lot of stiff competition among the NBA’s best players as they are classified in a bit of an unusual way. We generally think about players in terms of how long they’ve been in the league and things of that nature, less often based on their actual age, but that was the exact purpose of this exercise.
Nikola Jokic the top-ranked 29-year-old
It came as no surprise whatsoever, but Nikola Jokic won the award of being the best player alive currently aged 29. Jokic is the best player alive - regardless of age - and has won three of the past four NBA MVP awards while being the favorite this year. It’s fair to say that any other outcome would have made this entire list a complete mockery.
The runner-up for 29-year-olds was Karl-Anthony Towns of the Knicks. KAT is a very good player, but he certainly isn’t in the same tier as the Joker. Perhaps if Nikola had been born a year earlier he’d have some stiffer competition. Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo was named the best 30-year-old with another former MVP, Joel Embiid the runner-up.
No other Nuggets mentioned in rankings
Perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise, but there wasn’t another Denver Nugget on the list; not even a runner-up or an honorable mention throughout the entire list. I can’t possibly argue that anyone was snubbed, it’s just another reminder of the lack of talent on the Nuggets’ roster.
The best-supporting players on the team weren’t even close to the best at their ages. Jamal Murray is 27 and doesn’t come close to Bam Adebayo and De’Aaron Fox. MPJ is 26 but he’s not in the same class as SGA and Tatum. Aaron Gordon is 29, so he obviously wasn’t getting mentioned with Jokic.
The rest of the Denver rotation players are aged 22 or 23. They are fine young role players like Christian Braun and Peyton Watson, but these guys are leagues away from their peers; Anthony Edwards, Paolo Banchero, and others.
The only other player who you’d think may warrant mention is Russell Westbrook. The former MVP is still playing at a high level at age 36. But unfortunately for Russ, he is the same age as Kevin Durant and Steph Curry, two superstars still playing at an elite level. If he was born a little earlier, he’d have a solid case against Mike Conley for age 37.