As Tim Duncan turns 40, a look at how NBA greats did after their milestone birthday
Spurs big man Tim Duncan turned 40 on Monday, and though he's no longer the MVP-caliber player he once was, the future Hall of Famer is still a valuable member of the San Antonio roster.
In his 19th NBA season, Duncan has averaged 8.6 points and 7.3 rebounds over 61 games, and in 20 minutes per game during a first-round sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies he averaged 5.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and a pair of blocks.
When the Western Conference semifinals start later this week, Duncan will become the 24th player in NBA history to appear in a game after his 40th birthday (his teammate Andre Miller joined the club earlier this season), but he'll have to step up his game in a big way if he wants to be considered one of the top over-40 players of all time.
Thus far, Duncan has remained mum about whether this season will be his last, but the belief among many is that this is it for the greatest power forward of his generation. Whether that's the case, here are some of the top single-game performances by players over 40 in league history -- marks Duncan will have a chance at breaking as he chases a sixth championship ring:
Most points: Michael Jordan (43)
Between the regular season and playoffs, Jordan tallied 211 career 40-point games, but just one of them came after his 40th birthday. Jordan busted out his final 40-point performance during his 2002-03 swan song with the Washington Wizards, on Feb. 21, 2003, four days after he hit the big 4-0. In an 89-86 home win over the New Jersey Nets, Jordan played a game-high 43 minutes and scored 43 points on 18-of-30 shooting. MJ also added 10 rebounds (one of 13 double-doubles during his final season) and hit the game-winning shot for Washington with 34.4 seconds to play. Duncan's scoring has dropped off dramatically to a career-low 8.6 points per game. There was a time when he could score 50, but he's only hit 40 once in the last 10 seasons, so it's unlikely he will do it again now.
Most rebounds: Dikembe Mutombo (22)
Mutombo wasn't much of a threat to score during the twilight of his career, but as Mutombo himself put it, the old man could still rebound well into his 40s. And on March 2, 2007, he proved it, becoming the first -- and to date only -- player older than 40 to grab 20 rebounds in a game, securing 22 for the Houston Rockets in a 108-97 road win over the Denver Nuggets. Earlier in the year he'd shown he still had the skills, averaging 15.8 boards over a six-game stretch in January, and in the city where he spent the first five years of his career, Mutombo had a throwback performance that was worthy of a finger wag. As for Duncan, he once grabbed 27 boards in a game and has 39 career 20-rebound performances, including 13 in the playoffs, but he hasn't had one since 2013 (his high this season is 18), so Mutombo's mark is probably safe.
Most assists: John Stockton (14)
The venerable Stockton is the NBA's all-time assists leader by nearly 4,000, so it should come as no surprise that he also dominates the list of top assist games after 40. In fact, there have only been 33 total 10-assist games by players over 40 in NBA history, and Stockton has 30 of them. And like Jordan's 43-point game, the best of them came four days after his 40th birthday, on March 30, 2002, when Stockton passed out 15 dimes in a 105-92 road win over the LA Clippers.The following season, Stockton became the only player to dish out double-digit assists after turning 41, with five such games, including one final one against the Spurs. For the sake of comparison, Duncan's career high is 11 assists in a game, but his season high this year is seven.
Most blocks: Robert Parish (7)
The Chief played 21 seasons in the NBA and is best remembered for a 14-year stint with the Boston Celtics. However, his finest post-40 blocks performance came as a member of the Charlotte Hornets. On April 2, 1996, Parish blocked seven LA Lakers shots as a 42-year-old starter for Charlotte and also grabbed 14 rebounds in a 102-97 win. For his part, Duncan has had a six-block game as recently as November, so though it's unlikely he'll set an over-40 mark, the blocks category would be the most logical place for him to do it.
Most 3-pointers: Jason Kidd (4)
Kidd appeared in only 14 regular-season games and 12 playoff games after his 40th birthday, but he managed to set a single-game record for 3-pointers by a 40-something, knocking down four of six attempts for the Knicks in a 125-120 win over Oklahoma City on April 7, 2013. All told, there are nine players in NBA history who have made so much as a single 3 after age 40, so Duncan will join a pretty exclusive club if he hits one before season's end. It's not especially probable -- Duncan is 0-for-2 this season and hasn't hit one in more than a full calendar year -- but it's not unheard of for Mr. Fundamental to hit a clutch 3 in the postseason.
Most steals: John Stockton (6)
Another thing Stockton was pretty good at? Steals, a category in which he's the league's all-time leader by nearly 800. Of Stockton's 3,265 career regular-season steals, 162 came after his 40th birthday, and six of those swipes came on Feb. 22, 2003 in a 99-89 home win over the Nuggets. When it comes to the birthday boy, Duncan has had only one game in his career with more than five steals, but that eight-steal performance (also against the Nuggets) came 16 years ago. He's had two four-steal games this season, but six in a playoff game would be quite the feat.
Most double-doubles: John Stockton (23)
In this category, the all-time leader depends on whether we're counting playoff games, but since we're in the postseason now, it only seems fair that we do. Given that stipulation, the crown, once again, goes to Stockton, who had 23 double-doubles after turning 40, his final such game coming a week after his 41st birthday in a 15-point, 10-assist performance on April 3, 2003. Without the benefit of the postseason, Parish is the leader, with 22. With a Duncan retirement seemingly on the horizon, it's doubtful he'll enter the discussion, but he does have 11 double-doubles this season, so if he comes back for another year he could certainly make a run at the top five among over-40 players.
Triple-doubles: Karl Malone (1)
There's been only one triple-double by a player over 40, and Duncan probably remembers it well because it came against his team. Back on Nov. 28, 2003, Malone, then a Laker, had 10 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a 103-87 win over the Spurs at Staples Center. It was one of four career triple-doubles for Malone (the others were significantly more impressive on the scoring front), and few others have given it a good run after turning 40. Stockton once came a rebound shy a month before he turned 41, and Malone had another 2003 game in which he came an assist short, but that's the extent of the close calls. Duncan, meanwhile, has eight career triple-doubles, including one as recently as last season, but given his productivity of late it would take a special kind of effort for him to get another.
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