“The older guys — LeBron, Steph, KD, Harden — are playing at a high level deep into their 30s, so there are more stars than we’ve ever seen before,” an Eastern Conference executive told ESPN.
New ESPN story: Over the past several months, there’s been lots of discussion of whether dynasties are still possible in today’s NBA.
Here’s a look whether they can, or if they’re a relic of the NBA’s past.
And, if they can’t … is that a good thing?https://t.co/cYk8xe2KSm
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) August 8, 2025
For the 2025-26 Houston Rockets, the bear case for their NBA championship aspirations likely involves 37-year-old star Kevin Durant showing at least some signs of an age related decline.
But the bull case involves Durant staying elite, just as rising stars Amen Thompson and Alperen Sengun take further leaps in their development.
The good news for the Rockets is that Durant is far from alone, as it pertains to older stars lasting longer in the current generation. From a recent ESPN story on the league’s increasing parity:
“There is typically a changing of the stars that happens earlier, where the old guys have declined and they are out and there’s a new crop of them that has emerged, but the number of them stays consistent,” one East executive said. “But the older guys — LeBron, Steph, KD, Harden — are playing at a high level deep into their 30s, so there are more stars than we’ve ever seen before. …
“Maybe expansion will dilute that a little more, and maybe when Steph and LeBron and those guys finally age out, but as long as things are trending the way they are and guys are playing at a high level longer, with health protocols and stuff, it could be the new normal.”
Three of the 15 players selected to last season’s All-NBA teams — James, Curry and James Harden — are 35 or older, including James, who is the league’s oldest player at 40. Then, on the other end of the spectrum, three players — Jalen Williams, Cade Cunningham, and Evan Mobley — were on rookie-scale deals this past season, and Anthony Edwards is under 25. Luka Doncic and Victor Wembanyama missed out because of injuries, leaving them short of the 65-game threshold for awards, highlighting the depth of the talent pool.
“I am generally pro-parity,” one East executive said. “I’m pro lots of teams having a chance to win championships. But I think that’s a few things beyond the CBA rules. I think there’s more talent around the league, and it’s really f—ing hard to win.”
In short, the rate of talented young players developing into stars isn’t being offset by the number of older stars aging out of that top tier. So, for a team such as the Rockets, the hope is that the ascent of players like Thompson and Sengun isn’t counteracted by a decline from Durant.
To this point, there have been no indications that Durant is close to aging out of that All-Star tier. With the Phoenix Suns last season, the 36-year-old averaged 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game while shooting an extremely efficient 52.7% overall and 43.0% on 3-pointers.
At 62 games played, Durant was just short of All-NBA eligibility.