At what age do basketball players peak?

[WarriorGM]

I think there is a general expectation that players around 26 years old are near their athletic peak but I'm unsure as to when they are expected to fall off. What is the general view on what ages usually constitute a player's peak years?

Who is in and who is expected to enter their peak this season?

Kawhi is 27 and is in the peak window. Anthony Davis should be entering his peak years right about now. Who else notable is entering or exiting their peak age?

[Hoopstar23]

27-29

[GusT15]

We can say that the athletic peak is about 24-29,i guess.

Generally after 30 the number of years you're gonna have that will come close to your athletic peak's years,numbers and performances depend on injury history,playing position,physical attributes,technical attributes and of course usg%.

For example,Short Point Guards that rely on their speed as their main physical attribute exit their peak years earlier than a Bigman who relies on his strength/height/wingspan.

Hoopshype article on the subject.

https://hoopshype.com/2018/12/31/nba-aging-curve-father-time-prime-lebron-james-decline/

According to our research department, the average age of an All-NBA player is 27.7 years old.

[kulaz3000]

I think it's more which season, as opposed to the age as such.

Players usually make the biggest leap in their 3rd or 4th season, and adds other pieces to their games thereafter. So by their 6-8th season you'd imagine would be their peak.

[Pennebaker]

I've always heard it quoted as 27 to 31 in general. But it's different for everyone. Some peak earlier, some later, some sustain prime longer, etc.

[Firespo]

25 to 30

[MTJazzv3]

We can say that the athletic peak is about 24-29,i guess.

Generally after 30 the number of years you're gonna have that will come close to your athletic peak's years,numbers and performances depend on injury history,playing position,physical attributes,technical attributes and of course usg%.

For example,Short Point Guards that rely on their speed as their main physical attribute exit their peak years earlier than a Bigman who relies on his strength/height/wingspan.

Hoopshype article on the subject.

https://hoopshype.com/2018/12/31/nba-aging-curve-father-time-prime-lebron-james-decline/

According to our research department, the average age of an All-NBA player is 27.7 years old.

Great link. Look at that plus 30+ contingent from 1996-1998 on the All-NBA team. Virtual top 20 HOF list. What was that blip in the data all about? PEDS before people even knew about them? Total statistical anomaly but everyone watching the game in those years figured stars simply could be dominant to that age. Becoming less so? LeBron seems like one of the only guy his age who likely shows up on the All-NBA list this season, and even that might not happen given the guys career minutes and the fact that father time waits for all athletes.

[Stillwater]

physically on average I'd say 7-10 years after starting a pro workout regimen can you expect a player to max out and begin to focus on staying at his peak plateau before an eventual decline unless he already was working out at a high level long before entering the league . I mean peaking as a player is all subjective to each person and cannot be generalized or pigeon holed into one age group.
Zion for example could peak in his first 3 seasons and then start to decline or it could be he hasn't even peaked yet and that is very scary if true

[CarMalone]

Superstars tend to peak around 27. Shaq, Garnett, LeBron, Curry, Dirk, Duncan, Wade, etc. all had their best seasons at or around that age.

Non superstars peak much earlier.

[The_Hater]

I believe a study was once done on this and 26-29 came up the best statistically for NBA players. But I read that many years ago and I couldn’t possibly find it now.

[13th Man]

Athletic peak I say 24. Basketball peak (athleticism + experience) I'll say 29.

[CodeBreaker]

27-29

/thread

[d00lttle]

Sexual peak - 22.
Athletic peak - 24.
Statistical peak - 26.
Impact peak - 28.

[KyRo23]

Sexual peak - 22.
Athletic peak - 24.
Statistical peak - 26.
Impact peak - 28.

Ummmm... One of these doesn't belong....

Impact peak?!

[Air Apparent]

i think 28

[eminence]

For superstar type guys it can range anywhere from 27-32 in my experience looking at aging curves (injuries not withstanding).

So we're looking at the MVP guard trio of Curry/Harden/Westbrook exiting their peaks in the next couple of seasons (KD likely done at that level with the injury). And the AD/Kawhi/Giannis/Embiid/Jokic group entering in the next couple of seasons. League seems to be in good hands

[wolves_89]

In general a player starts to physically decline around 26, though skill acquisition/experience more than off-sets the loss of athletic ability through the late 20s. My guess would be the majority of players start to see a noticeable decrease in production around their age 30-31 seasons.

[durden_tyler]

Reading a lot of 26 to 29; but the greatest ever to play the game had his championships when he was 28-30 and 33-35 if my math is not off?

[durden_tyler]

(Yeah, not really disagreeing but mainly how that's even more impressive, he was so great even during his "latter" years)

[Gooner]

28-32