In the past 40 years, only four players in the NBA have achieved 40+5+5 stats in games over the age of 38, and only one of them has achieved this feat multiple times. In competitive sports, there is a strong correlation between the time and physical condition of an individual's ability to maintain multiple matches at a high level. Athletes tend to gradually decline in their abilities as they age, but there are still some "evergreen athletes" in different sports, albeit only a minority. The same is true in the NBA, where there are players who are 38 years old, which is an age when most players are unable to maintain a stable rotation position, but they are still able to perform quite well, support the team in multiple aspects, and achieve 40+5+5 or even higher stats.
However, in nearly 40 years, only four players in the NBA have achieved this feat, and only one has done it multiple times. In fourth place is Karl Malone, who scored 40 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in a game after the age of 38. Karl Malone recognized early on the importance of targeted, systematic strength training, which allowed him to grow up better equipped to adapt to high-intensity matches. After entering the NBA, there were doubts about Karl Malone's fatness, but he worked hard in the gym to reduce his body fat percentage to a low level, making his muscles more defined and improving his flexibility in the game. His hard work has paid off, with Karl Malone consistently playing at an incredibly high rate, missing just five regular-season games in his first 13 seasons.
He's also been able to remain competitive, ranking in the top five in points per game for 11 seasons in his 13 years in the league. Even at the age of 35, he won the MVP, becoming the first player in NBA history to win the award at the age of 35. And at the age of 36 and beyond, he can still maintain an excellent performance of about 20+7+4 per game. Later in the 2002-03 regular season, 39-year-old Karl Malone moved faster than any player, including a teenage insider, in a game that helped the Jazz to a 111-108 win over the Magic. On the offensive end, he was almost invincible, scoring 40 points on 12-of-19 shooting and 16-of-22 from the free-throw line, along with nine rebounds and seven assists, as well as four steals.
In third place was Jordan, who scored 45 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in a game after the age of 38. Jordan's comeback in 2001 and joining the Wizards was nothing short of extraordinary. After three seasons away, he's over 38 years old, and the NBA is emerging with a new breed of stars, so there is a lot of skepticism about his performance. However, Jordan showed amazing form in the game. In his first 10 regular-season games since his return, five times he scored more than 30 points in a single game, and on one occasion he reached 40 points. He was still able to beat the league's top defenders on the offensive end, and even led the team to a nine-game winning streak within a month of the start of the regular season. This has led to the nomination of the 38-year-old Jordan as an MVP candidate more often. However, during a period of intense fixtures, Jordan's form suffered.
The Wizards suffered defeats in four consecutive road games and two back-to-back games, with Jordan scoring just six points in one of those games. This seems to have sparked Jordan's explosiveness. He scored 51 points in one game and then went on to score 45 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and three steals against the Nets to lead a 22-point victory. Sadly, however, Jordan was injured near the end of the regular season, which ultimately led to the Wizards missing the playoffs and finishing 10th in the East. Next we talk about Jamal Crawford. At the age of 38, he had a performance in which he scored more than 40 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists in a single game.
Jamal Crawford is one of the few players in the NBA who can show off his street basketball skills with ease, and his "double-back" dribbling has created some stunning moments and even earned him the nickname "Ankle Finisher". After a period of hard work, he finally found his place in the league as the sixth man. In this role, he shined, winning the Best Sixth Man award three times. Facing a team with Jamal Crawford on the bench, it's hard not to worry about being crushed by the opposition after switching to a second team. He has an excellent "scoring explosion", and even at the age of 39, he was able to set a new career high scoring record, scoring 51 points in a high-scoring performance.
In the 2018-19 regular season finale, Jamal Crawford, who wore a Suns jersey, wrapped off the season with a crazy scoring performance. The stellar performances of Jamal Crawford and James have been the talk of the NBA lately. In the Mavericks' game against the Suns, Crawford showed his unstoppable scoring talent. No matter how the opponent defended, he increased his score every quarter: 5 points in the first quarter, 7 points in the second quarter, 13 points in the third quarter, and finally exploded in the final quarter, scoring 26 points in a single quarter, four more than the Mavericks as a whole in a single quarter. He shot 18-of-30 from the field and 8-of-9 from the free-throw line, and finally scored 51 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out five assists, becoming the oldest "Mr. 50" in NBA history.
Another star, James, has also had an impressive performance after the age of 38. He has scored 40+5+5 statistics in seven consecutive games, including an efficient performance of 47 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists, 43 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists, and 48 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists. After three 40+5+5 performances in just two weeks, James helped the Lakers emerge from a poor start to the regular season and eventually qualify for the playoffs through the play-offs. In the playoffs, he played 40+5+5 in the series G4 of the Western Conference finals and Nuggets, becoming the only player in the past 40 years to blast 40+5+5 or higher in a single playoff game after the age of 38. James has been in incredible form in his 21st season in the NBA, as if time has not left a mark on him.
When playing with players who are a decade younger than him, he often moves at an unbelievably faster pace. In Game 30 of the Lakers' regular season, the team suffered a four-game losing streak and slipped to 10th place in the West, but James' excellent play helped the team beat the Thunder and halted the decline. Throughout the game, James scored a game-high 40 points on 13-of-20 shooting, 5-of-5 three-pointers and 9-of-9 free throws, along with seven rebounds and seven assists. His performance can't help but remind people of the sentence "At that time, the young man stood at the peak and looked back, the road was rugged and flowers had already bloomed".