‘Old Heads’: The Importance of a Veteran Presence on NBA Rosters

By Ethan Jones – Sports Writer

Looking back at recent NBA history, you will struggle to find a championship level team that did not contain a contributing veteran player on its roster. In some instances, these players still have a statistical impact on their teams performances, but often times, their footprint comes in the form of leadership that comes with experiencing the trials and tribulations of NBA basketball.

For a stretch of time in the late 1990’s to the mid 2010’s, the San Antonio Spurs were the model of NBA success. In the 1996-97 season, the Spurs, who were a regular playoff team up to this point, went a dismal 20-62 which landed them the No. 1 pick in the 1997 NBA Draft. David Robinson, who had won the MVP just a year prior, only suited up in 6 games of the Spurs torrid ’97 campaign. With the first pick in the draft, the Spurs took the highly touted Tim Duncan out of Wake Forest, and so began the reign of the Spurs.

Next to his partner in crime in Robinson, and coach Gregg Popovich, Duncan was instrumental in leading the Spurs to titles in 1999 and 2003. During this time, the Spurs were able to get two second round steals, in the form of Manu Ginobili in 1999, and Tony Parker in 2001. With the retirement of Robinson, it was up to this young core to step up and become the leaders, and that they did. They would become franchise legends by claiming 3 more titles including a ring in 2014, in which they were all well over the age of 30. As a franchise, the were able to maintain this ridiculous 20 year playoff run because a system became embedded into their core, where older players were obliged to transfer their experiences onto the youth coming through.

Spurs legends

Looking into the Warriors dynastic run between 2015 and 2019, the All Star quality of its starters was to credit for much of its success, however its bench, certainly in the earlier finals runs, was what gave them their initial edge. Originally, veterans such as Leandro Barbosa, David Lee and Brandon Rush gave meaningful minutes for the Dubs squad who were referred to as “Strength In Numbers” during their first title run. Even after the acquisition of Kevin Durant, the key signings of experienced players such as Matt Barnes, Nick Young and JaVale McGee, elevated the chances of sustained success, in combination with the established bench leaders in Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston.

We saw the Raptors bring the city of Toronto their first ever NBA championship in 2019. The Kawhi Leonard factor can’t be overstated, but it was also guys like Marc Gasol, Danny Green and Serge Ibaka who brought their own winning identities to a franchise that had been somewhat of a laughingstock around the league in the sense of underachieving. Each of these players gave the Raptors valuable minutes during their magical playoff run, and it was the combination of these ‘old heads’ along with the young core in Siakam, Anunoby and VanVleet, that gave a level of balance needed on a championship team.

Due to the COVID pandemic that has engulfed the league over the past two seasons, the 2020 NBA champions were going to have to show a certain quality and grit in order to get over the hump in such a confusing time. It is hard to argue that any team was better equipped than the eventual winners in the Los Angeles Lakers. Despite having LeBron James, who is a solidified all-time great in this league, partially due to his ability to defy the physics of human aging, along with perennial all-star, Anthony Davis, the rest of the roster had many questions surrounding it.

However, when things got tight and it was time for players to show who they really were, it was these Lakers role players who used their knowledge of big moments to help the superstar duo. Danny Green, Rajon Rondo and Dwight Howard may not have stuffed the stat sheet across the playoffs, but their impact could certainly be seen in terms of willing their team to greatness. To further understand this point, we can point to someone like Jared Dudley, another member of the champion Lakers. Dudley only played a total of 31 minutes across the entire playoffs, but he was clearly on that roster for a reason and that could be seen by the respect that his teammates showed him during their interactions.

Jared Dudley; an underrated presence.

At this present moment, 4 teams remain in the hunt for the 2021 championship. All of these franchises however have not had any meaningful playoff success for a significant period of time, Phoenix being the last team to make the Finals all the way back in 1993. This year, the Suns are essentially a young, inexperienced team, headlined by Devin Booker, but then they also have one of the greatest leaders in basketball in Chris Paul, and a gritty veteran in Jae Crowder.  The Los Angeles Clippers, who the Suns are currently battling, are missing superstar Kawhi Leonard and are being led by Paul George, along with savvy veterans in the form of Rajon Rondo, Nic Batum and the surprising revival of 31 year old point guard, Reggie Jackson.

Flipping to the Eastern Conference, the Milwaukee Bucks are led by a trio containing 2x MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo, an all-star forward in Khris Middleton, and an experienced guard in Jrue Holiday. P.J Tucker and Brook Lopez both over the age of 33, are also major contributors to a team trying to shake the label of being regular season overachievers. Lastly, we have the Atlanta Hawks being led by a 22 year old Trae Young, who is surrounded by talented youth and also a number of established NBA talent including Lou Williams, Danilo Gallinari and Tony Snell.

Without the Lebron James’, Kevin Durant’s or Stephen Curry’s of the league making deep playoff runs this season, now more than ever, NBA fans will get to see how critical ‘old heads’ are in separating teams who are close in talent and elevating them to achieving greatness.

Who is the best leader in the NBA? Which team has surprised you the most this season? Let us know down below?

Ethan Jones is a Sports Writer for The Pioneer Australia. Go to the Sports tab at the top of the page to see more of his writing.