Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE
When the New York Knicks made the acquisitions to bring Jason Kidd, Marcus Camby, Kurt Thomas, Rasheed Wallace and Pablo Prigioni to the Big Apple, most people were left questioning about the age of team.
According to STATS, LLC, the Knicks have the oldest team in NBA history with the average age of 32 years and 240 days old. The Knicks have six players on their roster who are 30 years or older as Tyson Chandler turned 30 on Tuesday and the oldest player in the league, Thomas turned 40 on Thursday.
“I might have lost a half a step, but not a full step,” Thomas said. “I feel my game hasn’t changed in 10, 12 years. You may think I’m old; that’s fine. But when I get out there on the floor, I don’t think you will see that.”
While Chandler signed with the Knicks as a free agent last season, he was able to win a championship with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011 when their roster averaged nearly 30 years of age.
“Obviously, we’ve got some guys a little over that mark,” Chandler said. “But you know what, the guys that we do have are going to bring great veteran leadership and they bring a calmness around the team that we didn’t have before, and it’s only going to benefit us. In order to win in this league, you’ve got to have veterans.”
The Knicks starting five on opening night figures to be Raymond Felton, J.R. Smith, Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire and Chandler, but the contributions from a more experienced bench could be the difference between a championship and a disappointing season. Kidd, Camby and Wallace are 38 years old and are expected to see significant time off of the bench
“It’s kind of nice to see,” head coach Mike Woodson said. “These guys are older, and I’ve got to be a little more privy to how I push them in terms of practice. But for the most part, they’ve been hanging in there and doing everything I’ve asked them to do.”
