LeBron James , Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant may be aging, but they continue to play at a high level. Their secret: taking good care of their bodies and continuously striving to get better.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar followed a similar approach throughout his career, and that allowed him to play at the highest level until he was 41.
Even when he was in his late 30s, almost no one was able to effectively contain the Los Angeles Lakers center. Most coaches, including Dick Motta, felt tiring him out would work, but that hardly slowed down an aging Abdul-Jabbar, who was still unstoppable.
"I have told all my centers to run on Kareem whenever they got a chance. But everyone I have told that to is either retired or out of the league, and he's still going strong," the then-Dallas Mavericks head coach said via the New York Times.
Beyond the diet he followed, Abdul-Jabbar admitted that another key factor in his success was his years of experience playing NBA basketball.
"The wisdom I've gotten from the game more than compensates for the physical deficiencies I had. I've also kept the physical thing at a pretty high level by training 12 months a year," the legendary big man shared on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson." "You just have to be dedicated to this as a profession and approach it as something you want to do all your life."
Kareem is the only player to win multiple titles after the age of 37. What's even more impressive is that he was an important player in those title runs, particularly in 1985. He won Finals MVP for his legendary performance, averaging 25.7 points and 9.0 rebounds in the series against the Boston Celtics .
Abdul-Jabbar's final two championships came in 1987 and 1988. While he still put up decent numbers in the 1987 Finals against the Celtics — 21.7 points and 7.3 rebounds — his numbers dropped considerably in the 1988 Finals when the Lakers beat the Detroit Pistons . The Hall of Famer averaged only 13.1 points and 4.1 rebounds in that seven-game series.
Luckily, the Purple and Gold had players like Magic Johnson and James Worthy who stepped up, knowing Abdul-Jabbar was no longer the two-way monster he once was.
Abdul-Jabbar was not the only player who won titles in his 40s; Robert Parish, Kevin Willis and James Edwards also did it. Parish (1996) and Edwards (1995) achieved it with the Chicago Bulls , while Willis won his with the San Antonio Spurs in 2003.
However, it is worth noting that, unlike Abdul-Jabbar, none of those guys were key contributors to their teams' success.
Abdul-Jabbar did it all throughout his career, cementing himself as one of the best players the NBA has ever seen. Still, the most impressive part of his iconic run is his longevity and the ability to make an impact late into his 30s, which was unprecedented at the time.
Fast forward to today, and there are plenty of superstars who continue to replicate what Kareem was able to do that late into his career. But they have the tools — from recovery, diet, medicine — that make their job easier. The Lakers legend didn't have those luxuries. Yet he was able to challenge Father Time like no one before him.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 23, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
