What age did you decline? Felt it, and noticed it?

[SamuraiSWISH]

I have played continuously since the age of 6. Particularly the ages of 11 - 25. At rec centers as a kid playing 10 to 12 hours a day on weekends. 3 to 4 hours a night all week even as an adult @ the gym after work.

Haven't played too frequently the past 2 years. Since I turned 26, it was sporadic that I got on the court. When I did my skills were still there. My athleticism was still there. I could always get to a point on the court I wanted to ... could also usually lock someone up when I felt like it.

Just started getting back to the gym consistently recently, I'm 29 now, and I have never felt so old or un-able to do the things I want to out there in my life. I quickly get fatigued too. Can only play for so long. If my team keeps winning, by the 4th or 5th game I'm really feeling it. Endurance wasn't ever a problem for me. My jumper is broke. My handle is sloppy. Which was my calling card my entire basketball life, and the skill set I was most prolific at ... my mind will tell me to jump, and my body will weakly attempt to elevate to grab boards.

Do you think it's just atrophy of my skills, endurance, and body due to relative inactivity, mainly basketball over the past 2 years? Or do you think I've concretely begun my athletic decline?

What age were you when you simply couldn't do the things you used to on the court? Where you felt old, tired, or really rusty skill wise? When players you used to abuse on call now at times can give you the business and you're helpless but to just watch?

[Rake2204]

I flew high (athletically) through most of my 20's. For a second after high school graduation, I was an idiot and thought I'd already peaked, so I stopped playing and got really out of shape around age 19. Thankfully, it didn't take long to come to my senses and I came back better than ever, for the better part of 10 years.

Then, at age 29, I severely sprained my ankle in the summer. After over a month of recovery, I returned and sprained it within the first week. I was out for around four months by the time it was all said and done and even then, the ankle would still give me pain issues for another year or more.

At that point, I began second guessing myself and wondering if decline was coming about - because I knew my 30th birthday was around the corner and this time, I wasn't 18 years old looking up at my athletic peak.

That was last winter, and I'm still trying to figure things out. I think the mental side of things is my biggest enemy at this point. I think my super-peak already happened, but if I'm logical, nothing's fallen off a cliff. Mentally though, if one thing's not as good as it used to be - even if it's still very good - that's enough to get me thinking too much.

The most obvious effect so far, being just shy of 31, has been my dunking. I haven't dunked in a game since June. And again, I don't know if it's entirely because I can't jump as high, or because I don't believe I can jump as high. It's likely a mix of both.

I used to scoff when I was younger and I'd hear 30+ year old pro guards say things like, "Oh I can still dunk, I just don't want to anymore." I thought it was nothing but delusion from guys who'd lost a step. Yet suddenly, I'm honestly finding myself thinking the same thing. Even if my hops are feeling tip-top, there's many more times in games these days (and when just shooting around, honestly) where my body and mind are just like, "Man, let's not exert all that force and energy if we don't have to."

Without trying to carry on for too long here, I also think it's easier to fall out of shape now. If there's no basketball available to be played for over a week, I have to dig myself out of a further rut than normal.

However, for the most part, coming up on 31, the majority of my game remains in tact. If my max vert was around 35 in my prime, I'd guess I've lost an inch or two there. And sometimes exploding coast-to-coast takes a little more out of me in terms of anaerobic exertion. But all things considered, I think I'm still in good shape (figuratively and literally).

It's good to talk myself through this stuff though. My biggest enemy at this point is honestly probably my mind. When you know you're 30, it's easy to start wondering about when the big decline is going to come, and I think that type of approach can accelerate the process.

[Lebron23]

I am just hitting my prime at age 27/28 ala Jordan in 1991 and Lebron in 2012.

[Combat Wombat]

I am just hitting my prime at age 27/28 ala Jordan in 1991 and Lebron in 2012.

[LLOYDBFREE]

I was more a baseball player through Highschool and couldn't dribble worth a damn, I improved my skills tremendously through college and actually at 30 feel like I am at the peak of skills/athleticism combo, might've been a lot more athletic at 25 but my dribbling was so bad I couldn't display it. Nowadays I'm playing pickup games daily after work then hitting the gym for weight training, also playing 2-4 hours on Sat/Sundays. I try to take 1-2 days off for active rest but so far so good.

[sundizz]

Samuraiswish it really is just an atrophy of your body and skills. You are definitely not "old." I can tell you because I was in the EXACT same situation (I'm 29). As adults we really don't realize how out of basketball shape we get ourselves. Weeks just fly by without playing. However, I would suggest that if you want to play into your 40's and 50's you should try to slow it down to 1 or 2x a week playing hard.

My journey:

-Played 10 to 22 pretty much everyday for 3 to 4 hours

-Took 23 off (moved to a new city for work) and got all sorts of out of shape

-24 moved back to my hometown and started hooping a bit. Was good, but not nearly the player I used to be because of the extra 30 pounds I was carrying around and had to work off. Never worked off all of it (mostly still ate really bad, and I was skinny my whole life until 24 so had bad habits.

-25 moved to a new country and didn't really play. Ate a little bit better etc.

-26 I started playing again and I really thought I was done. I even made an ISH post about it. I was so f'in depressed. I thought that it was the end of my career. I felt slow, couldn't handle (my best skill) or shoot with usual Klay accuracy, etc. For the first time I felt insecure on a basketball court. However, I just stuck with it and it took about 5 weeks. I felt better than ever actually. Been playing pretty 2x a week since then.

-29 now (had my first real injury, tore my ACL). Took 7 months off to rehab and get my body ready. I've been playing now, and understand my body much better. At this age you simply have to stay in good shape, not play more than 2x a week, and you can go for another 10 years easily. I see 35 to 45 year olds out here (South Korea) at the park still playing everyday no problem. You just can't go too crazy with trying to do stuff athletically and play the game like a marathon instead of a sprint. I'll go end to end full speed maybe 1x a game nowadays instead of every play.

[JohnnySic]

35

[ILLsmak]

16. lol. As I've said before. Killed my ankle and who knows what else. Should have got surgery. but I never plan to have surgery. Funny because I never had any other injuries except a couple broken noses, but that was it. My knee is bad now, my whole gait is weird. I can still ball, but I'm not athletic anymore. My ankle randomly gives if it's not braced. I'll plant it hard going to the hoop and fall, so I just play super bullyball like Bron, go into people get a strong base then go up.

It sucks for all of the people who had those kind of injuries. Not to say I was gonna be some great ballplayer, but I'm sure there are those who were and never got the chance.

-Smak

[Rake2204]

I was coming off winter break in my last post here; almost two weeks without real basketball. After having a few weeks to get back into it, including running outside of basketball, my game's beginning to feel pretty tight again.

I still think doubt may be our biggest enemy. I've usually lost an inch on my vert every winter for most of my life, just from the cold weather and whatnot (only to gain it back in the summer). Even in my prime, I always used to wonder "Man, maybe I'm just going downhill." But then that'd not be the case. One much believe in themselves.

The biggest thing is being in shape, obviously. If you're huffing and puffing, your game's done before it even starts. A few weeks ago, I didn't even want to do anything offensively because I was just tired. Catch, pass. But committing at least a little bit into getting in shape helps a ton.

[tgan3]

I think it really depends on the individual. How well you keep yourself in shape etc. If you are in shape, you can be in the 30's and still play at a high level.

For most pro ballers the general consensus is the peak is at 27-28 yo, afterwards a slight decline and rapid decline after 30. For normal people though, it should be earlier because we do not play as often and not as good in shape as these athletes. If I have to guess, maybe mid 20s for the general population. Even then the decline is not quantifiable. There are people who peak in the 30's and play until 40 (Nash, Stockton...Kareem and Duncan also played for a long time), and they are people who just fizzed out after hitting their mid 20s...

[2swift4u]

Imo at 29 you still have some good years left. I'm turning 33 this year and I don't think I've ever been in a better shape. However it takes a lot more effort than in my 20s. What age you decline obviously has something to do with the fact how well trained you were at some point. Im my 20s I didn't work out as hard as I do now that's why I'm a better athlet now than back then. If I had done the same stuff back then it probably would be a different story though...

I believe strength and endurance can be obtained or even improved till your late 30s. Speed/quickness/jumping are usually the things that decline as you're getting closer to 30. However it's still possible to obtain it or even improve a bit. I'm atually jumping higher now than I did in my mid 20s. But again I'm working out way more and smarter now than back then. I pay more attention to nutrition, recovery, flexibility etc. My brother is 38 and he's way more powerful and stronger than I am. We also have a guy in our team who just turned 40 and he's still in better shape than most of the younger guys. But both these guys take excellent care of their bodies.

to make a long story short; it's up to you! If you put in enough effort you can still be a great athlet in your 30s.

[01amberfirewv]

I'm 36 in better shape than most and I'm still fairly athletic but I can feel it in my shoulders knees and ankles. I didn't play consistently till 30 and spent a good deal of time in the weight room throughout my 20's. I've found I feel better when I stay close to the ground

[NBAplayoffs2001]

I barely workout in college, I just play basketball. Used to be able touch the rim barely in high school and was benching way higher than I can now. Better shooter now though. My handles weren't as crafty but I was able to dribble up the court faster. I was a 6th man for nearly every team I played for. Always got into foul trouble (I'm a pretty notorious dirty defender even at my current gym, I play streetball type of defense and I use elbows and brutal screens a lot) and had a knack of pissing my coach off (taking a three on a fastbreak instead of the easy layup... I used to hit them but my coach used to bench me everytime I did it lol)

I wasn't good enough to make my high school team (we had people who did play college d2-d3 ball litter our starting lineup sometimes). I wasn't tall, only 5'9''-5'10'' with shoes by graduation. I had a very strong arm though in terms of football. Never tried out and I wasn't bulky enough to play as a runningback or wide receiver. However, in pick up games, I often was a cornerback.

If I was 6'+, I would have definitely taken basketball a lot more seriously. At least where I grew up (just outside of NYC), basketball was far more appealing than football.

[AirBourne92]

athletic decline is correlated to "wear and tear"

unless you play in a rigorous professional league, you should be fine.

even with wear and tear, given enough time to train, a player can still be at excellent levels of shape, in terms of athleticism, including explosiveness.

i used to be a sprinter in hs so i find the following extremely cool

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sg8IYASzqMU

if i had to guess, he ran a sub 12 100m

if you can run a sub 12 second 100m, you are fast, although you'd get burned by elite hs sprinters and especially collegiate + pro

but it goes to show you what proper commitment to training and education will give you.

im a firm believer in strength training

for an athlete of any type, strength is the base of performance. it is the very element that is contained in every other component of athleticism

for speed you need strength
for agility you need strength
explosiveness DEPENDS on strength

endurance and durability DEPENDS on strength

powerlifters have the highest vertical leap of any athlete and they peak in the mid 30s.

get a barbell and start lifting bro

[poido123]

Still play a league here in Australia, but at 32, the little bit of athleticism that I had has long gone. Think I started getting knee fluid buildup around 30, and my knees click and have soreness a lot, largely due to being 105 kg

I've never been able to dunk etc, but always had good fundamentals and passing skills. I use court smarts and body positioning to beat out my opponent.

But still, when I go up against some of these young kids, I can only dream of being able to jump around like they can. It gets frustrating at times when I get beat out for a rebound, not because I didn't box out, but the kid can just get up there and grab it with athleticism.

I can defend anyone who isn't lightning quick. With a 105 km frame, I can pretty much muscle my opponent and I still have enough footspeed to keep up.