LeBron James became the NBA's only active 40-year-old on Monday, and just the 32nd in league history. As a result, we thought:
Who is the best player at every age in men's basketball right now?
We set out to determine just that. Mirroring the NFL's countdown over the summer, we enlisted the help of NBA senior writer Tim Bontemps, draft expert Jonathan Givony and recruiting expert Paul Biancardi to name the best players from age 14 all the way through age 40. (Biancardi handled ages 14-16, Givony picked for 17-19 and Bontemps did 20-40.)
And while some ages were easy to choose, other battles were excruciatingly difficult: Jayson Tatum or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander? Jalen Brunson or Donovan Mitchell? Stephen Curry or Kevin Durant? Good luck deciding any of those.
Let's get into the picks, starting with King James himself and counting down to players in high school.
Age 40: LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
Not only is James the lone 40-year-old in the NBA today, he remains one of the league's elite talents. There are three players this season averaging at least 20 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists per game: Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic ... and James. That he's keeping that sort of company while just setting the record for most minutes played in league history -- and sitting in the top five in virtually every individual statistical category -- is proof that we'll never see anything like this again.
