After recruiting James Harden and P.J. Tucker, the Los Angeles Clippers have become the oldest team in the NBA for the 2023/24 season. This has raised significant concerns among fans about the team’s championship potential, considering the challenges associated with the players’ aging and fitness.

Is Age a Barrier for the Los Angeles Clippers?

The team from Los Angeles has visibly aged after just one summer.

However, theoretically, the Clippers’ star players should complement each other perfectly. With Kawhi Leonard and Paul George often employing “load management” throughout the season, James Harden and Russell Westbrook will be tasked with securing a playoff spot for the team. This shouldn’t be a challenging task for experienced stars like them.

On the contrary, any psychological weaknesses in Harden entering the playoffs can be offset by Leonard’s cool-headedness. The 32-year-old star, who earned the Finals MVP title in 2019, has a track record of delivering crucial shots in key moments.

Coach Tyronn Lue boasts a roster with many scoring options, implying that some players will have to sacrifice personal stats for a common goal. Westbrook seems adept at adapting to this dynamic. His usage rate with the Clippers this season is only 16.9%, compared to 27.7% last season. Throughout his basketball career, Westbrook’s lowest usage rate was 25.7%.

Over the years, Russell Westbrook has faced criticism for his playing style, with fans suggesting that his skill set is outdated and needs to be toned down. Finally, Westbrook seems to have heeded this advice, playing more steadily and allowing the spotlight to shine on teammates Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. Currently, Westbrook appears to be playing the role of the fourth scoring option for the Clippers.

Many questions have been raised by fans about this star-studded quartet of the Clippers, and answers will only become clear when all four take the court together. Will Russell Westbrook accept coming off the bench? Will James Harden accept a continued decrease in his usage rate for the fifth consecutive season? Will Paul George and Kawhi Leonard be willing to share the ball with the newcomers? These are challenging questions for Coach Tyronn Lue.

Other “Aged” NBA Teams in 2023/24

The age factor and physical fitness are crucial concerns for the Clippers at this point. After three games this season, the Clippers’ average age is 30.6, the highest in the NBA. When looking at the past decade, the only team with a similarly high average age was the 2017/18 Cleveland Cavaliers (also 30.6). The Cavaliers finished that season with a 50-32 record before losing in the finals.

When the Clippers have all their players back, their average age will likely increase further. While KJ Martin is only 22, the other newcomers from the Sixers are seasoned players: Nicolas Batum at 34, Marcus Morris at 34, and Robert Covington at 32. This is not to mention Harden at 34 and the oldest, P.J. Tucker, at 38.

However, does having a team that is relatively old pose challenges in winning in the NBA? The historical data does not support that notion. Teams with an average age above 30 tend to win more. Of the 29 teams with an average age of 30 or above, 28 finished the season with a winning percentage above 50%. Many of them also won championships.

Teams with an Average Age Above 30 that Won the NBA Championship

| Championship Year   | Champion Team       | Average Age |

+———————+———————+————-+

| 1997/98             | Chicago Bulls       | 31.7        |

| 2010/11             | Dallas Mavericks    | 30.9        |

| 1996/97             | Chicago Bulls       | 30.7        |

| 1968/69             | Boston Celtics      | 30.5        |

| 2006/07             | San Antonio Spurs   | 30.4        |

| 2012/13             | Miami Heat           | 30.3        |

| 1998/99             | San Antonio Spurs   | 30.1        |

+———————+———————+————-+

In fact, this season, the Clippers are not the only “aged” team with championship ambitions. The five teams with the highest average ages in the league include the Lakers, Suns, Bucks, Warriors, and Clippers, all heavy contenders for the championship. The Chicago Bulls also rank fifth in average age, but they are certainly not championship contenders, or even playoff contenders for that matter.

The reigning champions, the Denver Nuggets, are the only contenders with an average age outside the top 10, boasting a relatively young team with an average age of 26.6, ranking 14th in the league. The youthfulness of the Nuggets will likely keep them in contention for many years, not just in the current season.

Do the Los Angeles Clippers Have a Chance to Win the NBA Championship in 2023/24?

Another noteworthy statistic for the Clippers this season is the number of appearances in the All-NBA teams by their players. With 27 appearances, the Clippers have the highest total in the league for the 2023/24 season, clearly demonstrating that the team’s roster consists of high-caliber players.

| Team                | Number of All-NBA Apps | Players                        |

+———————+————————+——————————–+

| Clippers            | 27                     | Westbrook (9), Harden (7),     |

|                     |                        | George (6), Leonard (5)        |

| Warriors            | 24                     | Paul (11), Curry (9), Green (2),|

|                     |                        | Thompson (2)                   |

| Lakers              | 23                     | James (19), Davis (4)          |

| Bucks               | 14                     | Giannis (7), Lillard (7)       |

| Suns                | 12                     | Durant (10), Beal (1), Booker (1)|

| Nuggets             | 8                      | Jokic (5), Jordan (3)          |

| Heat                | 8                      | Butler (5), Love (2), Lowry (1) |

| Mavericks           | 7                      | Doncic (4), Irving (3)         |

| Timberwolves        | 6                      | Gobert (4), Towns (2)          |

| Celtics             | 5                      | Tatum (3), Brown (1), Horford (1)|

| 76ers               | 5                      | Embiid (5)                    |

+———————+————————+——————————–+

When healthy and at their peak, Westbrook, Harden, George, and Leonard have consistently been among the best NBA players of the past decade. From Westbrook’s explоsiоn with OKC in the 2014/15 season to Harden’s tenure with the Rockets, Leonard’s championship peak with the Raptors, and Paul George’s time with the Indiana Pacers, each year from 2010/11 to 2020/21 saw at least one of these four players make the All-NBA team.

Let’s focus on the rightmost part of the chart: In the last two seasons, none of these players returned to the All-NBA team, let alone reaching that level. This starkly contrasts with the 2018/19 season, a time when all four players featured in that prestigious list.

The decline in skills and performance of all four players is undeniable. Health issues, a longstanding weakness for the Clippers over the past four years, persist, and the risky move of adding “veteran” players to the roster continues to be a gаmble with injuries. While the experience of these four stars remаins a formidable weapon, the reality is that they are far from their peak, as evident in the chart above.

It will be a challenging puzzle for coach Tyronn Lue, but let’s wait and see what the Clippers can achieve in the upcoming season.