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| Kidd and Camby give new meaning to old school. (Getty Images) |
How old are this season's installment of the New York Knicks? As Evan Dunlap of SB Nation points out, the Knicks have four players older than the Magic's head coach (Jacque Vaughn).
Jason Kidd is 39 and will turn 40 during the season. Marcus Camby is 39. Kurt Thomas is 39. Expected signing Rasheed Wallace is 38.
The Knicks are actually so old, they're historical. No, literally, they really are. Via the Wall Street Journal:
Assuming Wallace signs, their top 13 players would be, on average, 32 years and 240 days old — the oldest team in NBA history, according to Stats LLC. No team has ever gotten so much older from one season to the next.
Coincidentally, the 1997-98 Knicks, who got to the conference semifinals, were the NBA's oldest group before this year's team. Jeff Van Gundy, who coached the 1997 club, said he didn't see the long-in-the-tooth 2012 Knicks as troubling.
"They're not counting on their oldest players to be their best ones," the ESPN analyst said. "Plus, Kidd and these other guys love the game. That love won't negate Father Time, because Father Time is undefeated. But it might stave off a year or two."
There's still some youth though. Like Tyson Chandler is only -- 30. And Carmelo Anthony is entering his 10th season and is 28. Rookie Pablo Prigioni is ripe at the young age of 35.
Compare the Knicks to the Oklahoma City Thunder who just went to the NBA Finals and actually got younger on average with this season's roster.
But age is only a number if you win. Think of all the historical implications. Oldest team to ever win 50 games, oldest team ever to make the playoffs, oldest team ever to make the NBA Finals, oldest team ever to ... well, we'll see.
