Arizona Sports Face-Off: 38-year-old athletes

Feb 15, 2012, 5:38 PM | Updated: Apr 9, 2012, 10:32 pm

Arizona Sports

Suns star Steve Nash turned 38 recently, and
celebrated the milestone by hitting the game-winning shot
against the Milwaukee Bucks.

So it got us to thinking, who is the best 38-year-old
player in Arizona Sports history? That is the question for
the first ever Arizona Sports Face Off.

Vince Marotta: Steve
Nash

Adam
Green: Randy Johnson

Yes Randy Johnson
did some great things after his 38th birthday, but we’ve
seen older pitchers excel well into their 40s. Nolan Ryan
and Warren Spahn are too prime examples. Satchel Paige
pitched well into his early 100s (or so I’ve heard).

NBA point guards very rarely even reach the age of 38, let
alone excel at age 38. Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson and
Isiah Thomas were all long retired by the time they
reached that age and others like Mark Jackson, Gary Payton
and yes, even Jason Kidd are just hanging on at 38.

Yet Nash has suffered no drop-off in his game. Maybe it’s
his training regimen? Maybe it’s the fact that he’s never
averaged more than 35 minutes per game in a season? Maybe
he’s got tiger blood and Adonis DNA? Whatever it is, Steve
Nash is proving that 38 is the new 28.

I’m not even sure this is a debate.
Yes, Steve Nash is the best old guy in the NBA, but Randy
Johnson was the best pitcher in baseball, age be damned.

The Big Unit tallied a league-best 24 wins, a league-best
2.32 ERA, a league-best 8 complete games, a leauge-best
260 innings pitched and a league-best 334 strikeouts. Oh,
he also won the NL Cy Young Award while leading the D-
backs to the playoffs.

Is Steve Nash playing well? Absolutely, especially for a
38-year-old. But he’s not eventhe best player in the
league at his position, and injuries have taken a toll on
his ability to even be on the court on a nightly basis.
Randy Johnson was as durable as he was dominant, so he
gets the nod.

Follow @theAdamGreen

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