How difficult is it to win the championship at the age of 40? There are only 4 players in the NBA, and active James is expected to be replicated

As long as you stand on the NBA stage, no player is willing to lose all the time, and many players regard the championship as their highest goal. It is precisely because of this that we have seen that many free agents have to join a team with the ability to compete for the championship even if they have to take the initiative to cut their salary. They will also choose to reduce their salary and form a team to compete for the championship. However, even so, not every team can win the championship. For the previous teams such as the Suns and Nets, they seem to have a luxurious lineup on paper, but in the end they fail to achieve the results they want.

And for many players, their chances of winning the championship are fleeting. Once they do not seize the most suitable window of championship competition, it will be even more difficult for him to win the championship later. For example, Harden was the most promising winner in 2018. The Rockets led the Warriors 3-2 that year. If they really crossed this mountain, they would probably win the cup. As a result, they were won by their opponents two consecutive games later, and they were eventually eliminated. Since 2018, Harden has never had such a good opportunity, and he has not even reached the division finals again.

Harden is now 35 years old, and he signed a two-year contract with the Clippers this offseason. Considering the current situation of the team, they are obviously not the first tier of the championship, so the probability of Harden not having a championship in his life is undoubtedly getting higher and higher. In addition, the endings of Harden are about the same as those of Paul, George, Butler and other stars. They have had better chances to compete for the championship before, but unfortunately they were not sure about it. Now they are over 35 years old and have already begun to decline.

For the strongest stars, once they get closer to 40 years old, it means that their competitive state is basically getting closer to retirement, and most stars are not as good as this age, so it is not to mention that they can still win the championship at the age of 40. Looking at NBA history, only 4 players have achieved this feat!

1. James Edwards (40 years old and 207 days)

Edwards, who entered the league in 1977, averaged 15+7 per game for five consecutive seasons. Later, he began to gradually decline. After being traded to the Pistons in the 1987-1988 season, his data fell to 5.4 points and 3 rebounds per game. However, Edwards returned to the team rotation later. Although he was not the most core player, he averaged 18.6 minutes per game and contributed 7.1 points and 2.1 rebounds in the playoffs. With his help, the Pistons successfully won two consecutive championships.

After leaving the Pistons in 1991, Edwards joined the Clippers, Lakers, and Trail Blazers. In the last season of his career, he joined the Bulls. The lucky Edwards then followed the team to win the championship, but due to the influence of his competitive state, he basically did not play much this year, so after winning the championship, he successfully ended his career.

2. Kevin Willis (40 years old and 282 days)

As one of the members of the Diamond Generation, Willis was selected by the Hawks with the No. 11 draw at the 1984 draft, and he also played his strongest performance here. At his peak, Willis had a double-double average in many seasons, among which in the 1991-1992 season he averaged 18.3 points, 15.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game, and he was selected as the only All-Star in his career.

Later, Willis was traded one after another, so he played for Heat, Warriors, Rockets and other teams one after another. During this period, he averaged 16.1 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1 assist at the age of 35. In 2002, Willis joined the Spurs again. At this time, he was 40 years old and still had the power to play. He averaged 4.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game in the regular season. He also won his only championship with the team in the playoffs. After winning the championship, Willis did not choose to retire. He ended his career until he was 44 years old, so his career was undoubtedly very long.

3. Jabbar (41 years and 66 days)

Jabbar, who debuted at the peak, was selected by the Bucks, who had just started the team in 1969, and then he was selected for the All-A Second Team in the rookie season. In his second season of his career, the 23-year-old Jabbar successfully led the Bucks to win the first championship in team history. This year, he averaged 26.6 points, 17 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in the playoffs, and in the end he won the FMVP without any suspense. After playing for six seasons with the Bucks, Jabbar parted ways with the team, and then he joined the Lakers and received more honors here.

In addition to MVP, Best Team, etc., Jabbar also won 5 championship rings in the Lakers, and at the end of his career, he could still play an irreplaceable role in the team's championship competition. Because of this, he was once considered an "evergreen" in NBA history. When he helped the Lakers win the championship for the last time in 1988, the 41-year-old Jabbar not only started every game in the playoffs, but also averaged 14.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 blocks per game.

4. Robert Palish (43 years and 286 days)

In 1976, Palish was selected by the Warriors. After entering the league, he quickly showed his talent. However, he really reached the peak after joining the Celtics. In the first year of his time, he was selected as the All-Star with his average of 18.9 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1 steal and 2.6 blocks. Palish of the Celtics has become a regular visitor to the All-Star and has also been selected into the Best Team twice. With his help, the Celtics have become the top team, and in the end they have won the championship many times. After ending his Celtic career, Palish first joined the Hornets, but he still wanted to continue winning the game and then joined the Bulls. This season, 43-year-old Palish has not played much time and is only averaging 3.7 points and 2.1 rebounds per game in the regular season, but at least he has realized his wish to win the championship again.

In addition to the four players introduced above, the one who has the most hope of reproducing this feat in the current NBA may be James. He is about to turn 41 years old and still has the best second team competitive state last season. In addition, the Lakers' current lineup is undoubtedly built to compete for the championship. In addition to James, they also have outstanding players like Doncic, Reeves, and Hachimura. If the Lakers can continue to strengthen their inside and defense, they still have hope of winning the cup next season.