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I was reading about a few guys in the National Basketball Association who are in the so-called twilight of their careers. The likes of Tim Duncan, Dirk Notwitzki and Steve Nash are at the top of the list along with your beloved or hated #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers. Yet the old dogs are still in the hunt and in many respects feared by opponents. It reminds me of when you’ve got that older brother who’s only one or two years your senior. He took advantage of you so much when you’re a kid that when you’re both nearly adults, you still kind of wonder if picking a fight with him would be a good idea.

The battle scarred veterans are in the injury riddled final phase of their dominance of the airwaves and teenage boy wall space but something sets the vets apart that we should note – tenacity. As superstars age, the support they require increases and franchise executives are well aware of this. It’s there job to monitor manageable declines in the productivity of their go-to guys. As long as the main man can draw a double-team, he’s still deadly enough to build a team around. So that’s exactly what happens and the ageless wonders remain effective. Basketball in the NBA is about management and manipulation of resources. It is, at least in part, about drafting the right players, keeping them on your payroll and complementing them so that your franchise is branded. You want people to say, “That San Antonio Spurs is a class organization.” I’m one of those people. I’d say the same about Utah, Phoenix, not-so-much Dallas but definitely, as I gag, Boston.

People wonder how players manage to compete in their twilight when they can no longer play 82 games, notably the ones on the back end of a back-to-back. How does a 35-year old man who’s played basketball since he was 6 years old summon the resolve to lock antlers with young bucks? How does he not embarrass himself in the presence of new bloods? Figure two parts wisdom/savvy and one part cooperation from the front office. It’s a science that has been refined since the Lakers sent Kareem Abdul-Jabbar into retirement only after benefiting from his services well into the Captain’s 42nd year of life. The point is…twilight, schmilight. Being productive is not limited to youth though the mentality to compete is cultivated early. Whether a golden guy/girl or a fresh fish there’s much to learn from the hardwood gladiators preparing to give it “one mo’ ‘gain.” Best believe I’ll be studying how they get it done this year.