Folks, concerning age, it's a fact that human growth hormone secretions fall, after the age of 30. What that does is lower one's DHEA, interstitial antioxidant (SOD, etc) levels, etc, which where the whole "wear 'n tear" idea comes from. The professional athlete simply doesn't recover, from a grueling game, after the age of 32. That's why Hakeem completely went from "A" level, the '95-'96 season, to a dud, the following year; his leg problems had became chronic. He simply was no longer recovering.
The solution, of course, isn't allowed in professional sports and that's to get HGH injections, along with high levels of antioxidant cocktails (like PBN, etc) and anti-diabetic/anti-glycating formulas (Metafornim). That would keep most 35-45 years olds playing like they're 31 till the age of 48-52, when their biological markers would stop responding to the treatments as earlier. So, in place of the above, all a team can do is take a 38-39 year old, like PJ, off the bench for 5-10 min stints, from time to time. The same would hold true for Reggie Miller if he decided upon a comeback.