The story of this NBA season may be turn out to be a major changing of the guard as young superstars continue to put the league on notice. The average age of the leading scorers in the first four NBA playoff games was 22-years-old.
The 76ers’ Tyrese Maxey (38 points) is 21. Golden State’s Jordan Poole (30 points) is 22. The Jazz’s Donovan Mitchell (33 points) is 25. And Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards (36 points) is 20.
Much of the media focus during the regular season was understandably on the “super-team” assembled around the great 38-year-old LeBron James in Los Angeles, but that veteran-laden squad featuring Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony — a roster with the highest average age in the NBA– failed to advance to the playoffs.
Yesterday the Lakers-less NBA playoffs began with four first round games. And for all the excitement around 2x MVP Stephen Curry‘s return from injury and Joel Embiid‘s title quest with new teammate James Harden, it was the youth that won the day.
