Damien Wilkins was a surprise signing for the Indiana Pacers at age 37, but is he really “too old” for the NBA? Welcome to the NBA Murtaugh List.
Kids, let me tell you about a column I wrote in 2015 called “The NBA’s Murtaugh List: Who Is Getting Too Old For This?”
The concept was simple: There are several NBA players approaching the age of 40 and understandably they’re not the young bucks they once were. The question is: Are they too old for this shit? (Sorry, Mom.)
The idea came from an episode of How I Met Your Mother where, well, let me just quote the original column.
"In the show, our lovable everyman Ted Mosby explains to the over-the-top Barney Stinson that he has a list of things he’s simply too old for. The name of the list comes from the movie Lethal Weapon where the character Roger Murtaugh says the line “I’m too old for this [expletive].”"
There may be a role for them on their team, but their dwindling athleticism is limiting them from having a larger impact. While a player may do some things right if their age appears to be making them a liability at times, they will find themselves on the list.
I decided it was time to bring back this list thanks to Damien Wilkins being the Indiana Pacers backup swingman at 37-years-old. That makes him the 5th oldest player in the NBA.
He wasn’t on the original list like Vince Carter, Manu Ginobili, or Dirk Nowitzki who are only slightly older than him. That’s because he wasn’t in the NBA in 2015, 2016, or even last season. but that’s not important right now.
The real question is whether he is in fact, too old for this, um, stuff.
Damien Wilkins — Indiana Pacers
Age: 37 (9 seasons)
Wilkins stands out among the NBA’s 35+ crowd as one of the few players in that group that lacks either an All-Star appearance, a ring, or both. Most of the others who don’t have one of those are3
.0better-known names, such as Jamal Crawford or Jose Calderon. His resume is lacking (though perhaps he had good references), so let’s look at his numbers so far this season.
He is averaging 1.3 points, 0.7 rebounds, and 0.7 assists a game, all career-lows. Despite playing around 10 minutes in three games so far, he is barely showing up on the stat sheet.
After spending last season with the @greensboroswarm, @dwilkins3000 finishes his first bucket as a member of the @Pacers! pic.twitter.com/zpm4DscjDM
— NBA G League (@nbagleague) October 20, 2017
Among the league’s oldest players, arguably only Jose Calderon and Jason Terry have had less of an impact, but they’ve played fewer minutes.
None of this is to say Wilkins shouldn’t be playing at all, but when it is hard to find anything that Wilkins makes the Pacers better at. He may be providing the Pacers with veteran leadership, but in this small sample size of three games, it is hard to argue for why he is on the roster. It isn’t a good sign that McMillan cut down his 10-man rotation to 9 in the last two games, making Wilkins the odd man out.
Indiana wasn’t planning on Wilkins playing this much until Glenn Robinson III went down with an injury, but for now, he is in the mix until at least January. I like Wilkins and don’t mind seeing him on the court as much as some fans do, but he isn’t making a positive impact on the Pacers so far on the court.
Sorry, Damien Wilkins, but you’re on the NBA Murtaugh list.
But why stop here? Let’s look at a few of the oldest players in the NBA and decide whether they should join Wilkins because they are simply getting too old for this… stuff.