Ranking the 30 best NBA seasons from players over 35 years old

The 30 best NBA seasons from players over 35 years old — 13. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1982-83 (36)

With all due respect to the Boston Celtics, the Los Angeles Lakers were the dominant team of the 1980s. They won five titles, made it to the NBA Finals seven times in ten seasons, and never won fewer than 54 games. The combination of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson was something beautiful to behold.

This dominance occurred even though the decade began with the Lakers’ best player turning 33 before the end of their first season. Abdul Jabbar won titles at 33 and 42 to bracket the decade, an untouchable feat of longevity and dominance. With year after year of offensive bliss, the individual seasons blend together in the memory of history.

The 1982-83 season is a little like that for Abdul-Jabbar, who turned 36 during the year. He scored 21.8 points per game on 58.8 percent shooting from the field, to go along with 7.5 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. He was the leading scorer on a Showtime Lakers team that put up 115.0 points per game and 110.5 points per 100 possessions, the latter tops in the league.

Abdul-Jabbar finished with a PER of 23.6, fourth in the league, and was similarly fourth in effective field goal percentage. He finished top 10 in win shares, offensive rating, and box plus/minus. He not only continued his streak of what would be 19 consecutive All-Star appearances, he was named to the All-NBA second team and placed in the top-10 in MVP voting.

The Lakers ended the year with a 58-24 record, yet again the best in the Western Conference. They cruised past the Portland Trail Blazers in the second round after their first-round bye (yes, those were a thing) and won a hard-fought series with George Gervin, Artis Gilmore and the San Antonio Spurs. They were then unceremoniously spanked by the best Philadelphia 76ers team in history, with Moses Malone, Julius Erving and company sweeping the Lakers.