30 over 30: NBA’s best veterans above the age of 30

30-over-30: The NBA’s best veteran players – 26-23

DeMar DeRozan was clearly not part of the championship solution during his time with the Toronto Raptors, and he is not driving the San Antonio Spurs to a title either. Yet on a team making a slow pivot to the youth movement, he has become an efficient, smart player as he has slid down the positional spectrum to play at the 3 and, increasingly, the 4. He ranks in the top 30 among all players in Box Plus-Minus (BPM) this season, and despite the Spurs’ youthful growing pains has been the steadying force in keeping them in the playoff picture.

When you play for a title favorite who falls short multiple years in a row, you tend to have the flaws in your game targeted and flaunted. Brook Lopez is not a perfect player, and the Milwaukee Bucks would be well-served in having an option to slide superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo to center in some situations. Yet that shouldn’t take away from the fact that Lopez is still one of the league’s best rim protectors, has been the anchor for a top-10 defense three years in a row, and spaces the floor from the center position.

One of the stars of the NBA Bubble a season ago, Goran Dragic can’t climb higher on this list because he’s so rarely available to play. Each of the past two seasons the Heat have had to contort themselves making up for his injury-related absences, including managing minutes restrictions when he does play. If that maintenance works and he hits the postseason with the same pep he had last year, he deserves to be higher. If this injury-hampered reality is all there is, then he will drop off. At his best Dragic is zipping around screens, knifing into the paint and finishing with pizzazz; let’s hope that comes back soon.

Far from a star, Ingles is the epitome of “star in his role” if you can pardon the cliché. The Australian wing is shooting just under 50 percent from 3-point range (49.3 percent) on 5.5 attempts per game and is one of three Jazz players averaging between 4.1 and 5.4 assists per game. He slots in everywhere from shooting guard to power forward as a super-sub off the bench, the quintessential glue guy for a modern NBA that demands shooting and ball movement from as many positions as possible.