Here’s a couple of NBA stats that I hope you will find interesting…

Forty-something scorers. It goes without saying that the NBA is a league of “young” talent. There was, however,  a game this week that went largely unnoticed that showcased a 40-something player reliving his heyday.

Memphis Grizzlies player Vince Carter on March 13 scored 24 points in 30 minutes. Big deal, right? Well, at age 40 years and 46 days, Carter became the sixth player 40 years of age or older since the 1963-64 NBA season to score 20 or more points in an NBA regular season game. Carter did it against the Milwaukee Bucks. Prior to Carter’s game, the last time a player 40 years of age or older had 20 or more points in a regular season game was on April 1, 2004 when Karl Malone had 20 points for the L.A. Lakers in a contest versus the Houston Rockets.

There have been 56 games since the ’63-’64 season that a 40-something player tallied 20 or more points in a contest (teams were 36-20 in those games, if it matters to you). Michael Jordan tops the list with 20 of those games. Here’s a look at the six players who at age 40 (or older) had 20 or more points in an NBA regular season game since 1963-64.

20: Michael Jordan
16: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
9: John Stockton
6: Robert Parrish
4: Karl Malone
1: Vince Carter

The most points by a player in his 40’s (since 1963-64) was 43 by Jordan on February 21, 2003. In fact, Jordan has the four highest point games for a 40-year-old since ’63-’64, and is the only player to score 30 or more at age 40+. The oldest player to score 20 or more in an NBA game is Jabbar; he had 21 points in a game at age 41 years, 331 days.

Most NBA games without scoring a point. Imagine getting into an NBA game and not scoring. You’d be a little frustrated that your name didn’t appear with a point or two in the box score. Now image playing over 200 games in your NBA career where you didn’t score a point… yes, 200 or more games where you didn’t get in the scoring column.

Twelve players have played in 200 or more regular season games where they did not score a point. Two players, DeSagana Diop and Charles Jones both had 259 games in their NBA careers where they did not score a point. Following are those 12 players; also listed in parenthesis is their last year in the league.

Most career NBA regular season games with no points
259: DeSagana Diop (2013) and Charles Jones (1998)
256: Jud Buechler (2002) and Greg Kite (1995)
235: Tree Rollins (1995)
220: Manute Bol (1995)
207: Ryan Bower (2009)
206: Jason Collins (2014)
204: Mark Madsen (2009)
203: Greg Dreiling (1997)
200: Chris Dudley (2003) and Scott Hastings (1993)

There are another 16 players who have 170 or more career games with no points scored. Three of those players were active in the 2017 season: Joel Anthony (195 games), James Jones (183 games) and Steve Novak (170 games).

Of the players in the Basketball Hall of Fame, Dikembe Mutumbo tops the list with 84 career games with no points. He is followed by Robert Parrish with 65 and Dennis Rodman with 62.

For you Bucks fans out there, Dan Gadzuric tops the team’s list of players with the most games as a Buck with no points with 106. He is followed by Dick Cunningham (98 games), Ervin Johnson (94 games), Harvey Catchings (91 games) and Paul Mokeski (91 games).

Follow Jerry on Twitter @StatsonTapp