NBA grows younger — under-25s had 40,5% of minutes in 2025/26
Players under 25 logged 40,5% of league minutes in 2025/26 while 30-plus players contributed 19,8%, continuing a decades-long shift toward youth.
The NBA is shifting toward a noticeably younger player base: in the 2025/26 season, players under 25 accounted for 40,5% of total minutes played across the league, while players aged 30 and over made up only 19,8%.
Long-term reversal of playing-time balance
This turn toward youth did not happen overnight. The change began in the first decade of this century, when younger players first started to surpass veterans in aggregate minutes, and the gap has widened since. In the most recent season, players under 25 received roughly twice as many minutes as their counterparts older than 30.
The shift is visible even in the postseason, where experience traditionally counted for more. In the 1998 playoffs, players over 30 logged 50,6% of playoff minutes while players under 25 logged just 11,4%. By the 2026 playoffs that dynamic had flipped: under-25 players recorded 34,6% of playoff minutes and veterans 22,8%.
Several factors help explain the trend: teams favor faster lineups, place greater value on athletic upside, and often accelerate the development of young talent. Roster construction and load-management practices also mean older stars see fewer total minutes than in past decades.
There are still standout veterans performing at elite levels—LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant remain among the league’s top players—but they are exceptions to a broader league-wide move toward younger rotation players. Expect roster strategies and draft planning to continue reflecting that reality in coming seasons.
Photo: press material from the event
