NBA A-Z: Who is best among the old guard?

• NBA is teeming with older players having success
• Many teams are pairing two older players: Lakers, Spurs, Celtics, Knicks
• Kobe Bryant is on pace to be the NBA's oldest scoring champion

Each Friday, the NBA A-Z guys Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt will take on a topic or topics from around the league to discuss. Jeff is on vacation this week, so Sam will tackle the question of the number of older players having success this season.

Of all the oldies-but-goodies who are ignoring Father Time and playing so well this season, who impresses you the most?

There are a lot of them, more than I can remember in quite some time, if not ever. And they're coming in pairs for quite a few teams: the Los Angels Lakers' Kobe Bryant (34 years old) and Steve Nash (38); the San Antonio Spurs' Tim Duncan (36) and Manu Ginobili (32); and the Boston Celtics' Kevin Garnett (36) and Paul Pierce (35). In New York, Jason Kidd (39) stands above the rest, but role players such as Rasheed Wallace and Marcus Camby (both 38) still are outplaying plenty of their younger peers.

The Clippers' super sixth man, 32-year-old Jamal Crawford, is having one of the best seasons of his already-accomplished career. And last but certainly not least, Denver Nuggets point guard Andre Miller, 36, is still chipping away at the record books in his 14th season.

Maybe it's a testament to modern-day training staffs or the technology that's now such a big part of athletes' treatment these days or, most likely, a statement about the players themselves and their level of dedication to the craft and discipline that will lead to Hall of Fame berths for so many in this group. Whatever the reason, I'd have to pick Bryant above the rest in terms of old guys who are just defying all those odds that get lower with age.

Granted, Bryant is on the younger side of this bunch at 34. But considering all those years of playoff basketball and international play, it's like dog years with him. And having watched more Lakers basketball than any other team this season, I can safely say that he is playing like a 29-year-old – if not 25.

This isn't the same guy who was battling knee problems a few years back, grinding his way toward what seemed to be the downside of his career. Now, with a hat tip to the German doctor who did the infamous blood manipulation therapy on Bryant two summers ago, he is just an absolute scoring machine.

Bryant is on pace to become the oldest scoring champ the league has ever seen (Michael Jordan was a younger 34 when he won it in 1998) but also to have one of the most efficient offensive seasons of his incredible 17-year career. He is shooting a career-high 47.8% overall and has a three-point percentage of 37.9 that would be his best such mark since the 2002-03 season.

Nash has already had a significant impact in his three games back, but we'll need more time to assess the current state of his game in terms of durability and consistency. I'm already on record as gushing about the season he had in 2011-12 and the possibilities with him at the Lakers' helm, though.

Duncan's 16th season might be the most remarkable, as he looked like a player on the decline two years ago but is an MVP candidate again. So much for big men typically declining much faster than perimeter players.

Duncan, whose subtle weight loss (15 pounds last season) played a part, is averaging 17.3 points, 10 rebounds (tied for ninth in the league) 2.5 blocked shots (tied for fourth) and 30.3 minutes per game (his most since the 2009-10 campaign) for a Spurs team that is third in the Western Conference at 22-8.

My top three "Best old guys" list concludes with the incredible Kidd. Even I can hardly remember when his career first began, back when I'd watch the braces-wearing point guard toy with the competition while playing at St. Joseph's in the San Francisco Bay Area (my home region) in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Kidd, who signed a three-year deal with the Knicks last summer and will turn 40 on March 23, still is a one-of-a-kind floor leader and, in his older and wiser state, unofficial assistant coach.

His long-range shooting (45% from three-point range while averaging 4.8 attempts from beyond the arc per game) has been key in the Knicks' 21-8 start as he shared the backcourt with fellow point guard Raymond Felton in the starting lineup.

With Felton now expected to miss four to six weeks with a broken finger, we'll see if Kidd can take his ageless operation to a new level yet again and help the Knicks keep their good thing going.

Read the NBA A-Z insider column from USA TODAY Sports' Amick and Jeff Zillgitt at nba.usatoday.com. Send the guys feedback and ideas to @sam_amick and @JeffZillgitt.