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Every professional athlete has a shelf life that can be shortened by the injuries and general wear and tear that come with playing a sport for a living, and every single one of them will reach a point where they have to decide if they still have what it takes to compete.
Tom Brady is easily the most notable example of a player with an almost superhuman ability to defy time, as the fact that he was 45 years old when he suited up for his 23rd (and final) season as a quarterback in the NFL only cements his claim to being considered the G.O.A.T.
However, he’s far from the only athlete who’s been able to hold their own despite having seemingly no business doing exactly that.
Anyone who’s played basketball or simply keeps tabs on the sport is likely very aware it can take a brutal toll on your body over time, and players like Greg Oden and Derrick Rose have seen incredibly promising careers derailed thanks to the injuries that ultimately led to their competitive demise.
Nancy Lieberman, on the other hand, was largely able to avoid any major setbacks over the course of a pro career that began when she signed with the Dallas Diamonds of the Women’s Pro Basketball League (WPBL) before playing what most people assumed was the final game of her career with the Phoenix Mercury of the recently formed WNBA in 1999.
At the time, the 39-year-old Lieberman was the oldest player who had ever suited up for a team in a league that was in its third year of existence, but she’d eventually shatter her own record thanks to a very unexpected comeback.
The time Nancy Lieberman played in a WNBA game at the age of 50
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Lieberman isn’t exactly a household name, but the woman who was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996 had an incredibly impressive career thanks to the talents she honed while growing up in New York City.
The 5’10” guard dominated the competition as a member of the basketball team at Old Dominion University, where she was an assist machine who helped her squad secure two consecutive national championships and became the first person to secure the Wade Trophy (presented to the best women’s college basketball player in the country each year) on two occasions.
She also represented Team USA at the 1976 Summer Olympics at the age of 18, where she and her teammates walked away with the silver medal after losing to the Soviet Union in the championship (she won a few gold medals in a handful of other international competitions).
After leaving Old Dominion, Lieberman was selected with the first overall pick in the WBPL Draft en route to being named Rookie of the Year after averaging more than 26 PPG in her inaugural campaign (she won a championship and MVP honors in 1984, but the league folded after the season came to an end).
Lieberman also spent some time in a couple of men’s leagues before taking her talents to the WNBA when it debuted in 1997. At that point, her best years were behind her, as she didn’t start any games for the Mercury and averaged just 2.6 points and 1.6 assists in the 25 games she played in a season that began shortly before her 39th birthday.
The following year, Lieberman made the leap from the hardwood to the front office after the Detroit Shock hired her as their general manager and head coach. She occupied both roles for three years before being fired in 2000, and opted to pivot to broadcasting while taking some time away from the mic for brief coaching stints with the Sacramento Kings and Oklahoma City’s G League affiliate.
However, in 2008, she mounted a fairly unexpected comeback after signing a seven-day contract with the Shock. On July 24th, the 50-year-old suited up for a game against the Houston Comets where she got around nine minutes in playing time while going 0-1 from the field with two assists and two turnovers in the 79-61 loss.
After the contest, Lieberman—who remains the oldest player to ever participate in a WNBA game-explained what brought her back for the single game she played before being waived, saying:
“My motivation stems from the fact that I love this game and I never stopped playing it whether it’s a pickup game with Deion Sanders and Tony Romo at a church or at a park with my son.”
You have to love that kind of passion.