The Rockets recently endured a 32 game stretch in which their star center, Yao Ming, was out while recovering from a broken leg. Rather than fall apart, the Rockets won 20 of those 32 games.
Most folks simply assumed that the Rockets’ other star player, Tracy McGrady, was the main reason that the Rockets were able to win that many games without Yao, and McGrady certainly played well over most of that stretch. But as this Dave Berri post explains (see also this followup post), the primary reason that the Rockets were able to survive reasonably well during Yao’s absence was the outstanding play of none other than 40 year-old reserve center, Dikembe Mutombo.
What is it about Houston that all these 40 year-old professional athletes are able to continue performing at a high level?