This was definitely a thing just back in the 2000s. You had guys like melo, tmac, Paul pierce, wade, Dwight ect all decline in this age range or way before. People always mentioned lebron still being so good when he was 33. At first that seemed like an anomaly. Now, you have guys like curry, kd, kawhi, dame, lebron still(lol) jimmy butler, all still being in their prime at 33+. Is it an advancement in technology and medicine? Something else?
I think the QBs is more you can’t hit them anywhere near as much anymore. I suspect Mahomes and QBs who can figure out how to not take as many hits will play longer too. For the NBA I’d say the game is more about shooting 3s relative to getting to the basket than ever, which generally means less getting hit. In addition to all the advances in medicine, conditioning, load restrictions, etc.