Given Penney has done just that for some of the best leagues in the world it’s something he’s used to but the Kiwi great admits to being taken by surprise at all the attention given to his age this season.

At 35, Penney is the oldest man in the NBL, something commentators and scribes are quick to point out at any opportunity.

However, he would not even be in top 10 oldest players in the NBA with the likes of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobli, Vince Carter, Kevin Garnnett, Dirk Nowitski and the retiring Kobe Bryant all closer to 40 than Penney.

Were he on Greg Popovich’s current Spurs roster - currently 43-8 and in contention for a sixth NBA title - he would be the sixth oldest player.

It could be the fact that, with football codes dominating our sporting landscape, Australian fans are conditioned to think that any athlete over the age of 30 is on borrowed time.

It’s something Penney himself has considered in trying to make sense of the all the attention on perhaps the least significant number on his stat sheet.

‘‘There’s something weird that’s happened this year and must be some Australian conditioning,’’ Penney said.

‘‘I’ve said to my wife, ‘everyone keeps talking about my age this year’. It just seems to have happened overnight.

‘‘I came here and suddenly I went from being whatever to to being really old and that’s been strange.

‘‘Playing in Europe the last four years I’ve had veterans a lot older than I am.

‘‘I don’t know if 35 is some sort of benchmark or it’s just that we’ve just changed countries and we’re in a place where 35 is considered old for sport in this country.’’

While he missed four games with a hamstring injury before returning to play a starring role in Saturday’s overtime win over Townsville, he’s spent precious little time on the sidelines throughout his career.

He’s avoided serious injury and major surgeries throughout his career and believes his body is good enough shape to handle several more seasons in the NBL or elsewhere.

‘‘I’ve mentioned it before, being a rugby, rugby league, AFL nation there’s a lot more pounding to your body that goes on in those sports,’’ he said.

‘‘By the time you’re 35 in those sports you’ve probably had a lot of injections and surgeries. Having not had injections or surgeries of any significance I feel very fortunate to be still playing the game. Granted it still means I’ve had a long career but I haven’t bought into it. 

‘‘Do I have to take care of my body? Of course I do. Do I have to do all the little things? Yes I do but I’ve probably always done them. I haven’t done them because of my age I’ve done them to be the best player I can be. Now I just keep doing them because I’m used to it.

‘‘I don’t know why so much attention has come onto that other than the fact that this is a young league.’’