Only ten players in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA) have played 20 or more seasons in their respective careers. In 1985–86, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar broke the previous NBA record of 16 seasons held by Dolph Schayes, John Havlicek, Paul Silas, and Elvin Hayes;[1][2][3] he finished his career in 1988–89 with a then-record 20 seasons played.[4][5] Robert Parish broke the mark in 1996–97, when he retired after 21 seasons,[6][7] and Kevin Willis tied him in his final season in 2006–07.[a][9] They were joined by Kevin Garnett in 2015–16 when he began his 21st season.[10] His Minnesota Timberwolves played their season opener against the Los Angeles Lakers and Kobe Bryant, who became the fifth player to reach the 20-season plateau that night.[11] The game was the first time in league history that two opposing players each had at least 20 years of experience.[12] Having played his entire career with the Lakers, Bryant was also the first NBA player to spend 20 seasons with one team.[13] In 2018–19, Dirk Nowitzki surpassed Bryant with 21 seasons with the Dallas Mavericks.[14] In 2019–20, Vince Carter became the first player with 22 seasons in the NBA.[15]
In the NBA, big men typically have longer playing careers than smaller men.[16][17] Older centers and power forwards may have the luxury of pacing themselves while running the court, or they might station themselves in the post.[18][19] Big men Parish, Willis, and Garnett all had relatively minor roles while playing in their respective 21st seasons.[20] On the other hand, guards are tasked with handling the ball full-court; in addition, guards are more dependent on traits like speed and quickness that deteriorate with age.[18][19] Bryant was the first guard to play 20 seasons,[13] passing the previous mark of 19 seasons for guards held by John Stockton and Jason Kidd.[21][22] In his final season, he was moved to small forward and surrounded by other ball handlers.[23][24]
Following is a list of players who have played the most seasons in the NBA.
^ | Active NBA player |
* | Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame |
† | Not yet eligible for Hall of Fame consideration[b] |
§ | 1st time eligible for Hall of Fame in 2024[26] |
Rank | Player | Position | Team(s) | Seasons |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Vince Carter* | SG / SF | 22 | |
5 | Robert Parish* | C | 21 | |
Kevin Willis[a] | PF / C | |||
Kevin Garnett* | PF | |||
Dirk Nowitzki* | PF | Dallas Mavericks (1998–2019) | ||
LeBron James^ | SF |
| ||
4 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar* | C | 20 | |
Kobe Bryant* | SG | Los Angeles Lakers (1996–2016) | ||
Jamal Crawford | G | |||
Udonis Haslem† | PF / C | |||
15 | Moses Malone* | C | 19 | |
James Edwards | C | |||
John Stockton* | PG | Utah Jazz (1984–2003) | ||
Karl Malone* | PF | |||
Charles Oakley | PF / C | |||
Shaquille O'Neal* | C | |||
Juwan Howard | PF / C | |||
Jason Kidd* | PG | |||
Tim Duncan* | PF / C | San Antonio Spurs (1997–2016) | ||
Paul Pierce* | SG / SF | |||
Jason Terry | G | |||
Tyson Chandler | C | |||
Carmelo Anthony† | SF | |||
Andre Iguodala† | SG / SF | |||
Chris Paul^ | PG |