List of National Basketball Association seasons played leaders
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/46/Lipofsky_Vince_Carter.jpg/170px-Lipofsky_Vince_Carter.jpg)
Only eight 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 in 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]
Seasons played leaders[]
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[25] |
§ | 1st time eligible for Hall of Fame in 2022[26] |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Robert_Parish_Celtics.jpg/170px-Robert_Parish_Celtics.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Kevin_Garnett_with_the_Minnesota_Timberwolves_dunking%2C_2007.jpg/170px-Kevin_Garnett_with_the_Minnesota_Timberwolves_dunking%2C_2007.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar_Lipofsky.jpg/170px-Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar_Lipofsky.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/Kobe_Bryant_2014.jpg/170px-Kobe_Bryant_2014.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3e/Lipofsky-Karl-Malone-32727.jpg/170px-Lipofsky-Karl-Malone-32727.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Jason_Kidd_mavs_allison.jpg/170px-Jason_Kidd_mavs_allison.jpg)
See also[]
- List of National Basketball Association career games played leaders
- List of National Basketball Association career minutes played leaders
- List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise
- List of oldest and youngest National Basketball Association players
Notes[]
References[]
- General
- "NBA Players with the Most Regular Seasons Played". LandOfBasketball.com. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
- "For single seasons, played in the NBA/BAA, in the regular season, from 1946–47 to 2016–17, sorted by most seasons matching criteria". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
- Specific
- ^ Bonk, Thomas (September 28, 1985). "Lakers Move Closer to Signing Kareem for a Year or 2 More". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 7, 2015.
- ^ Johnson, Roy S. (May 22, 1983). "THE LONG-RUN SUCCESS OF KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 2, 2015.
- ^ Goldaper, Sam (February 12, 1984). "HAYES ENJOYING FAREWELL SEASON". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 2, 2015.
- ^ Murray, Jim (November 17, 1992). "A Chapter Closed, He Is Opening". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 2, 2015.
- ^ Pandian, Ananth (March 6, 2015). "For ticket sales the Lakers will honor Kobe's 20th season". CBSSports.com. Archived from the original on December 2, 2015.
- ^ Armour, Terry (August 26, 1997). "After 21 Seasons, Parish Walks Away". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on December 2, 2015.
- ^ Bjarkman, Peter C. (2002). Boston Celtics Encyclopedia. Sports Publishing. p. 54. ISBN 9781582615646. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
- ^ "Kevin Willis Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
- ^ Carlton, James (July 7, 2015). "Garnett will become just the third NBA player to play 21 seasons". FoxSports.com. Archived from the original on December 2, 2015.
- ^ "NBA short takes". The Starr-Tribune. October 31, 2015. Archived from the original on December 2, 2015.
- ^ Beacham, Greg (October 29, 2015). "Kobe clears another milestone, begins 20th Lakers season". Associated Press. Archived from the original on December 2, 2015.
- ^ Holmes, Baxter (October 29, 2015). "Kobe Bryant sets NBA record for seasons played with one franchise". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on December 2, 2015.
- ^ a b "Top stats to know: Kobe Bryant's statistical legacy". ESPN.com. November 29, 2015. Archived from the original on November 30, 2015.
- ^ "Recap:Mavs' Nowitzki Makes Debut in 21st Season Against Suns". The Dallas Morning News. Associated Press. December 13, 2018.
- ^ "Hawks' Vince Carter becomes first NBAer to play in 22 seasons". Sportsnet.ca. October 24, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
- ^ Chalabi, Mona (November 30, 2015). "The Kobe Bryant outlier: how his career compares to the NBA average". The Guardian. Archived from the original on December 2, 2015.
- ^ Groothuis, Peter A.; Hill, J. Richard (April 2004). "Exit Discrimination in the NBA: A Duration Analysis of Career Length" (PDF). Economic Inquiry. 42 (2). pp. 341–49. ISSN 0095-2583. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 2, 2015.
- ^ a b Evans, Rich (March 25, 2001). "Center court: Stock portfolio". Deseret News. Archived from the original on December 3, 2015.
- ^ a b Friedman, Dave (December 25, 2014). "Kobe Bryant is not as Good as Michael Jordan—So What?". 20 Second Timeout. Archived from the original on December 3, 2015.
- ^ Friedman, Dave (November 9, 2015). "The Twilight of Kobe Bryant". Twenty Second Blog. Archived from the original on December 3, 2015.
- ^ McWilliams, Julian (October 9, 2015). "Jalen Rose: Kobe Bryant 'Doesn't Want to Take A Back Seat'". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on December 2, 2015.
- ^ Newman, Pete (October 18, 2015). "The inconsistent season of Kobe Bryant". Sheridan Hoops. Archived from the original on December 2, 2015.
- ^ Ahmed, Shakan (September 30, 2015). "Lakers Training Camp: Kobe Bryant Talks Small Forward". NBCLosAngeles.com. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
- ^ Bresnahan, Mike (January 21, 2016). "Kobe Bryant is selected as an All-Star for the 18th time". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 23, 2016.
- ^ A player is not eligible for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame until he has been fully retired for three calendar years.
- ^ "2022 Hall of Fame Candidates". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
- National Basketball Association lists
- National Basketball Association statistical leaders