List of National Basketball Association seasons played leaders

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Robert Parish was the first to play 21 seasons in the NBA, currently tied for the most in league history.

Only five players in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA) have played at least 20 seasons in their careers.[1] 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;[2][3][4] he finished his career in 1988–89 with a then-record 20 seasons played.[5][6] Robert Parish broke the mark in 1996–97, when he retired after 21 seasons,[7][8] and Kevin Willis tied him in his final season in 2006–07.[lower-alpha 1][10] They were joined by Kevin Garnett in 2015–16 when he began his 21st season.[11] 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.[12] The game was the first time in league history that two opposing players had at least 20 years of experience.[1] Having played his entire career with the Lakers, Bryant was also the first NBA player to spend 20 seasons with one team.[13]

In the NBA, big men typically have longer playing careers than smaller men.[14][15] Older centers and power forwards may have the luxury of pacing themselves while running the court, or they might station themselves in the post.[16][17] Big men Parish, Willis, and Garnett all had small roles while playing in their 21st season.[18] On the other hand, guards are tasked with handling the ball full-court and are more dependent on their speed and quickness, traits that deteriorate with age.[16][17] 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.[19][20]

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[lower-alpha 2]
Kevin Garnett began his career with Minnesota, returning later and tying the record of 21 seasons played in 2015.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar retired in 1989 with a then-record of 20 seasons played.
Kobe Bryant was the first guard to play 20 seasons.
Karl Malone played all but one of his 19 seasons with Utah.
Jason Kidd had two stints with Dallas in his career, retiring tied with a then-record 19 seasons as a guard.
Rank Player Position Team(s) Seasons Ref
1 Robert Parish* C <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
21 [21]
Kevin Willis [lower-alpha 1] PF / C <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Kevin Garnett^ PF / C <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
4 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar* C <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
20
Kobe Bryant† SG Los Angeles Lakers (1996–2016)
6 Moses Malone* C <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
19
James Edwards C <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
John Stockton* PG Utah Jazz (1984–2003)
Karl Malone* PF <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Charles Oakley PF / C <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Shaquille O'Neal* C <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Juwan Howard† PF / C <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Jason Kidd† PG <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Tim Duncan^ PF / C San Antonio Spurs (1997–present) [14]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Willis' career spanned 23 years, but he missed two seasons. He was out injured all of 1988–89, and initially retired and did not play in 2005–06 before returning for one more season.[9]
  2. ↑ A player is not eligible for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame until he has been fully retired for five calendar years or is deceased; player was not eligible for induction upon the commencement of the 2015–16 NBA season.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ "Kevin Willis NBA & ABA Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=List_of_National_Basketball_Association_seasons_played_leaders&oldid=715198660"