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Vince Carter, who began his career with the Raptors, is the first player in NBA history to have played in 22 seasons.LeBron James, who began his career with the Cavaliers, joined Carter as the only other player to have played in 22 seasons.
Only eleven 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; he finished his career in 1988–89 with a then-record 20 seasons played. Robert Parish broke the mark in 1996–97, when he retired after 21 seasons, and Kevin Willis tied him in his final season in 2006–07. They were joined by Kevin Garnett in 2015–16 when he began his 21st season. 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. The game was the first time in league history that two opposing players each had at least 20 years of experience. Having played his entire career with the Lakers, Bryant was also the first NBA player to spend 20 seasons with one team. In 2018–19, Dirk Nowitzki surpassed Bryant with 21 seasons with the Dallas Mavericks. In 2019–20, Vince Carter became the first player to play 22 seasons in the NBA. LeBron James tied this record in 2024–25.
In the NBA, big men typically have longer playing careers than smaller men. Older centers and power forwards may have the luxury of pacing themselves while running the court, or they might station themselves in the post. Big men Parish, Willis, and Garnett all had relatively minor roles while playing in their respective 21st seasons. On the other hand, guards are tasked with handling the ball full-court and are generally more dependent on traits like speed and quickness that deteriorate with age. Bryant was the first guard to play 20 seasons, passing the previous mark of 19 seasons for guards held by John Stockton and Jason Kidd. In his final season, he was moved to small forward and surrounded by other ball handlers.
Seasons played leaders
Robert Parish was the first to play 21 seasons in the NBA, currently tied for the 3rd most in league history.Dirk Nowitzki spent his entire 21-year career with the Dallas Mavericks, the most ever by an NBA player with one team.Kevin Garnett began his career with Minnesota, returning later and tying the then-record of 21 seasons played in 2016.Kareem Abdul-Jabbar retired in 1989 with a then-record of 20 seasons played.Kobe Bryant was the first guard to play 20 seasons.Jason Kidd had two stints with Dallas in his career, retiring tied with a then-record 19 seasons as a guard.John Stockton spent all 19 years of his NBA career with the Utah Jazz, from 1984 to 2003.
^ 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 five games in 2007.
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