page_title: List of National Basketball Association seasons played leaders
section_title: Seasons played leaders
hierarchical_section_title: List of National Basketball Association seasons played leaders / Seasons played leaders
caption_attribution_description: English: Dennis Johnson
context_page_description: Only eight players in the history of the National Basketball Association 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 with 22 seasons in the NBA.
context_section_description: Following is a list of players who have played the most seasons in the NBA.
caption: Robert Parish was the first to play 21 seasons in the NBA, currently tied for the 2nd most in league history.
exif: {}