robert parish has the most seasons in the nba.
robert parish has the most seasons in the nba.
who has the most seasons in the nba?
robert parish
only seven 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 2017–18, dirk nowitzki and vince carter each began their 20th nba seasons. nowitzki, who has spent his entire career with the dallas mavericks, is the only player to have played 21 seasons with one team.
list of national basketball association seasons played leaders
wilkens went on to become the longest-tenured head coach in the league. in addition to 4 seasons as a player-coach, he spent another 28 seasons as a head coach, winning an nba championship in 1979. san francisco warriors player-coach al attles retired from playing duty in 1971, but continued to coach the warriors for another 12 seasons, leading them to an nba championship in 1975. alex hannum, red holzman and kevin loughery, who served as player-coaches for less than a season, had a lengthy coaching career in the nba which lasted more than 10 seasons. hannum spent 11 seasons as a full-time head coach, winning two nba championships with two different teams. holzman coached the hawks for 4 seasons, including a season as a player-coach, and the new york knicks for 14 seasons. he led the latter to two nba championships. loughery served as the head coach for six nba teams during his 18-year coaching career, including a year as a player-coach. wilkens and holzman were named among the top 10 coaches in nba history announced at the league's 50th anniversary in 1996. wilkens, along with bob cousy, dave cowens, dave debusschere, bob pettit, bill russell and dolph schayes, were named to the list of the 50 greatest players in nba history, which was also announced at the league's 50th anniversary.
list of national basketball association player-coaches