Vince Carter has played the most seasons in his career, with 22 seasons. LeBron James is the sixth player to play 21 seasons in the NBA. Vince Carter, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, Robert Parish and Kevin Willis each reached their 21st season in the league. Haslem was never an outstanding player, but in his prime he was a decent power forward, and then he was a solid bench player in the second half of his career.
James isn't the first player to reach 21 seasons in the NBA, but he still made history by taking the floor this year. Barring an unprecedented drop, James will easily surpass any level of play shown by an NBA player in his 21st season. Getting to the NBA is very difficult, because you have to be very talented, work hard and, in addition, be lucky, even if some people say that luck doesn't exist. The three-time sixth NBA player played his last three seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Phoenix Suns and the Brooklyn Nets.
Speaking of NBA legends, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also played 20 seasons, 14 with the Los Angeles Lakers and six with the Milwaukee Bucks. To stay in the NBA, you must prove that you are one of the best players in the world and that you live up to the league's standards. In such a fast and physically demanding game, not many are able to endure two decades in the NBA, since this sport seriously affects an athlete's body. Being first in the overall draft comes with a lot of pressure and, unfortunately for these NBA players, it was just too difficult to handle.
Ahead of James' 21st NBA campaign, take a look at what other players were able to do in Year 21 and what James could accomplish in the coming year. Throughout the history of the league, several of the best prospects fell short and didn't even last 10 years in the NBA. The eight-time All-Star first played with the Toronto Raptors in 1998 and was named NBA Rookie of the Year in 1999. Throughout NBA history, there have been more than 4,500 players and the average length of their career is about 4.5 years old. The Cleveland Cavaliers selected Jamal Crawford in the first round of the 2000 NBA Draft, but on the same day of the draft, he was traded to the Chicago Bulls, where he played his first four seasons.
However, there are always exceptions, and there have been a handful of players who have stayed in the NBA for a long time, competing at the highest level for 15 or even 20 seasons, which is absolutely admirable. The longest-serving player in the NBA is Vince Carter, who played 22 seasons on eight teams: the Toronto Raptors, the New Jersey Nets, the Orlando Magic, the Phoenix Suns, the Dallas Mavericks, the Memphis Grizzlies, the Sacramento Kings and the Atlanta Hawks.
