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 ended his own. Throughout the history of the league, several of the best prospects fell short and didn't even last 10 years in the NBA. Robert Parish, a member of the NBA Hall of Famer, made his debut in the 1976-77 season with the Golden State Warriors, and then played 14 seasons with the Boston Celtics, winning three rings. 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 its first four seasons.
Speaking of NBA legends, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also played 20 seasons, 14 with the Los Angeles Lakers and six with the Milwaukee Bucks. 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. To stay in the NBA, you have to prove that you're one of the best players in the world and that you're up to the league's standards. The three-time sixth NBA player played his last three seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Phoenix Suns and the Brooklyn Nets.
A study by The Game Day claims to have found the best NBA players of all time, placing Michael Jordan and LeBron James out of the top five. The eight-time All-Star first played with the Toronto Raptors in 1998 and was named NBA Rookie of the Year in 1999. After the “21 Club”, we have four other basketball greats who played for 20 seasons: Los Angeles Lakers legends, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and the late Kobe Bryant, Jamal Crawford, three-time winner of the NBA's sixth man of the year award, and Udonis Haslem, of the Miami Heat. 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 ended his career in 1988-89 with a record of 20 seasons played at the time. 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. Throughout NBA history, there have been more than 4,500 players and the average length of a career is about 4.5 years.
He always adapted to his role and did it, and that's why he stayed in the NBA for 20 years despite being an average player at best. 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.
