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. 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. Throughout his 21-year career, LeBron James has proven time and time again that he is one of the best basketball players to ever walk on a court. Throughout the history of the league, there have been several important prospects that fell short and didn't even last 10 years in the NBA.
Unfortunately, Garnett couldn't win a championship with the Timberwolves, but he wasted no time celebrating with the Boston Celtics, earning a ring in his first season with the team. 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. Land of Basketball is a website for sports fans. For official NBA information, visit the NBA website.
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. 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. 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. 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. Speaking of NBA legends, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also played 20 seasons, 14 with the Los Angeles Lakers and six with the Milwaukee Bucks.
NBA Hall of Famer Robert Parish made his debut in the 1976-77 season with the Golden State Warriors, then played 14 seasons with the Boston Celtics, winning three rings. The three-time sixth NBA player played his last three seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns and Brooklyn Nets. Only ten players in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA) have played 20 or more seasons in their respective careers.
