So far this offseason, several teams have seen their longtime superstar depart, either in free agency or retirement. Dwyane Wade is no longer a member of the Heat. Kevin Durant has left Oklahoma City. And Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan retired from the NBA after spending their entire careers with the Lakers and Spurs, respectively.
While Kobe had easily been the longest-tenured Laker, those three other players had competition for the title of longest-tenured player on their respective teams. Nick Collison‘s stay with the Seattle SuperSonics, before they relocated to OKC, predated Durant’s time with the team. In Miami, Udonis Haslem joined the Heat in the offseason Wade did. As for the Spurs, Duncan was the team’s longest-tenured player, but Tony Parker wasn’t far behind — he has been in San Antonio for 15 years.
The NBA’s current list of longest-tenured players by team features some obvious names, like Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas or Brook Lopez in Brooklyn. But there are also some surprising players on the list below. With Al Horford no longer in Atlanta, for instance, the longest-tenured Hawk is Mike Scott.
Be sure to check out the rosters and depth charts at RosterResource.com for full details on how and when each team acquired every player on its roster. Here are the NBA’s current longest-tenured players by team:
- Dallas Mavericks: Dirk Nowitzki (draft trade), June 1998
- San Antonio Spurs: Tony Parker (draft), June 2001
- Manu Ginobili was selected by the Spurs in the 1999 draft, but didn’t sign with the team until 2002.
- Oklahoma City Thunder: Nick Collison (draft), June 2003
- Collison joined the franchise when it was the Seattle SuperSonics.
- Miami Heat: Udonis Haslem (free agent), August 2003
- Memphis Grizzlies: Mike Conley (draft), June 2007
- Brooklyn Nets: Brook Lopez (draft), June 2008
- Los Angeles Clippers: DeAndre Jordan (draft), June 2008
- Golden State Warriors: Stephen Curry (draft), June 2009
- Toronto Raptors: DeMar DeRozan (draft), June 2009
- Chicago Bulls: Taj Gibson (draft), June 2009
- Washington Wizards: John Wall (draft), June 2010
- Sacramento Kings: DeMarcus Cousins (draft), June 2010
- Utah Jazz: Gordon Hayward (draft), June 2010
- Indiana Pacers: Paul George (draft), June 2010
- Boston Celtics: Avery Bradley (draft), June 2010
- Minnesota Timberwolves: Nikola Pekovic (draft-and-stash), July 2010
- Pekovic was drafted in 2008, but didn’t sign with the Timberwolves for two years.
- Denver Nuggets: Wilson Chandler (trade), Danilo Gallinari (trade), February 2011
- Chandler and Gallinari were acquired in the same trade with the Knicks.
- New York Knicks: Carmelo Anthony (trade), February 2011
- Cleveland Cavaliers: Kyrie Irving (draft), Tristan Thompson (draft), June 2011
- Irving is technically the slightly longer-tenured Cavalier, having been selected first overall, while Thompson was picked fourth overall.
- Charlotte Hornets: Kemba Walker (draft), June 2011
- New Orleans Pelicans: Anthony Davis (draft), June 2012
- Davis joined the franchise when it was the New Orleans Hornets.
- Portland Trail Blazers: Damian Lillard (draft), Meyers Leonard (draft), June 2012
- Lillard is technically the slightly longer-tenured Blazer, having been selected sixth overall, while Leonard was picked 11th overall.
- Detroit Pistons: Andre Drummond (draft), June 2012
- Milwaukee Bucks: John Henson (draft), June 2012
- Atlanta Hawks: Mike Scott (draft), June 2012
- Phoenix Suns: P.J. Tucker (free agent), August 2012
- Orlando Magic: Nikola Vucevic (trade), August 2012
- Houston Rockets: James Harden (trade), October 2012
- Philadelphia 76ers: Nerlens Noel (trade), July 2013
- The trade that sent Noel from New Orleans to Philadelphia was agreed upon in June and finalized in July.
- Los Angeles Lakers: Nick Young (free agent), July 2013
Mike Conley was drafted by the Grizzlies not acquired via trade. OJ Mayo was the one that they traded for.
Correct, typo on my part. It’s fixed now, thanks.
Robert Sacre was drafted in 2012. Is he not longer than Young because of the D League?
Sacre’s contract expired this year, so he’s technically not a Laker right now. If he re-signs with the Lakers without joining another team in the interim, I’d put him on this list.
Forgot about that, thanks. Wouldn’t mind if he and Young both ended up somewhere else next year!
If two plays were drafted by the same team in the same draft then wouldn’t the player who signed their rookie contract first technically be the longest tenured as an official member of the team?
Fair question. Technically, you’re probably right. But if a player wasn’t a draft-and-stash and wasn’t involved in a draft-night trade, I generally just treated the contract signing as a formality. (In any case, the Irving/Thompson and Lillard/Leonard duos each officially signed their contracts on the same day, so the list would be unchanged.)
World Peace has been a Laker longer than Young?