No NBA player has been with the same team longer than Dirk Nowitzki, who is entering his 21st season with the Mavericks. Nowitzki’s longevity in Dallas allows him to once again top our annual list of the NBA’s longest-tenured players by team, but there was plenty of upheaval in the list’s top 10 this offseason.
Tony Parker, who had been with the Spurs since 2001, is now a Hornet. Nick Collison, who had been with the Thunder since 2003, retired. Other long-tenured players like DeAndre Jordan (Clippers), DeMar DeRozan (Raptors), and Wilson Chandler (Nuggets) are now on new teams too.
In some cases, the newest longest-tenured player for those teams is a surprising one. For instance, with Jordan no longer in Los Angeles, would you believe the player that has been with the Clippers the longest is Wesley Johnson? Meanwhile, after letting Julius Randle walk in free agency, the Lakers don’t have any players who have been on their roster for longer than two years, making 20-year-old Brandon Ingram the longest-tenured Laker.
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: Manu Ginobili (draft-and-stash signing), July 2002
- Note: Ginobili was originally selected by the Spurs in the 1999 draft, but didn’t sign with the team until 2002.
- Note: Ginobili was originally selected by the Spurs in the 1999 draft, but didn’t sign with the team until 2002.
- Miami Heat: Udonis Haslem (free agent), August 2003
- Note: Haslem is currently an unrestricted free agent, but appears likely to return to the Heat.
- Note: Haslem is currently an unrestricted free agent, but appears likely to return to the Heat.
- Memphis Grizzlies: Mike Conley (draft), June 2007
- Oklahoma City Thunder: Russell Westbrook (draft), June 2008
- Golden State Warriors: Stephen Curry (draft), June 2009
- Washington Wizards: John Wall (draft), June 2010
- Utah Jazz: Derrick Favors (trade), February 2011
- Cleveland Cavaliers: Tristan Thompson (draft), June 2011
- Charlotte Hornets: Kemba Walker (draft), June 2011
- New Orleans Pelicans: Anthony Davis (draft), June 2012
- Note: Davis joined the franchise when it was the New Orleans Hornets.
- Portland Trail Blazers: Damian Lillard (draft), Meyers Leonard (draft), June 2012
- Note: 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
- Toronto Raptors: Kyle Lowry (trade), July 2012
- Note: Jonas Valanciunas was drafted by the Raptors in 2011, but didn’t sign his first contract with the team until after the acquisition of Lowry.
- Orlando Magic: Nikola Vucevic (trade), August 2012
- Houston Rockets: James Harden (trade), October 2012
- Minnesota Timberwolves: Gorgui Dieng (draft trade), June 2013
- Philadelphia 76ers: Joel Embiid (draft), June 2014
- Boston Celtics: Marcus Smart (draft), June 2014
- Phoenix Suns: T.J. Warren (draft), June 2014
- Denver Nuggets: Gary Harris (draft trade), Nikola Jokic (draft), June 2014
- Note: Harris is technically the slightly longer-tenured Nugget, having been selected 19th overall, while Jokic was picked 41st overall.
- Atlanta Hawks: Kent Bazemore (free agent), September 2014
- New York Knicks: Lance Thomas (trade), January 2015
- Note: Thomas was technically waived by the Knicks after being acquired via trade, but re-signed with the team without playing for any other clubs in the interim.
- Sacramento Kings: Willie Cauley-Stein (draft), June 2015
- Indiana Pacers: Myles Turner (draft), June 2015
- Chicago Bulls: Bobby Portis (draft), June 2015
- Brooklyn Nets: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (draft trade), June 2015
- Los Angeles Clippers: Wesley Johnson (free agent), July 2015
- Los Angeles Lakers: Brandon Ingram (draft), Ivica Zubac (draft), June 2016
- Note: Ingram is technically the slightly longer-tenured Laker, having been selected second overall, while Zubac was picked 32nd overall.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Wow the Lakers place on this list is drastically different when they had players who played on the team for their entire careers spanning more than 10 years – Bryant, Cooper, Worthy, Baylor, West etc.