Longest-Tenured Players By NBA Team

After perhaps the wildest free agent period in NBA history, our list of longest-tenured players by team is in desperate need of an update.

When we compiled this list a year ago, it was headed up by veterans like Dirk Nowitzki, who had been a Maverick since 1998, and Manu Ginobili, who had been on the Spurs‘ roster since 2002. Both players are now retired. Stars like Mike Conley and Russell Westbrook rounded out our top five, but those two guards have since moved onto new teams. So have Kemba Walker, Anthony Davis, Derrick Favors, and many other players who had spent most of the decade with the same organization.

In fact, of the 30 longest-tenured players by NBA team on our 2018 list, just 14 remain with the same team now. Of those 14, Heat veteran Udonis Haslem and Warriors star Stephen Curry are the only players who have been with their current franchise for more than 10 years.

That means that the league’s other 16 teams have new longest-tenured players, and in some cases, those names may come as a bit of a shock. Cristiano Felicio, Ivan Rabb, and Frank Ntilikina are among the players on the list below.

Here are the NBA’s current longest-tenured players by team as of the 2019 offseason:

1. Miami Heat: Udonis Haslem (free agent), August 2003
2. Golden State Warriors: Stephen Curry (draft), June 2009
3. Washington Wizards: John Wall (draft), June 2010
4. Cleveland Cavaliers: Tristan Thompson (draft), June 2011
5. San Antonio Spurs: Patty Mills (free agent), March 2012
6. Charlotte Hornets: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (draft), June 2012
7. Portland Trail Blazers: Damian Lillard (draft), June 2012
8. Detroit Pistons: Andre Drummond (draft), June 2012
9. Toronto Raptors: Kyle Lowry (trade), July 2012
10. Orlando Magic: Nikola Vucevic (trade), August 2012
11. Houston Rockets: James Harden (trade), October 2012
12. Oklahoma City Thunder: Steven Adams (draft), Andre Roberson (draft trade), June 2013
    • Note: Adams is technically the slightly longer-tenured member of the Thunder, having been drafted 12th overall, while Roberson was picked 26th overall.
13. Milwaukee Bucks: Giannis Antetokounmpo (draft), June 2013
14. Minnesota Timberwolves: Gorgui Dieng (draft trade), June 2013
15. Utah Jazz: Rudy Gobert (draft trade), June 2013
16. New Orleans Pelicans: Jrue Holiday (trade), July 2013
    • Note: Darius Miller first joined the Pelicans (then the Hornets) in June 2012 and hasn’t played for an NBA team besides New Orleans since then, but he spent two seasons overseas from 2015-17.
17. Philadelphia 76ers: Joel Embiid (draft), June 2014
18. Boston Celtics: Marcus Smart (draft), June 2014
19. Denver Nuggets: Gary Harris (draft trade), Nikola Jokic (draft), June 2014
    • Note: Harris is technically the slightly longer-tenured member of the Nuggets, having been drafted 19th overall, while Jokic was picked 41st overall.
20. Dallas Mavericks: J.J. Barea (free agent), October 2014
21. Indiana Pacers: Myles Turner (draft), June 2015
22. Phoenix Suns: Devin Booker (draft), June 2015
23. Chicago Bulls: Cristiano Felicio (free agent), July 2015
24. Brooklyn Nets: Caris LeVert (draft), June 2016
25. Atlanta Hawks: DeAndre’ Bembry (draft), June 2016
26. Sacramento Kings: Buddy Hield (trade), February 2017
    • Note: The Kings acquired Bogdan Bogdanovic‘s draft rights in June 2016, but he didn’t sign his first NBA contract with the team until July 2017.
27. New York Knicks: Frank Ntilikina (draft), Damyean Dotson (draft), June 2017
    • Note: Ntilikina is technically the slightly longer-tenured member of the Knicks, having been drafted eighth overall, while Dotson was picked 44th overall.
    • Note: Lance Thomas, who joined the Knicks via trade in January 2015, remains unsigned. It’s possible he’ll rejoin the team.
28. Los Angeles Lakers: Kyle Kuzma (draft), June 2017
29. Memphis Grizzlies: Ivan Rabb (draft trade), Dillon Brooks (draft trade), June 2017
    • Note: Rabb is technically the slightly longer-tenured member of the Grizzlies, having been drafted 35th overall, while Brooks was picked 45th overall.
30. Los Angeles Clippers: Patrick Beverley (trade), Montrezl Harrell (trade), Lou Williams (trade), June 2017
    • Note: All three players were acquired in the same trade.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.