Longest-Tenured NBA Players By Team

Since we last checked in on the NBA’s longest-tenured players by team in August 2022, more than a third of the players on that list have either changed teams or – in the case of long-tenured Heat big man Udonis Haslem – retired.

Haslem, who made his Heat debut in 2003, was with the franchise for two decades. No players on the list below are close to reaching that benchmark yet, but Haslem’s retirement means that we have a new player atop our list of the longest-tenured players by team: Stephen Curry is about to enter his 15th season with the Warriors, having been drafted by the club in 2009. No active NBA player has been with his current team longer than that.

While Haslem is off the list because he has retired, most of the other long-tenured players who have been removed from our list changed teams via trade. Most notably, Bradley Beal – who had been with the Wizards since 2012 – and Marcus Smart – a Celtic since 2014 – were included in offseason deals.

In addition to the Wizards, Heat and Celtics, eight other teams have a new longest-tenured player since our last update. Those teams, with their former longest-tenured player listed in parentheses, are the Cavaliers (Kevin Love), Rockets (Eric Gordon), Nets (Joe Harris), Magic (Terrence Ross), Jazz (Donovan Mitchell), Hawks (John Collins), Grizzlies (Dillon Brooks), and Spurs (Jakob Poeltl).

Here are the NBA’s current longest-tenured players by team:

(Note: This is a snapshot as of August 2023 and won’t be updated throughout the season. This list features each team’s longest-tenured player, so only one player per team is listed.)

1. Golden State Warriors: Stephen Curry (draft), June 2009
2. Portland Trail Blazers: Damian Lillard (draft), June 2012
3. Milwaukee Bucks: Giannis Antetokounmpo (draft), June 2013
4. Philadelphia 76ers: Joel Embiid (draft), June 2014
5. Denver Nuggets: Nikola Jokic (draft), June 2014
6. Dallas Mavericks: Dwight Powell (trade), December 2014
7. Minnesota Timberwolves: Karl-Anthony Towns (draft), June 2015
8. Indiana Pacers: Myles Turner (draft), June 2015
9. Phoenix Suns: Devin Booker (draft), June 2015
10. Boston Celtics: Jaylen Brown (draft), June 2016
11. Toronto Raptors: Pascal Siakam (draft), June 2016
12. Sacramento Kings: De’Aaron Fox (draft), June 2017
13. Orlando Magic: Jonathan Isaac (draft), June 2017
14. Miami Heat: Bam Adebayo (draft), June 2017
15. Chicago Bulls: Zach LaVine (draft trade), June 2017
16. Memphis Grizzlies: Jaren Jackson Jr. (draft), June 2018
17. Atlanta Hawks: Trae Young (draft trade), June 2018
18. Charlotte Hornets: Miles Bridges (draft trade), June 2018 (*)
    
19. New York Knicks: Mitchell Robinson (draft), June 2018
20. Los Angeles Lakers: LeBron James (free agent), July 2018
21. New Orleans Pelicans: Zion Williamson (draft), June 2019
22. Cleveland Cavaliers: Darius Garland (draft), June 2019
23. Brooklyn Nets: Nic Claxton (draft), June 2019
24. Los Angeles Clippers: Ivica Zubac (trade), February 2019
25. San Antonio Spurs: Keldon Johnson (draft), June 2019
26. Oklahoma City Thunder: Luguentz Dort (free agent), July 2019
27. Utah Jazz: Jordan Clarkson (trade), December 2019
28. Detroit Pistons: Killian Hayes (draft), November 2020
29. Washington Wizards: Deni Avdija (draft), November 2020
30. Houston Rockets: Jae’Sean Tate (free agent), November 2020

* Note: Bridges was a free agent for the entire 2022/23 season, but the Hornets retained his RFA rights during that time and brought him back this offseason, extending his tenure with the team. If we don’t count Bridges, Charlotte’s’ longest-tenured players are Cody Martin and – if he re-signs – P.J. Washington, both of whom were selected in the 2019 draft.