For a second straight fall, Lakers star LeBron James will enter the NBA season as the league’s oldest player.
James will turn 40 before the calendar year is over, making him the only active NBA player in his 40s — and the first one since longtime Heat big man Udonis Haslem retired a year ago.
It’s an impressive feat, given the high level James is still performing at. Most of the other names on our list of the 10 oldest players on NBA training camp rosters are role players at this stage of their careers. A handful of them will spend much of their time this season sitting on their respective teams’ benches and providing “veteran leadership.” LeBron is the only one still supplying star-level production.
While this group doesn’t feature a ton of star power beyond James, that could change in the not-too-distant future — Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant are among the NBA players born in 1988 who could find their way onto this list in the next year or two as some older vets call it a career.
It’s also worth noting that this list is subject to change. Maybe a veteran like Wesley Matthews finds a new NBA home by opening night. Maybe one of these players will be cut in the coming weeks — I wouldn’t expect that to happen, but it’s worth noting that a couple of the veterans listed below don’t have fully guaranteed salaries.
For now, here’s the list of the oldest players in the league heading into the 2024/25 NBA season:
- LeBron James, Lakers (born 12/30/1984)
- P.J. Tucker, Clippers (born 5/5/1985)
- Chris Paul, Spurs (born 5/6/1985)
- Taj Gibson, Hornets (born 6/24/1985) *
- Kyle Lowry, Sixers (born 3/25/1986)
- Garrett Temple, Raptors (born 5/8/1986)
- Al Horford, Celtics (born 6/3/1986)
- Jeff Green, Rockets (born 8/28/1986)
- James Johnson, Pacers (born 2/20/1987) *
- Joe Ingles, Timberwolves (born 10/2/1987)
Note: Players marked with an asterisk (*) are on partially guaranteed contracts.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, nine of this year’s 10 youngest NBA players were selected in the 2024 draft, while the 10th was an undrafted free agent.
The Wizards and Clippers each have two players on this list. That’s not a shock for a Washington team that’s in the midst of a thorough rebuild and is willing to be patient as it looks to develop long-term cornerstones. It’s a little more surprising for a Clippers team that has been one of the league’s oldest in recent years, but it’s perhaps a signal of the club’s changing priorities following the offseason loss of Paul George.
Here are the 10 youngest players currently on NBA rosters:
- Ulrich Chomche, Raptors (born 12/30/2005) *
Tidjane Salaun, Hornets (born 8/10/2005)
Nikola Topic, Thunder (born 8/10/2005)- Pacome Dadiet, Knicks (born 7/27/2005)
- Cam Christie, Clippers (born 7/24/2005)
- Carlton Carrington, Wizards (born 7/21/2005)
- Ron Holland, Pistons (born 7/7/2005)
- Alex Sarr, Wizards (born 4/26/2005)
- Zaccharie Risacher, Hawks (born 4/8/2005)
- Trentyn Flowers, Clippers (born 3/8/2005) *
Note: Players marked with an asterisk (*) are on two-way contracts.
Only 11 players currently on NBA rosters were born in 2005 — the 11th is Timberwolves guard Rob Dillingham, whose birthday is January 4.
That means last year’s youngest player, Grizzlies forward GG Jackson, just narrowly missed making the cut for a second straight year. He won’t turn 20 until December 17.