NBA Longest-Tenured Player: The NBA in 2023–2024 is the best sports league in the world because of the amazing blend of young, up-and-coming stars and seasoned players. While some of these players, like LeBron James or Kevin Durant, have made several career stops, others, like Stephen Curry and Giannis Antetokounmpo, have spent their whole playing careers with just one team. We honour the athletes who have dedicated their lives to a single spot, a single fan base, and a single organisation by sticking with their teams for the longest lengths of time today.
When we look at the NBA longest-tenured player on each team, you’ll see that many teams have started rebuilding or have chosen to prioritise youth over experience, and very few teams have seasoned veterans who have committed their whole careers to one group. It has paid off handsomely for some. It hasn’t quite taken off for others yet.
From every NBA franchise, check out the longest-tenured player.
The longest-tenured player on an NBA team
1. Golden State Warriors – Stephen Curry (15 Years)
Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors now holds the NBA longest-tenured player from any NBA franchise. Curry was selected by the Warriors with the seventh overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draught, making it the best draught choice in franchise history. Curry has defied all odds and expectations to become one of the best players in NBA history. His prolific and effective three-point shooting and championship pedigree have revolutionised the game.
It all began in 2015 when Curry won back-to-back MVP honours after leading the Warriors to their first NBA championship since 1975. In addition to guiding the club to an NBA record 73 victories in 2016, he was named the NBA’s only unanimous MVP in history. With four NBA titles under his belt, nine All-Star choices, nine All-NBA Team selections, and more, Curry is hailed as the best or second-best point guard in NBA history, having earned that distinction at every turn.
Golden State has also demonstrated their dedication to Curry. He is among the highest-paid players ever and becomes the first player in NBA history to make $50 million or more in a single season in 2023–2024. It is difficult to imagine that he will ever play a single game in a different uniform at any time in his career, given the amount of money being thrown at him and all he has contributed to the Warriors team.
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2. Milwaukee Bucks – Khris Middleton And Giannis Antetokounmpo (11 Years)
The Milwaukee Bucks have done an amazing job of rising out of the NBA’s metaphorical bottom during the past ten years. It all began in the 2013 NBA Draught when Giannis Antetokounmpo, a young and somewhat unknown player from Greece, was selected with the 15th overall selection. They would close a deal to acquire rookie small forward Khris Middleton from the Detroit Pistons a month later.
Eleven years later, this team has already won one NBA title, and more is presumably on the horizon. After starting the season as a thin, underdeveloped power forward, Giannis Antetokounmpo went on to win two MVP awards, Defensive Player of the Year, most improved player, seven All-Star selections, seven All-NBA Team selections, and five All-Defensive Team selections. Today, he is one of the most dominant forces in the game.
These two would lead the squad to an extremely memorable season in 2021. Thanks to a strong Finals MVP effort by Antetokounmpo and a clutch playoff performance by Middleton, the Bucks won the NBA championship for the first time in 50 years. Although Middleton has also been selected three times as an All-Star by the Bucks, his three choices are insignificant in light of the two players’ extraordinary performance in 2021. This NBA longest-tenured player pair in Milwaukee is eager for at least one more, and with Damian Lillard’s arrival, it is now closer than it has been in a long time. Both are still very active with the organisation.
3. Philadelphia 76ers – Joel Embiid (10 Years)
The Philadelphia 76ers have had excellent results in the past with the picks they have made in the NBA Draught. Things did not go as planned when they drafted Joel Embiid first overall in 2014. Many even believed they had jumped the gun and made a grave error. The past eight seasons have demonstrated that it is not always appropriate to evaluate a player based just on his initial two NBA seasons.
Following just 31 games in his first three seasons on the squad, Joel Embiid appeared to be on a trajectory towards an NBA career similar to that of Greg Oden. But with six consecutive All-Star appearances, five All-NBA Team choices, three All-Defensive Team selections, two scoring crowns, and the first MVP honour for the Sixers organisation since 2001, Embiid has quieted all of that chatter during the previous seven years.
Since mostly healing from his injuries, Embiid has averaged 27.3 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game over the past seven seasons. He is among the top centres in NBA history since he is one of just five players to average at least 27.0 points and 13.0 rebounds each season. However, his standing in Philadelphia has been questioned due to the team’s instability and lack of postseason success. Should the 76ers’ postseason struggles persist, it will be intriguing to follow the tale to see what they do with their top big man going forward.
4. Dallas Mavericks – Dwight Powell (10 Years)
There are presently just five players in the NBA who have spent ten or more seasons with the same franchise. Of the five guys, Dallas Mavericks star Dwight Powell is arguably the most unexpected. Despite being a 2014 second-round draught selection, Powell came to the Mavericks with high hopes following a trade from the Boston Celtics during his rookie season.
Since then, Powell has not been able to play at the level of a star player for a club hoping to win the NBA championship due to injuries and poor play. Powell has played for the squad for ten seasons, averaging 7.6.
4.6 rebounds and 60.0% shooting from the field per game. Powell was their full-time starter for nine seasons, but he was demoted to the bench, which may signal the beginning of the end for him in Dallas.
5. Denver Nuggets – Nikola Jokic (9 Years)
Throughout NBA history, one of the most cherished teams is the Denver Nuggets. They unknowingly created history in 2015 when they chose Nikola Jokic in the second round of the NBA Draught. Jokic, who is now regarded as the top second-round selection in NBA history, has established himself as the team’s all-time greatest player while leading the Nuggets to their best seasons ever.
With his initial selection to the All-Star team in 2019, Jokic truly started to make a name for himself. He has since repeated the honour in each of the next five seasons. He was the first MVP in the team’s history in 2021, then in 2022 he won another one. Jokic shot 57.5% from the field and averaged 26.7 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 8.1 assists per game throughout those two seasons.
In 2022–2023, Jokic had his greatest season as he guided the Nuggets to the top overall seed in the Western Conference. After that, he guided Denver to victory in the postseason and the NBA Finals, when they swept the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. Following that, Jokic and the Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat in five games to win the NBA championship. As the first-ever MVP of the Finals in Nuggets history, Jokic now stands as the best player to ever don a Nuggets uniform.
6. Phoenix Suns – Devin Booker (9 Years)
Among the few teams in NBA history who have never experienced the thrill of winning a championship is the Phoenix Suns. Their fortunes started to shift again during the 2015 NBA Draught with the pick of the player who has the potential to become the franchise’s all-time great. This came after years of having fantastic teams that were unsuccessful.
Over the past five seasons, Devin Booker has established himself as one of the NBA’s best shooting guards, easily holding the top place the last two. Booker has averaged 24.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game on 46.1% shooting over the past nine seasons. In that time, he has been selected for three All-Star teams and one All-NBA Team team.
Booker was a key player in the Suns’ 2021 NBA Finals run, which was their first since 1993. The Suns lost in six games, but they now have the recipe and veteran leadership of their NBA longest-tenured player to potentially take them back there with much better outcomes.
7. Minnesota Timberwolves – Karl-Anthony Towns (9 Years)
When it comes to having strong rosters and the general skill to contend for an NBA title, the Minnesota Timberwolves have had a difficult time of it throughout the years. Using their first-round selection in 2015, the Timberwolves selected Kentucky’s Karl-Anthony Towns, a formidable big man.
With this choice, Towns was tipped to become their team’s next great inside player, much as Kevin Garnett did for so long in the 1990s and 2000s. Towns developed into one of the best shooting big men in NBA history as the game did. Towns won three All-Star choices, two All-NBA Team selections, and the 2016 Rookie of the Year award throughout the course of the previous nine seasons.
Towns will go down as one of the greatest players in Timberwolves history with averages of 16.7 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game. Even still, it is difficult to declare Towns’ whole career with the team a total success given his three playoff appearances during his time there.
8. Indiana Pacers – Myles Turner (9 Years)
The Indiana Pacers possessed the eleventh overall choice in the 2015 NBA Draught. The Pacers made the decision to select a big man of a new generation after missing the playoffs for the first time in five seasons. They decided on Myles Turner of Texas, and they have stuck with him as their starting centre ever since.
Myles Turner has shown to be a formidable opponent throughout the years in both rebounding and shot blocking. He helped the Pacers return to the postseason five times, all of which ended in first-round defeats, and he earned two block titles in 2019 and 2021.
Turner has shot 49.8% from the floor and averaged 13.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game during the previous nine seasons. Despite his great defensive play, he is always the subject of trade rumors—none of which have ever materialised. Turner’s contract expires in 2024–25, so you can anticipate that speculation about how long he will remain NBA Indiana’s longest-tenured player will pick up steam again this season and into the summer.
9. Boston Celtics – Jaylen Brown (8 Years)
With their third overall choice in 2016, the Boston Celtics took a gamble on University of California’s Jaylen Brown. Brown has only averaged 20.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game since moving into the starting lineup full-time in 2018. Brown has also contributed to the Boston Celtics’ rise to prominence in the Eastern Conference by making four trips to the Conference Finals and one trip to the NBA Finals.
Brown was selected to his first All-NBA Team in 2022–2023 and has been an All-Star twice since 2021. With fellow star Jayson Tatum, he forms an outstanding pair that is easily ranked among the NBA’s top three second options. Together, they are tasked with winning the team their first NBA championship since 2008. With a five-year, $304 million contract, Boston made Brown the highest-paid player in NBA history this summer, demonstrating their faith in him.
There is still unresolved business in 2023–24, as Brown and a plethora of co-stars aim to bring the Larry O’Brien Trophy back to its rightful place following another heartbreaking loss in the 2023 Conference Finals. Brown is projected to be one of nine players earning over $50 million in 2024–25, but there is still unresolved business in 2023–24.
10. Toronto Raptors – Pascal Siakam (8 Years)
Pascal Siakam has already had an incredible NBA career with the Toronto Raptors in just eight seasons. Siakam earned his chance to start as the team’s primary power forward after two seasons of playing off the bench in 2017 and 2018, and he did not let anybody down.
Siakam averaged 19.0 points and 7.1 rebounds per game throughout the playoffs in his first full season as the starter, helping the Raptors win their first and only title in team history. In addition, he would get the season’s Most Improved Player award, enhancing his collection of personal awards.
Siakam has averaged 22.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.1 steals per game on 47.1% shooting since the title, earning him honours as an All-Star and two times as an All-NBA Team. Though there have been rumours that he might be traded to other clubs, he will be starting the 2023–24 season with the Raptors.
11. Miami Heat – Bam Adebayo (7 Years)
Bam Adebayo was a relatively unknown prospect when he departed the University of Kentucky seven years ago. In the 2017 NBA Draught, the Miami Heat picked him with the 14th overall pick, making him their newest undersized centre. After seven seasons, Adebayo has established himself as one of the NBA’s top centres, assisting the Miami Heat in carrying on their almost two-decade-long winning streak.
Adebayo has been selected twice for the All-Star team and four times for the Heat’s All-Defensive team since joining the NBA in 2017–18. Throughout his career, he has averaged 14.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 1.0 steals per game; but, from 2019 to 20, he has scored more than 15.0 points a game. Adebayo was instrumental in helping the Heat win two NBA Finals series and make four trips to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2020 and 2023.
Adebayo has been a major factor in the team’s ability to be considered a contender for the previous seven years, even if they haven’t been able to win the NBA title yet. He is one of the best big men in the NBA thanks to his adaptability on defence and his greatly improved offensive skill, and the club is ready for retaliation in 2023–2024.
12. Sacramento Kings – De’Aaron Fox (7 Years)
The Sacramento Kings hadn’t appeared in the NBA playoffs for 17 years prior to the 2022–2023 season. De’Aaron Fox, the team’s fifth overall selection in the 2017 NBA Draught, was one player who had to put up with all of the drama and disappointment before to that for six seasons.
Fox has an innate skill for playing point guard that is difficult to teach, and he was already flirting with being an All-Star. Ultimately, he was selected as an All-Star in 2022–23 after finishing with 25.0 points and 6.0 assists on 48.6% shooting. For his outstanding fourth-quarter scoring and clutch play, Fox was also named the NBA’s first-ever Clutch Player of the Year.
Fox and the Kings had high expectations for 2023–24 after he led the team to the playoffs the previous season. They are expected to make the playoffs once more, and Fox is a lock to be selected as an All-Star and All-NBA Team. Fox is leading the push and will be the NBA Kings’ longest-tenured player for the bulk of his career if the Kings are really done being the NBA’s laughingstock.
13. Chicago Bulls – Zach LaVine (7 Years)
The Chicago Bulls’ problems date back to the 2012 playoff game against the Philadelphia 76ers, when Derrick Rose collapsed to the ground in agony. The Bulls have returned to the playoffs five times since that point, but they have never advanced past the second round.
When they traded for Zach LaVine from the Timberwolves seven years ago, headed by Jimmy Butler, they thought everything had finally turned around. LaVine was selected to two All-Star teams in 2021 and 2022. Since then, he has averaged 24.5 points per game while shooting 47.0% for Chicago. Unfortunately, the Bulls have only ever gone to one postseason, losing in the first round in 2022.
Despite having two other All-Stars on the team next to him, LaVine and the Bulls appear to be at a crossroads in their season. Given that LaVine is owed more than $40 million each season through 2026–2027, it is only reasonable to assume that, should things not rapidly improve, he will be a highly sought-after trade target by the NBA.</p>
These are the lo
ngest-tenured player on an NBA team. Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
