NBA history, and no one has played more minutes in the history of the game, nods to both his longevity and consistent production.
LeBron James Will Be The First NBA Player To Play 23 Seasons
He’ll set another all-time mark during the 2025-26 NBA season, and all he has to do is appear in a single game.
After the most recent campaign, LeBron James has now logged 22 seasons in the league. That broke a tie with guys like Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, and Robert Parish, whose careers all spanned 21 years. By playing in 2024-25, James moved into a tie with just one other person, who held the title alone for most seasons played for the last five years.
TRENDING: LeBron James is set to become the first player in NBA history to play 23 seasons. pic.twitter.com/lfYI5n2qPY
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) June 1, 2025
Before he retired in 2020, Vince Carter played in the NBA for 22 seasons. He entered the league as a 22-year-old and retired at 43, and became the first player ever to play in four different decades. Carter was more of a role player and mentor at the end of his playing days, as he averaged 6.5 points in 18.1 minutes per game over his final five years.
Carter played for 8 different teams in that span.
James will break that record the moment that he steps on the court for opening night. He will immediately become the first player in NBA history to appear in 23 straight seasons, an anomaly in itself. Add in the fact that he still produces at an insanely high level given his mileage, which includes continued All-NBA nods, and it is hard to argue against his case to be the greatest player ever.
The only longevity mark that LeBron James has yet to break is the games played plateau. He is currently sitting at 1,562 career games, 49 fewer than Robert Parish’s total. Should he remain healthy throughout the campaign, James will likely break that record as well.
