Each NBA Team's Longest-Tenured Player
From 1984 through 2003, 19 seasons, John Stockton suited up at point guard for the Utah Jazz. The NBA's all-time leader in assists and steals also held the record for longest tenure ever with just one team.
Kobe Bryant (traded from Charlotte to Los Angeles in '96) just tied Stockton's record. Assuming he's healthy, he'll pass the Utah great on opening day in the fall.
Most NBA teams don't have guys who have been there for over a decade. So grab a friend, mine through this article, and find out which of the teams' longest-tenured guys each of you can predict. I promise you, some of them are pretty tough.
Atlanta Hawks: Al Horford
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Al Horford was the third overall pick in the now-infamous 2007 NBA draft. And while a ton has been made of Portland's misstep (selecting Greg Oden over Durant), that draft actually bore several quality players.
According to Basketball-Reference.com, Horford ranks fourth in win shares among all players in that draft. He's missed nearly two full seasons due to injury in his eight-year career but consistently plays at an All-Star-caliber level when healthy.
Boston Celtics: Avery Bradley
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Avery Bradley has enjoyed a nice career in Celtic Green since he was drafted outside of the lottery in 2010. He's known as a defensive stalwart who fits into the uptempo outside-in style that the Celtics employ.
He'll probably spend the summer looking over his shoulder as general manager Danny Ainge has shown little remorse when flipping veterans for young assets.
Brooklyn Nets: Brook Lopez
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Brook Lopez is the first of four players on this list who were drafted by their current teams while they were either located in another city or called by a different name. The New Jersey Nets selected Brook Lopez 10th overall in the 2008 NBA draft.
Though the center from Stanford has difficulty rebounding his position, he has proved to be an efficient scorer by averaging 17.9 points per game over the course of his seven-year career.
Charlotte Hornets: Gerald Henderson
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Gerald Henderson is one half of the worst shooting set of wings in the league. A career 31 percent three-point shooter, Henderson has averaged double digits each of the last four seasons by attacking the basket. According to Basketball-Reference.com, 89 percent of his total field-goal attempts have been from inside the arc.
Chicago Bulls: Joakim Noah
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Though he was selected ninth overall, Joakim Noah was the third Florida Gator selected in the 2007 NBA draft. Through eight NBA seasons, he's proved to be the most reliable of the bunch.
Noah made two All-Star teams and won a Defensive Player of the Year award. He's been a defensive rock for a Bulls team that has made the postseason seven years in a row.
Cleveland Cavaliers: Anderson Varejao
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The oft-injured Anderson Varejao is enjoying his second trip to the NBA Finals in 11 seasons as a Cavalier. Not coincidentally, both involved the four-time MVP LeBron James.
Though the Brazilian has never started more than 42 games in a season, he was a valuable defensive big man on several of the early LeBron Cavs.
Dallas Mavericks: Dirk Nowitzki
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Is that a young Dirk Nowitzki or Nick Carter from the Backstreet Boys?
Dirk is the third-longest-tenured player in the league, behind only Kobe and Tim Duncan. He was drafted ninth overall by the Bucks but has only ever played professionally in Dallas.
Seventeen seasons, 12 All-Star Games, two finals appearances, one championship and 192 win shares later, Dirk is still a force to be reckoned with.
Denver Nuggets: Ty Lawson
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Ty Lawson was the eighth point guard drafted in the 2009 NBA draft. (I'm counting James Harden and Tyreke Evans as point guards for the sake of wowing my readers.)
By win shares, he's the fourth-best player from a deceptively strong draft class. Blessed with incredible quickness and vision, Lawson has been a top-10 offensive point guard nearly every year in the league.
Watch out, Nuggets fans. The rumor mill is churning. George Karl, Lawson's old coach in Denver, is trying to acquire the speedster and pair him with Boogie Cousins in Sacramento, according to Basketball Insiders (h/t Hoops Hype).
Detroit Pistons: Greg Monroe
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Though he was drafted seventh overall, Greg Monroe has been arguably the best player from a strong 2010 draft class that includes two superstars from Kentucky and Paul George.
That said, Detroit's multitalented power forward is an unrestricted free agent this summer and has been linked to the New York Knicks, according to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News.
Golden State Warriors: Stephen Curry
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Back-to-back seventh overall picks. But Warrior fans need not worry about losing their guy. Stephen Curry will likely still be the longest-tenured Warrior when this column runs again in 2025. The franchise cornerstone and reigning MVP just led his team to its first Finals appearance in 40 years!
Oh yeah, and he's already being touted as the greatest shooter of all time.
Houston Rockets: Terrence Jones
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Terrence Jones wins by a hair. Houston grabbed Jones 18th overall on June 28, 2012—exactly four months before it stole James Harden from Oklahoma City. Shockingly, the rest of Houston's 56-win roster has been scraped together since that fateful day in late October 2012.
Jones is a skilled stretch-ish power forward who dominates inferior interior bigs but struggles against the league's stronger power forwards. According to Basketball-Reference.com, he has averaged over 12 points per game in his last two injury-riddled seasons.
Indiana Pacers: Roy Hibbert
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The Georgetown graduate went 17th overall to the Raptors in the 2008 NBA draft but was soon flipped to Indiana in a massive trade that netted the Raptors a banged-up Jermaine O'Neal.
Roy Hibbert has matured nicely in his seven years of service. Every year, he's near the top of the league in opposing field-goal percentage at the rim, according to Nylon Calculus. He's also the most likely inspiration for Reggie Miller's obsession with saying "verticality" on air.
Los Angeles Clippers: DeAndre Jordan
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Notice anything weird about this picture?
Why is Adam Silver shaking DeAndre Jordan's hand and not then-commissioner David Stern?
Oh yeah, Jordan dropped all the way to the second round of the 2008 NBA draft. Big mistake for 29 teams. Jordan has led the league in field-goal percentage three years running (though it might have something to do with his absurd shot chart). He's also the two-time rebounding champ.
If he could only make his free throws...
Los Angeles Lakers: Kobe Bryant
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Was there ever any doubt?
On June 26, 1996, Kobe Bryant was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets, then flipped for (gulp) Vlade Divac to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Since that day, according to Basketball-Reference.com, Kobe has played in 1,280 games, shot 11,321 times, made 17 All-Star teams, played in seven NBA Finals (won five), cursed out countless teammates and made nearly $300 million in salary.
He's the longest-tenured player with one team in the NBA.
Memphis Grizzlies: Mike Conley
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Mike Conley was the second-best freshman on a historically great NCAA finals runner-up. He's been underappreciated and largely underrated throughout his eight years as Memphis' point guard. He's made the playoffs five straight seasons and consistently gives maximum effort on both ends of the floor.
Somehow, he's never made an All-Star team. Hopefully that will soon change.
Miami Heat: Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem (Tie)
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Technically, picked fifth overall, Dwyane Wade was on the team for a month-and-a-half before Udonis Haslem was signed as an undrafted free agent on August 6, 2003.
But I had to give the fellow three-time NBA champion his due. Haslem has been a rock in Miami just as long as D-Wade has. Since they both debuted on October 26, 2003, the two have combined to play in hundreds of playoff games and five NBA Finals. If three-year veteran Terrence Jones has a place on this list, so too should 12-year man Haslem.
Milwaukee Bucks: Ersan Ilyasova
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Per Basketball-Reference.com, Ersan Ilyasova was drafted by Milwaukee with the sixth pick of the second round of the 2005 NBA draft. He debuted for the Bucks in 2006 but went to Spain for what would have been his sophomore and junior seasons in the league.
Never fear, he returned to Milwaukee in 2009 and has been with the team ever since.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Nikola Pekovic
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Nikola Pekovic was drafted way back in the second round of the 2008 NBA draft. However, he didn't suit up for the T-Wolves until the 2010-11 season.
Pekovic is a gifted scorer, but he struggles to hedge then recover on screens. The Timberwolves defense suffers mightily when Pek plays center.
New Orleans Pelicans: Eric Gordon
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Eric Gordon was supposed to be the prize in the second Chris Paul trade. Per Basketball-Reference.com, he was coming off a stellar third season in which he averaged 22.3 points per game for the Clippers.
Not so fast. Since joining the Hornets (now Pelicans), Gordon has averaged just 44 games per season and never shot above 45 percent from the floor.
He did find his stroke down the stretch this year and in the first round of the playoffs against the Golden State Warriors. Hopefully, Gordon can stay healthy next season and return to 2010 form.
New York Knicks: Carmelo Anthony
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The Knicks are a train wreck. While Carmelo Anthony is no longer the conductor (that honor now belongs to Phil Jackson), he's still the "franchise player." This season, as Carmelo, Jackson and Derek Fisher collected fat pay checks, the Knicks stacked up losses.
Melo went to New York halfway through the 2010-11 campaign. He was to team up with Amar'e Stoudemire as the third "power" team in the East. The Knicks flailed to a .500 finished that year. They made the playoffs in 2011, 2012 and 2013 but never posed a serious threat to LeBron's Heat or the Big Three in Boston.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Nick Collison
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Nick Collison has been a steadfast piece of the Sonics/Thunder franchise since the 2003 draft.
Early in his career, before Durant, Westbrook and Harden got there, Collison was a starter and a key contributor for the franchise. Not so much recently. Per Basketball-Reference.com, Collison has started just 11 games in the past six seasons.
Orlando Magic: Maurice Harkless and Nikola Vucevic (Tie)
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Nikola Vucevic and Maurice Harkless were two of Orlando's acquisitions in the Dwight Howard megatrade.
Vuc is a quality offensive center. He rebounds his position and finishes well around the rim but consistently ranks near the bottom of the league in most defensive analytics. Nonetheless, he's something to build around.
Harkless is a role player and not much more. It's not surprising that one of the youngest teams in the league has just two guys who have been there for three seasons.
Philadelphia 76ers: Jason Richardson
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What? This has to be a joke, right?
Nope. Jason Richardson was acquired by the Sixers in the disastrous Andrew Bynum deal that sent Andre Iguodala to Denver and Dwight Howard to Los Angeles. That was three years ago.
Richardson has played in just 52 games since joining the Philadelphia Tankers. In fact, per Basketball-Reference.com, the former 23-points-per-game scorer only logged 1,353 minutes in the past three seasons. Family Guy has anecdotes longer than Richardson's combined playing time.
Phoenix Suns: Markieff Morris
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The Phoenix Suns drafted Markieff 13th overall in the 2011 draft. One pick later, his fraternal twin Marcus went to Houston. In four years in Phoenix, Markieff Morris has improved steadily. Last season, according to Basketball-Reference.com, he averaged over 15 points and six boards per game.
In February 2012, Markieff was reunited with his twin Marcus. Houston flipped the latter to Phoenix for a second-round pick. Though the two have had run-ins with the law, they've certainly played well together in Phoenix.
Portland Trailblazers: LaMarcus Aldridge
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LaMarcus Aldridge was flipped from Chicago to Portland as part of a wild spurt of draft-day trades in which the Blazers landed the two most talented players from the '06 draft. That would be the aforementioned Aldridge and now-retired Brandon Roy.
Aldridge made the All-Star team each of the last four seasons and averaged over 21 points per game each of the last five. Aldridge is a free agent this offseason, and speculators such as ESPN.com's Marc Stein are pointing toward a move back to Texas. Houston, San Antonio and Dallas will all likely make a play for the 6'11" power forward.
San Antonio Spurs: Tim Duncan
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Tim Duncan went first overall in the 1997 draft to the San Antonio Spurs. Not including lockout seasons, per Basketball-Reference.com, the Spurs have won at least 55 games every year since Duncan was drafted.
In 1999, during the first Stern-era lockout, the Spurs went 37-13 and won the title. In 2011, the second lockout season, the Spurs went 50-16.
Oh yeah, they've made the playoffs every year and won five titles.
I'm not going out on a limb when I say this was the best draft pick of the 1990s.
Toronto Raptors: Amir Johnson
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The Raptors acquired Amir Johnson two days before they drafted DeMar DeRozan in the 2009 draft. Both have been quality players for a Raptors team that consistently overachieves in the regular season. But with boisterous and active general manager Masai Ujiri at the helm, it should not be surprising if one or both are dealt before next season tips off.
Sacramento Kings: Jason Thompson
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Who?
In 2008, the Sacramento Kings took Jason Thompson with the 12th overall pick of the draft. Per Basketball-Reference.com, Thompson joined Herb Krautblatt as the only two Rider University ballers to ever make the NBA.
Surprisingly, Thompson has started over 400 games for the Kings. Not surprisingly, they've missed the playoffs every year he's been there.
Utah Jazz: Gordon Hayward & Jeremy Evans
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According to Hispanos NBA, with an average age of 23.7, the Utah Jazz are the youngest team in the NBA. Gordon Hayward just had a monster fifth season for a Utah team that finished the season 21-11.
Per Basketball-Reference.com, he averaged 19.3 points, 4.9 boards and 4.1 assists per game. If he continues to improve at this rate, Hayward will challenge Kawhi Leonard as the third-best small forward in the league.
Jeremy Evans is averaging just 3.7 points per game for his career, but did win the slam dunk contest. So there's that.
Washington Wizards: John Wall and Kevin Seraphin (Tie)
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The Wizards took John Wall first overall, then acquired 17th pick Kevin Seraphin and Kirk Hinrich for a second-round pick on draft day in 2010.
Well, Hinrich is back in Chicago, but Seraphin and Wall have stayed in the nation's capital. Seraphin, a free agent, is planning on testing the market this summer, as he told CSNWashington.com's J. Michael. But Wall will stay in Washington and do his best Stockton impersonation while the Wizards brass likely attempts to woo hometown kid Kevin Durant all season.
If KD does land in the District, the Eastern Conference had better watch out.
Statistics courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.
