They say that basketball is a young man’s game. And in fact it is. Our data shows that the average age of an NBA player is right around 26 years old.
What right does an old guy with grey hair who rolls up to the arena in a family van, bathes in BioFreeze pregame, and is in the trainer’s room for hours after the game have being on the floor with guys who can leap out of the building, dance with the basketball, and shoot from the other side of halfcourt?
Yes, Father Time is undefeated.
But every now and then there are a few individuals who manage to put up a good fight longer than most expect them to.
In a league where athleticism is often equated with youth, a select few have been able to defy aging just as some have defied gravity.
As the NBA gets younger and more explosive, there are still a handful of individuals who despite having knees that creak like old floorboards, still prove that old dogs can have plenty of tricks up their sleeves.
This list will look at the ten individuals who were close to considering the seniors’ menu at Denny’s by the time they hung up their sneakers for the last time.
Here are the oldest players in NBA history, based on official data from Basketball Reference and NBA.com.
Nat Hickey – 45 years, 363 days
At 45 years and 363 days old, Nat Hickey was the oldest professional basketball player in recorded history.
With all due respect to Mr. Hickey, who suited up for two games with the Providence Steamrollers of the Basketball Association of America (which merged with the National Basketball League to form the NBA), very few will recognize his name.
A 5’11” guard, Hickey was a basketball vagabond, playing for eleven professional teams in various leagues over the course of his 27-year career.
While serving as the head coach of the Providence Steamrollers, Hickey was also on the active playing roster.
With little thought given to how his aging body would handle back-to-back games, Hickey ignored any notion of load management, recording a pair of made free-throws against the St. Louis Bombers on January 27, 1948, and then went scoreless the next evening against the New York Knicks.
Kevin Willis – 44 years, 224 days
When it comes to the record holder of the NBA, that honor goes to Kevin Willis, who played 21 seasons and 1,424 regular season games.
Adding in 98 playoff games, Willis tallied more than 1,500 NBA games with eight different teams (including two stints with the Atlanta Hawks and Houston Rockets…and for those who want to be technical, yes he was a member of the Milwaukee Bucks, but did not play a game).
Selected eleventh overall by the Hawks in the 1984 Draft, the 7-foot big man spent the majority of his career in Atlanta, becoming an All-Star and Third Team All-NBA in 1992.
Backing up David Robinson and Tim Duncan, Willis eventually claimed an NBA title while playing minimal minutes with the San Antonio Spurs during the 2002-03 season.
Robert Parish – 43 years, 254 days
The first of several Hall-of-Fame members on this list, “The Chief” suited up for four different teams over his 21-year career, but will best be remembered as part of the Boston Celtics’ “Big Three” during the 1980s.
A four-time NBA Champion, Parish also earned a pair of spots on the All-NBA Team and nine trips to the All-Star Game.
Selected eighth by the Golden State Warriors in 1976, Parish spent four seasons in the Bay area before being traded to Boston along with the third pick for the first and thirteenth picks in the 1980 NBA Draft.
The deal would go down in NBA history as one of the most lopsided trades ever as the third pick became Kevin McHale, while the Warriors decided to select Joe Barry Carroll, whose nickname became “Joe Barely Cares”.
During his final NBA season, as a member of the Chicago Bulls, Robert Parish became the oldest player in league history to win an NBA championship.
Vince Carter – 43 years, 45 days
While he is the third oldest in NBA history, Vince Carter holds the record for playing the most seasons with 22.
Tagged with the nicknames “Half Man/Half Amazing”, “Vinsanity” and “Air Canada” for his gravity-defying rim attacks and legendary dunk contest appearance, Carter proved to be more than a dunker, finishing his career among the top ten in made three-pointers.
On the night of the 1998 NBA Draft, the Golden State Warriors selected Carter with the fifth pick, but quickly traded him to the Toronto Raptors for his North Carolina Tarheels teammate Antawn Jamison.
Although Jamison went on to have a successful 16-year career, Carter became the face of the Raptors and the face of the entire country of Canada thanks to his nightly highlight film features.
While Carter had his share of NBA moments on each of the eight teams he played for, the one that will live on forever is “le dunk de la mort” against the French National Team while he was a 2000 US Olympic Team member.
Udonis Haslem – 42 years, 363 days
From birth to high school to college to the NBA, Udonis Haslem has never had to leave the confines of Florida.
In fact, other than a brief stint in Jacksonville’s Wolfson High School, four years in Gainsville while playing college ball for the Gators, and a season in France, Haslem has spent his career playing ball in Miami.
When it comes to being declared the face of a franchise, most fans consider how many titles were won or maybe how many points were recorded, but for the Miami Heat, nobody defines “Heat Culture” like Haslem, who spent all twenty years of his career in South Beach.
And to nobody’s surprise, one of his many current gigs includes being the Heat’s President of Basketball Development. A three-time champion as a player, Haslem finished his two-decade-long career as the franchise’s all-time leading rebounder and as one of just three players to suit up for the same team for at least twenty seasons (Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki).
He’s also the oldest person to ever play in an NBA Finals.
Dikembe Mutombo – 42 years, 300 days
“Mount Mutombo’s” Geico commercials and humanitarian work are arguably on par with his defensive dominance in the NBA for 18 seasons.
A 7’2” big man from Congo, Mutombo was a project when he came to America as a twenty-one-year-old.
After four years of protecting the paint for the Georgetown Hoyas, Mutombo was selected with the fourth pick by the Denver Nuggets in 1991.
Offensively, his best season came during his rookie year when he averaged 16.6 points. But his lack of firepower didn’t impact his value, playing in an era when big men who could rebound, block shots, and clog the paint were essential.
A four-time Defensive Player of the Year, Mutombo led the league in blocked shots on three occasions and twice in rebounding.
Known for his blocked shot finger wag celebration, Mutombo’s infectious energy and personality made him a fan favorite on each of the six teams he played for.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 42 years, 58 days
Most arguments about the NBA G.O.A.T. center around Michael Jordan and LeBron James, which unjustly leaves the six-time NBA champion, six-time MVP, and former all-time leading scorer out of the conversation.
An All-Star in all but one of his twenty NBA seasons (another injustice), Abdul-Jabbar was nearly unstoppable in the paint thanks to his signature skyhook.
Playing his first six seasons in Milwaukee after the Bucks drafted him first overall in 1969, Abdul-Jabbar helped the team to its first NBA title during his second season. If you thought the Robert Parish deal was lopsided, the Lakers absolutely fleeced the Bucks when they acquired the best big man in the game for four irrelevant players.
During “Cap’s” two decades in the league, he captured every award imaginable and etched his name in the record book multiple times over.
Bob Cousy – 41 years, 150 days
The “Houdini of the Hardwood” was doing things with the basketball throughout his basketball career that would make the And1 Crew and Kyrie Irving proud.
In an era of fundamentals (especially for a caucasian player), Cousy added flavor to his ball handling and passing that were found on the outdoor courts.
But Cousy was more than a wizard with the rock. He was also a capable scorer and rebounder (for a 6’1” guard).
A six-time NBA champion with the Boston Celtics dynasty of the late 1950s and 60s, Cousy was originally selected third in the 1950 NBA Draft by the Tri-Cities Blackhawks (now Atlanta Hawks) and then moved on to become a member of the Chicago Stags when contract negotiations with the Blackhawks fell through.
Prior to the start of the 1950 NBA season, the Stags franchise folded, and Cousy was begrudgingly picked up by the Celtics ownership in the dispersal draft. He quickly changed the Celtics’ minds and – as they say – the rest is history.
Herb Williams – 41 years, 129 days
Despite his best days as a member of the Indiana Pacers for eight seasons, somehow Herb Williams still found a way to last another ten years in the league and play until he was over 41 years old.
Never an All-Star and likely the least celebrated individual on this list, Williams’ best season came in 1985-86 when he averaged 19.9 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks (numbers that would certainly make him an All-Star Game candidate in today’s game).
Selected by the Pacers in the first round of the 1981 NBA Draft, Williams’ best years as an individual came while playing in Indiana. He also made two trips to the NBA Finals playing a reserve role for the New York Knicks.
John Stockton – 41 years, 35 days
If the average fan passed John Stockton on the streets, they probably wouldn’t recognize one of the greatest point guards in the history of the game.
For eighteen of his nineteen seasons as a member of the Utah Jazz, Stockton teamed up with Karl Malone to run a near-perfect version of the pick and roll, a play that everyone knew was coming, but few could stop.
Selected 16th by the Jazz as part of the legendary 1984 NBA Draft, Stockton was never the best scorer on his team, averaging a high of 17 points on three occasions. But his ability to find teammates in ideal scoring spots resulted in leading the league in scoring for nine straight years and averaging 10.5+ helpers for ten straight seasons.
Stockton’s key to a Hall-of-Fame career wasn’t just handing out dimes, as the 11-time All-NBA honoree was an elite thief, finishing his career with a league-leading 3,265 steals.
Old But Active
Here are a few active NBA players who are still putting Father Time on hold.
- LeBron James – 39 years old
- P.J. Tucker – 39 years old
- Chris Paul – 39 years old
- Taj Gibson – 39 years old
- Kyle Lowry – 38 years old
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