It seems like each season the players in the NBA are getting younger, forcing the old dogs out the door. The average age in the NBA during the 2022-23 season was 26.1 years old.
But had the following rookies suited up, they would have easily bumped that number up higher.
At an age when many players are contemplating retirement, these individuals were making their NBA debut. After spending most of their prime playing overseas or in the development leagues, they played their rookie NBA seasons much later than most.
From journeymen to champions to Hall of Famers, these guys found a way to leave their mark on the league in one way or another.
Here are the oldest NBA rookies of all time.
- Pablo Prigioni – 35 years, 169 days
- Marcelo Huertas – 32 years, 156 days
- Andre Ingram – 32 years, 142 days
- Pero Antic – 31 years, 93 days
- Antoine Rigaudeau – 31 years, 33 days
- Arvydas Sabonis – 30 years, 319 days
- Fabricio Oberto – 30 years, 255 days
- Ibrahim Kutluay – 30 years, 173 days
- Sasha Kaun – 30 years, 172 days
- Milos Teodosic – 30 years, 213 days
Pablo Prigioni – 35 years, 169 days
Don’t let Pablo Prigioni’s age fool you. While he was officially an NBA rookie at the age of 35, he still had seventeen years of professional basketball experience under his belt.
Before he arrived in the Big Apple, Prigioni captured multiple Spanish Cups and Supercups, as well as MVPs in each event. In the summer of 2012, the New York Knicks inked Prigioni to a one-year contract, even though he was joining the league at an age when most players are entering the twilight of their basketball career.
Although it took a while, Prigioni made his way into the starting point guard role for the last 18 games of the 2012-2013 season and averaged 3.5 points and 3 assists as a rookie.
Prigioni replaced Raymond Felton in the Knicks lineup and helped the team not only win the Atlantic Division title but also advance to the second round of the playoffs.
The Argentine point guard spent four years in the NBA split between the Knicks, Houston Rockets, and LA Clippers before returning to finish his career with Baskonia.
Marcelo Huertas – 32 years, 156 days
Despite all of his international success – both individually and team – Brazilian guard Marcelo Huertas could not translate his game into a lengthy NBA career.
Unfortunately for Huertas, playing in Los Angeles, especially for the Lakers, if you aren’t able to significantly contribute, you aren’t going to last long.
As one of just two point guards on the team, Huertas did a decent job distributing the ball, averaging 3.4 assists (second on the team) and 4.5 points in a limited 17 minutes per game.
Huertas’ best game of his rookie season came on March 6th, 2016, when he was just one assist short of a double-double, recording 10 points and 9 assists in a 112-95 victory over the Golden State Warriors.
However, with the team posting one of its worst records in history, it was obvious who would be on the chopping block when it came to adding better and younger talent.
“Macelinho” returned to Spain after just two years and 76 games in the NBA.
Andre Ingram – 32 years, 142 days
The hype level for Andre Ingram during his rookie year may have been exceeded by only those named Magic Johnson or Kobe Bryant.
After eleven years of playing in the G League (including seven with the South Bay Lakers) while moonlighting as a math tutor, the undrafted guard made his debut on April 10th, 2018, to play out the final two games of the season with the Los Angeles Lakers.
What followed was something only to be found in a Hollywood script.
Complete with a sprinkling of grey hair on his head, Ingram dropped 19 points off the bench as the second-leading scorer for a Lakers team that had nothing but pride to play for. Proving that old dogs can ball, Ingram finished the night hitting four of five shots from downtown, while adding 3 rebounds, 3 blocks, and an assist.
You know you’ve made it when the entire Staples Center crowd serenades you with “MVP” chants.
When asked about his best game, Ingram said, “It’s my first ever NBA game. It really was the most significant. Maybe I’ve had better shooting nights, better scoring nights. That first NBA game wasn’t that. But the significance of it was amazing. There isn’t a day that goes by whether I’m at a gas station or the airport, I’ll see someone and they’ll tell me what that night did for them.”
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Pero Antic – 31 years, 93 days
With fourteen years of international competition under his belt, which included several EuroLeague, Greek League, and Turkish League championships and MVP honors, Macedonian forward Pero Antic eventually made his way to America to play with the Atlanta Hawks.
A star in the EuroLeague, Antic struggled to carry that same level of play over to his two seasons with the Atlanta Hawks.
During his rookie season, the 6’11” forward received a decent amount of playing time off the bench for the Hawks, averaging 18.5 minutes, 7 points, and 4.2 rebounds. Those numbers were good enough to get him selected for the Rising Stars Game during All-Star Weekend.
Of the 113 games he played in the NBA, Antic started 29 and averaged 17.4 minutes. Despite his limited playing time, Antic became a Hawks fan favorite and found himself playing significant minutes in Atlanta’s first-round playoff series loss to the Indiana Pacers.
Antoine Rigaudeau – 31 years, 33 days
The Dallas Mavericks have not had much success with players from France.
Antonie Rigaudeau, Rodrique Beaubois, Frank Ntlikina, Tariq Abdul-Wahad, Alexis Ajinca, and Howard Carter are among the names that have struggled in the “Big D”.
Despite all of his success overseas, the French combo guard/forward lasted just one season in the NBA. Actually, it was 11 games and 91 minutes to be exact.
Nicknamed “Le Roi” (The King), Rigaudeau was far from royal or majestic when he joined the Dallas Mavericks roster in 2003. Considering his resume, it is not as if the Mavericks were out of line in signing him to a three-year contract.
From 1991 to 2002, Rigaudeau amassed two EuroLeague titles, two Italian League championships, three Italian Cups, a French League championship, four EuroStar selections, and five French League French Player’s MVP awards. He is now enshrined in the FIBA Hall of Fame.
Arvydas Sabonis – 30 years, 319 days
Possibly one of the greatest “what ifs” in NBA history, many people talk about Arvydas Sabonis potentially being listed among the elite NBA big men of all time had he come over to North America before he turned 31.
Imagine if the 7’3″ Sabonis, who at the age of 15 was playing for the Soviet National Team, had come to play in the NBA at say 20 or 21 years old when he had healthy knees?
Originally drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in 1985, the selection was voided by the NBA as the Soviet big man was under the age of 21. Sabonis heard his name called again the following June as the Portland Trail Blazers selected him with the 24th pick.
Despite not joining the Trail Blazers until 1995, Sabonis made the 1995-96 All-Rookie team with averages of 14.5 points and 8.1 rebounds.
During his seven seasons in Portland, Sabonis averaged 12 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 2.1 assists, becoming one of the best passing big men of his era.
Fabricio Oberto – 30 years, 255 days
From the age of 17, Fabricio Oberto was a member of one of the most successful basketball teams in Argentina: Atenas de Cordoba.
Twelve years later, Oberto – winner of various European championships and MVP awards – found himself joining fellow countryman Manu Ginobili as part of the 2005 San Antonio Spurs roster.
As the oldest rookie in the Spurs’ history, Oberto was a far cry from the star he was in Euro, playing 59 games and averaging 8.3 minutes, 1.7 points, and 2.1 rebounds.
Oberto saw his role and output improve over the next three seasons with the Spurs, which included winning an NBA title in 2006-07.
Ibrahim Kutluay – 30 years, 173 days
You will be forgiven if you can not remember the twelve minutes that Turkish guard Ibrahim Kutluay played with the Seattle SuperSonics during the 2004-05 season.
Known best for his time as an elite scorer in various Turkish and Greek basketball leagues, the 6’6” guard was a multi-time champion, MVP, and All-Star before his arrival as a free agent in Seattle in 2004.
Yes, Kutulay was shooting 37% from downtown and 43% from the field, averaging 12.5 points per game overseas. But sitting behind Ray Allen and Ronald Murray left little floor time for the NBA rookie.
Although he had a two-year contract, Kutluay found himself back with Panathinaikos and Ulkerspor after just a single season in the Pacific Northwest.
Sasha Kaun – 30 years, 172 days
Playing in an era when NBA teams welcome big men who were used to bang in the paint and set screens, it was no surprise that 6’11” 260-pound Sasha Kaun would not only find his way through a four-year career with the Kansas Jayhawks but also get picked up by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Although Kaun suited up for the Cavaliers, it was actually the Seattle SuperSonics that would make the Russian big man their final draft pick prior to their move to Oklahoma City, selecting him with the 56th pick in the 2008 NBA Draft.
Kaun’s draft rights were ultimately traded to Cleveland. But rather than heading to the NBA, Kaun returned home to play for CSKA Moscow for six years, winning multiple championships and honing his talent.
Seven years after being drafted, Kaun made his NBA debut, tallying a quadruple-single in his first game with 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 block, and 1 steal.
Although he played sparingly during his 25-game stint with the Cavs and spent more time with their D-League team, Kaun was presented with an NBA Championship ring as part of the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers championship roster.
Milos Teodosic – 30 years, 213 days
A star in the EuroLeague and with the Serbian National Team, combo guard Milos Teodosic struggled to repeat that same success when the LA Clippers signed him to a two-year deal.
While he averaged 9.5 points, 4.6 assists, and 2.8 rebounds, Teodosic’s rookie season was hampered by ongoing plantar fasciitis issues, limiting him to just 45 games.
After being waived by the Clippers during his second season, Teodosic returned to continue his career overseas where he is currently a member of KK Crvena zvezda.
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