This is a list of oldest and youngest National Basketball Association players. The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a men's professional basketball league in North America. The NBA was founded in 1946 as the Basketball Association of America (BAA). [1] The league adopted its current name at the start of the 1949–50 season when it merged with the National Basketball League (NBL). [2] The oldest person ever to play in the NBA was Nat Hickey, a coach who activated himself as a player for a game two days before his 46th birthday. The youngest player ever to play in the NBA was Andrew Bynum, who played his first game only six days after his 18th birthday. The oldest active player is LeBron James, who is currently 39 years, 318 days old. He is the only active player who was born before 1985. The youngest active player in the NBA is Toronto Raptors center Ulrich Chomche, the 57th overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft, who was born on December 30, 2005.
Pos | G | F | C |
Position | Guard | Forward | Center |
The oldest player ever to play in the NBA was Nat Hickey who played one game in the 1947–48 season when he was 45 years and 363 days old. [3] Hickey, who was coaching the Providence Steamrollers at the time, decided to activate himself and played in a game for the Steamrollers. In his first game as a player for the Steamrollers, he missed all six of his shot attempts and only scored two points from three free throw attempts; he only played in one more game before retiring as a player two days shy of his 46th birthday. [4] The second-oldest player is Kevin Willis, who played 20 seasons (excluding the 1988–89 season he missed due to injury) in the league before he sat out the 2005–06 season and earned a contract with the Dallas Mavericks on April 2, 2007. [5] Willis then played five games for the Mavericks at the age of 44. [4] The third-oldest player is Hall of Famer Robert Parish. Parish, who played with the Boston Celtics in the 1980s, played his last season with the Chicago Bulls at the age of 43. [6] He played in 1,611 regular season games during his 21-year career, more than any other player in NBA history. [4] When the Bulls won the 1997 Finals, Parish became the oldest player ever to win the NBA championship. There are 31 players who played in the NBA after they turned 40. Following the retirements of Udonis Haslem and Andre Iguodala shortly after the 2022–23 season, [7] the oldest active player is the aforementioned 39 year old LeBron James.
^ | Denotes player who is still active in the NBA as of the 2024–25 season |
* | Denotes player who has been inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame |
† | Denotes player who is not yet eligible for Hall of Fame consideration [8] |
Player | Pos | Birth date | Last game | Age | Team(s) played (years) | Draft (pick) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nat Hickey | G/F | January 30, 1902 | January 28, 1948 | 45 years, 363 days | Providence Steamrollers (1948) | Undrafted | [9] |
Kevin Willis | F/C | September 6, 1962 | April 18, 2007 | 44 years, 224 days | 8 teams
| 1984 (11th) | [10] |
Robert Parish * | C | August 30, 1953 | May 11, 1997 | 43 years, 254 days | 4 teams | 1976 (8th) | [11] |
Vince Carter * | G/F | January 26, 1977 | March 11, 2020 | 43 years, 45 days | 1998 (5th) | [12] | |
Udonis Haslem † | F/C | June 9, 1980 | June 7, 2023 | 42 years, 363 days | Miami Heat (2003–2023) | 2002 (Undrafted) | [13] |
Dikembe Mutombo * | C | June 25, 1966 | April 21, 2009 | 42 years, 300 days | 6 teams | 1991 (4th) | [14] |
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar * | C | April 16, 1947 | June 13, 1989 | 42 years, 58 days | 2 teams | 1969 (1st) | [15] |
Bob Cousy * | G | August 9, 1928 | January 6, 1970 | 41 years, 150 days | 2 teams | 1950 (3rd) | [16] [17] |
Herb Williams | C/F | February 16, 1958 | June 25, 1999 | 41 years, 129 days | 4 teams
| 1981 (14th) | [18] |
John Stockton * | G | March 26, 1962 | April 30, 2003 | 41 years, 35 days | Utah Jazz (1984–2003) | 1984 (16th) | [19] |
Charles Jones | F/C | April 3, 1957 | May 3, 1998 | 41 years, 30 days | 5 teams | 1979 (165th) | [20] |
Karl Malone * | F | July 24, 1963 | June 13, 2004 | 40 years, 325 days | 2 teams | 1985 (13th) | [21] |
Dirk Nowitzki * | F/C | June 19, 1978 | April 10, 2019 | 40 years, 295 days | Dallas Mavericks (1998–2019) | 1998 (9th) | [22] |
Manu Ginóbili * | G | July 28, 1977 | April 24, 2018 | 40 years, 270 days | San Antonio Spurs (2002–2018) | 1999 (57th) | [23] |
Rick Mahorn | C/F | September 21, 1958 | May 23, 1999 | 40 years, 244 days | 4 teams
| 1980 (35th) | [24] |
John Long | G/F | August 28, 1956 | April 20, 1997 | 40 years, 235 days | 4 teams
| 1978 (29th) | [25] |
Jason Terry | G | September 15, 1977 | April 28, 2018 | 40 years, 225 days | 6 teams | 1999 (10th) | [26] |
Grant Hill * | F | October 5, 1972 | May 3, 2013 | 40 years, 210 days | 4 teams | 1994 (3rd) | [27] |
James Edwards | C/F | November 22, 1955 | May 27, 1996 | 40 years, 187 days | 8 teams
| 1977 (46th) | [28] |
Joe Johnson † | G/F | June 29, 1981 | December 22, 2021 | 40 years, 176 days | 7 teams
| 2001 (10th) | [29] |
Kurt Thomas | F | October 4, 1972 | March 18, 2013 | 40 years, 165 days | 9 teams
| 1995 (10th) | [30] |
Clifford Robinson | F/C | December 16, 1966 | May 12, 2007 | 40 years, 147 days | 5 teams | 1989 (36th) | [31] |
Jamal Crawford | G | March 20, 1980 | August 4, 2020 | 40 years, 137 days | 2000 (8th) | [32] | |
Charles Oakley | F/C | December 18, 1963 | April 2, 2004 | 40 years, 106 days | 5 teams
| 1985 (9th) | [33] |
Juwan Howard | F | February 7, 1973 | April 17, 2013 | 40 years, 69 days | 8 teams
| 1994 (5th) | [34] |
Steve Nash * | G | February 7, 1974 | April 8, 2014 | 40 years, 60 days | 3 teams
| 1996 (15th) | [35] |
Michael Jordan * | G | February 17, 1963 | April 16, 2003 | 40 years, 58 days | 2 teams | 1984 (3rd) | [36] |
Jason Kidd * | G | March 23, 1973 | May 18, 2013 | 40 years, 56 days | 4 teams
| 1994 (2nd) | [37] |
Andre Miller | G | March 19, 1976 | May 12, 2016 | 40 years, 54 days | 9 teams | 1999 (8th) | [38] |
Tim Duncan * | F/C | April 25, 1976 | May 12, 2016 | 40 years, 17 days | San Antonio Spurs (1997–2016) | 1997 (1st) | [39] |
Danny Schayes | C/F | May 10, 1959 | May 13, 1999 | 40 years, 3 days | 7 teams | 1981 (13th) | [40] |
This list includes active players who are or will be at least 35 years old in the current season or year.
NBA players usually come from U.S. college basketball. In the past, a college player had to complete his four-year college eligibility before he could enter the league through the NBA draft or as a free agent. In the 1970s, the league began to allow college underclassmen and high school players to enter the league. However, the trend of drafting high school players only began in the mid-1990s. This has led to more younger players entering the league directly after high school graduation. In 2005, the league and the players' union agreed on a new collective bargaining agreement that includes a minimum age limit which requires that players who wish to enter the league must be at least 19 years old on December 31 of the year of the draft, and at least one year removed from high school. International players who did not play college basketball also have to be at least 19 years old on the same date to be able to play in the NBA. [73] Despite a trend toward drafting younger players, the NBA has a higher average age than it had in the 1980s. [74] However, since the NBA introduced the minimum age limit in 2005, the league's average age has decreased in the past few seasons. [75] The youngest player to ever play in the NBA was Andrew Bynum who played his first game at the age of 18 years and 6 days old. [76] Bynum, who was also the youngest player ever selected in the NBA Draft, went into the NBA straight out of high school. [77] Jermaine O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, both drafted in 1996, were the second- and third-youngest players. Serbian Darko Miličić was the youngest player ever to play in an NBA Finals game. [78] He played for the Detroit Pistons in Game 3 of the 2004 Finals at the age of 18 years and 356 days old. The Pistons won the 2004 Finals and Miličić became the youngest player ever to win the NBA championship, being only five days away from his 19th birthday at the time. There are currently 31 players who played in the NBA before they turned 19. Nineteen of them came to the league straight out of high school, while eight of them are international players who never played basketball in U.S. high schools or colleges before they entered the NBA, and four players, Devin Booker, Joshua Primo, Jalen Duren and GG Jackson played one year of college before entering the NBA all while remaining 18 years old throughout the process.
^ | Denotes player who is still active in the NBA as of the 2024–25 season |
* | Denotes player who has been inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame |
Player | Pos | Birth date | First game | Age | Team(s) played (years) | Draft (pick) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Andrew Bynum | C | October 27, 1987 | November 2, 2005 | 18 years, 6 days | 3 teams | 2005 (10th) | [79] |
Jermaine O'Neal | F/C | October 13, 1978 | December 5, 1996 | 18 years, 53 days | 1996 (17th) | [80] | |
Jim Browne | C | October 3, 1930 | November 30, 1948 | 18 years, 58 days | 2 teams | Undrafted | [81] [82] |
Kobe Bryant * | G | August 23, 1978 | November 3, 1996 | 18 years, 72 days | Los Angeles Lakers (1996–2016) | 1996 (13th) | [83] |
Darko Miličić | C | June 20, 1985 | October 31, 2003 | 18 years, 133 days | 2003 (2nd) | [84] | |
Stan Brown | F | June 27, 1929 | November 13, 1947 | 18 years, 139 days | Philadelphia Warriors (1947–1948, 1951–1952) | Undrafted | [85] [86] |
Bill Willoughby | F/C | May 20, 1957 | October 23, 1975 | 18 years, 156 days | 1975 (19th) | [87] | |
Tracy McGrady * | G/F | May 24, 1979 | October 31, 1997 | 18 years, 160 days | 1997 (9th) | [88] | |
Yaroslav Korolev | F | May 7, 1987 | November 4, 2005 | 18 years, 181 days | Los Angeles Clippers (2005–2007) | 2005 (12th) | [89] |
Andris Biedriņš | C | April 2, 1986 | November 5, 2004 | 18 years, 217 days | 2 teams | 2004 (11th) | [90] |
C. J. Miles | G/F | March 18, 1987 | November 14, 2005 | 18 years, 241 days | 7 teams | 2005 (34th) | [91] |
Amir Johnson | F | May 1, 1987 | January 24, 2006 | 18 years, 268 days | 4 teams | 2005 (56th) | [92] |
Darryl Dawkins | C | January 11, 1957 | October 27, 1975 | 18 years, 289 days | 4 teams | 1975 (5th) | [93] |
Joe Graboski | F/C | January 15, 1930 | November 6, 1948 | 18 years, 296 days | Undrafted | [94] [95] | |
Ulrich Chomche ^ | C | December 30, 2005 | October 23, 2024 | 18 years, 298 days | Toronto Raptors (2024–present) | 2024 (57th) | [96] |
Joshua Primo | G | December 24, 2002 | October 20, 2021 | 18 years, 300 days | 2 teams | 2021 (12th) | [97] |
LeBron James ^ | F | December 30, 1984 | October 29, 2003 | 18 years, 303 days | 3 teams
| 2003 (1st) | [41] |
Jonathan Bender | F | January 30, 1981 | December 10, 1999 | 18 years, 314 days | 2 teams | 1999 (5th) | [98] |
GG Jackson ^ | F/C | December 17, 2004 | October 30, 2023 | 18 years, 317 days | Memphis Grizzlies (2023–present) | 2023 (45th) | [99] |
Giannis Antetokounmpo ^ | F | December 6, 1994 | October 30, 2013 | 18 years, 328 days | Milwaukee Bucks (2013–present) | 2013 (15th) | [100] |
Eddy Curry | C | December 5, 1982 | October 31, 2001 | 18 years, 330 days | 4 teams | 2001 (4th) | [101] |
Dwight Howard | C | December 8, 1985 | November 3, 2004 | 18 years, 331 days | 7 teams
| 2004 (1st) | [102] |
Josh Smith | F | December 5, 1985 | November 3, 2004 | 18 years, 334 days | 5 teams
| 2004 (17th) | [103] |
Jalen Duren ^ | C | November 18, 2003 | October 19, 2022 | 18 years, 335 days | Detroit Pistons (2022–present) | 2022 (13th) | [104] |
Sekou Doumbouya | F | December 23, 2000 | November 23, 2019 | 18 years, 335 days | 2 teams | 2019 (15th) | [105] |
Martell Webster | G/F | December 4, 1986 | November 4, 2005 | 18 years, 335 days | 3 teams | 2005 (6th) | [106] |
Robert Swift | C | December 3, 1985 | November 3, 2004 | 18 years, 336 days | Seattle SuperSonics / Oklahoma City Thunder (2004–2009) | 2004 (12th) | [107] |
Dragan Bender | F/C | November 17, 1997 | October 26, 2016 | 18 years, 344 days | 3 teams | 2016 (4th) | [108] |
Maciej Lampe | F | February 5, 1985 | January 23, 2004 | 18 years, 352 days | 3 teams | 2003 (30th) | [109] |
Al Harrington | F | February 17, 1980 | February 5, 1999 | 18 years, 353 days | 7 teams
| 1998 (25th) | [110] |
Devin Booker ^ | G | October 30, 1996 | October 28, 2015 | 18 years, 363 days | Phoenix Suns (2015–present) | 2015 (13th) | [111] |
Player | Pos | Birth date | Age | Team(s) played (years) | Draft (pick) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ulrich Chomche | C | December 30, 2005 | 18 years, 318 days | Toronto Raptors (2024–present) | 2024 (57th) | [96] |
Tidjane Salaün | F | August 10, 2005 | 19 years, 94 days | Charlotte Hornets (2024–present) | 2024 (6th) | [112] |
Nikola Topić | G | August 10, 2005 | 19 years, 94 days | Oklahoma City Thunder (2024–present) | 2024 (12th) | [113] |
Pacôme Dadiet | F | July 27, 2005 | 19 years, 108 days | New York Knicks (2024–present) | 2024 (25th) | [114] |
Cam Christie | G | July 24, 2005 | 19 years, 111 days | Los Angeles Clippers (2024–present) | 2024 (46th) | [115] |
Bub Carrington | G | July 21, 2005 | 19 years, 114 days | Washington Wizards (2024–present) | 2024 (14th) | [116] |
Ron Holland | F | July 7, 2005 | 19 years, 128 days | Detroit Pistons (2024–present) | 2024 (5th) | [117] |
Alex Sarr | C | April 26, 2005 | 19 years, 200 days | Washington Wizards (2024–present) | 2024 (2nd) | [118] |
Zaccharie Risacher | F | April 8, 2005 | 19 years, 218 days | Atlanta Hawks (2024–present) | 2024 (1st) | [119] |
Trentyn Flowers | F | March 8, 2005 | 19 years, 249 days | Los Angeles Clippers (2024–present) | 2024 (Undrafted) | [120] |
Rob Dillingham | G | January 4, 2005 | 19 years, 313 days | Minnesota Timberwolves (2024–present) | 2024 (8th) | [121] |
GG Jackson | F | December 17, 2004 | 19 years, 331 days | Memphis Grizzlies (2023–present) | 2023 (45th) | [99] |
Johnny Furphy | G/F | December 7, 2004 | 19 years, 341 days | Indiana Pacers (2024–present) | 2024 (35th) | [122] |
AJ Johnson | G | December 1, 2004 | 19 years, 347 days | Milwaukee Bucks (2024–present) | 2024 (23rd) | [123] |
Cody Williams | F | November 20, 2004 | 19 years, 358 days | Utah Jazz (2024–present) | 2024 (10th) | [124] |
Tyler Smith | G/F | November 2, 2004 | 20 years, 10 days | Milwaukee Bucks (2024–present) | 2024 (33rd) | [125] |
Stephon Castle | G | November 1, 2004 | 20 years, 11 days | San Antonio Spurs (2024–present) | 2024 (4th) | [126] |
Matas Buzelis | F | October 13, 2004 | 20 years, 30 days | Chicago Bulls (2024–present) | 2024 (11th) | [127] |
Isaiah Collier | G | October 8, 2004 | 20 years, 35 days | Utah Jazz (2024–present) | 2024 (29th) | [128] |
Bronny James | G | October 6, 2004 | 20 years, 37 days | Los Angeles Lakers (2024–present) | 2024 (55th) | [129] |
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams. It is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and is considered the premier professional basketball league in the world.
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The Lakers play their home games at Crypto.com Arena, an arena they share with the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association, and the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League. The Lakers are one of the most successful teams in the history of the NBA with 17 championships, the second most in the league behind the Boston Celtics.
The Baltimore Bullets were a professional basketball team based in Baltimore. The Bullets competed in the American Basketball League (1944–1947), the Basketball Association of America (1947–1949), and the National Basketball Association (1949–1954). On November 27, 1954, the team folded with a 3–11 record on the season, making the Bullets the last NBA franchise to fold. Out of all defunct NBA teams, the Bullets were members of the association for the longest time and the only defunct team to win a championship.
Charles Edward Macauley was a professional basketball player and coach. His playing nickname was "Easy Ed". Macauley played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1949 to 1959 for the St. Louis Bombers, Boston Celtics, and St. Louis Hawks. During his career, Macauley earned seven All-Star selections and won a championship with the Hawks in 1958. He played college basketball for Saint Louis.
Darko Miličić is a Serbian former professional basketball player. He is 2.13 m, and played the center position. Miličić played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 2003 to 2013. He is the fifth youngest player and the youngest foreign player to have played in the NBA, the youngest player to have played in an NBA Finals game, and the youngest player to win the NBA championship.
Max "Slats" Zaslofsky was an American professional basketball player and coach. He played in the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) where he was selected to the all-league first-team from 1947 to 1950. In the 1947–48 BAA season, at 21 years of age, he led the BAA in scoring, and in the 1949–50 NBA season, he led the league in free throw percentage (.843).
Andrew Bynum is an American former professional basketball player. He played the majority of his career with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After they selected him in the first round of the 2005 NBA draft with the 10th overall pick, the 7-foot (2.1 m) center won two NBA championships with the team in 2009 and 2010. He was named an All-Star and selected to the All-NBA Team in 2012.
The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has a long and storied history, having played and won championships in both the National Basketball League (NBL) and the Basketball Association of America (BAA) prior to their 1949 merger which formed the National Basketball Association (NBA). The franchise traces its roots to the NBL's Detroit Gems which was formed in 1946 and relocated to Minneapolis in 1947 to become the Lakers.
The NBA high school draftees are players who have been drafted to the National Basketball Association (NBA) straight out of high school. The process of jumping directly from high school basketball to the professional level is also known as going prep-to-pro. Since 2006, drafting high school players has been prohibited by the NBA collective bargaining agreement, which requires that players who enter the draft be 19 years of age or older and at least one year removed from high school.
Alex John Groza was an American professional basketball player from Martins Ferry, Ohio. Resulting from the CCNY point shaving scandal, Groza was banned from the National Basketball Association (NBA) for life in 1951. In college, he won two NCAA championships as captain of the University of Kentucky Wildcats, and was a two-time All-NBA player for the Indianapolis Olympians before his career abruptly ended.
The 1949 BAA draft was the third annual draft of the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The draft was held on April 21, 1949, before the 1949–50 season. In this draft, eleven BAA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players. The draft consisted of 8 rounds and a regional selection period, with 75 players selected. This was the final BAA Draft before the league merged with the National Basketball League to form the National Basketball Association (NBA) in August 1949. The 75 players selected matched the same number of players selected in the 1989 draft; both drafts have the fewest picks selected prior to 1989.
Nicholas J. "Nat" Hickey was a Croatian-American professional basketball coach/player and baseball player. He turned to coaching basketball after his retirement from playing full-time in 1942 but occasionally activated himself as a player for the teams he was coaching. In 1948, at the age of 45, Hickey played two games with the Providence Steamrollers of the Basketball Association of America (BAA) while serving as the team's head coach, making him the oldest player in NBA history, a mark he still holds today.
The 1947 BAA draft was the 1st draft of the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which later merged with the National Basketball League (NBL) to become the National Basketball Association (NBA). The fledgling BAA held a joint draft with the established NBL. Both leagues wanted to control salaries by stamping out competitive bidding by assigning exclusive rights to the team selecting a player. The NBL had already signed 11 players, whom they did not feel should be exposed to the draft. The players included college stars Jack Smiley, Ralph Hamilton, Harry Boykoff, John Hargis, Frank Brian, and Charlie Black. As a trade-off, the BAA teams were allowed to select players before the NBL.
The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. Following its third season, 1948–49, the BAA merged with the National Basketball League (NBL) to form the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Aleksej Pokuševski is a Serbian professional basketball player for Partizan Mozzart Bet of the ABA League, Basketball League of Serbia (KLS) and the EuroLeague. Standing at 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) and weighing 210 pounds (95 kg), he plays both the power forward and small forward positions.
Jonathan Malangu Kuminga is a Congolese professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A consensus five-star recruit and the top small forward in the 2021 class, he chose to forgo his college eligibility and reclassify to the 2020 class to join the NBA G League Ignite. Kuminga finished his high school career at The Patrick School in Hillside, New Jersey.