The NBA has more veterans rostered than ever before

Over the past few years, a popular talking point among people around the NBA has been that the league is lacking in veteran players, the leaders of yesteryear like Nick Collison or Udonis Haslem, who stuck around for so long due to their locker-room leadership and veteran voices moreso than for their basketball abilities.

Basketball Hall-of-Famer Kevin Garnett explained in 2021 why he believes having veterans on rosters is important (via the New York Times):

In your book, you write — and I know I sound dorky using your terminology — that “they [the league] don’t want the OGs around the rooks. Because they know the OGs will school ’em in the more treacherous and devious ways of the league.” What exactly are the treacherous ways of the league? Garnett: What I meant was, when it comes to off-the-court stuff and dealing with family and finances and the lifestyle of the league, you need veterans. Veterans sit around during dinners and plane rides and talk about people who have come before you: players that fought for midlevel exceptions and Bird rights. The franchise is not going to teach the players this. The players are exchanging the information you need to go up against a machine like the league.

Former NBA All-Star Kenyon Martin also discussed the lack of veterans in the NBA right now being a problem, especially as it pertains to his son, KJ Martin, a young player in the league right now. The elder Martin got a great first-hand glimpse of what not having vets around can do to young players:

If you’re learning bad behaviors early, you’re going to have bad behaviors and if you got positive people around, that’s what it’s going to be. And KJ’s… I speak to him coming in, he’s going into his fourth year and the people that are around him, like guys with the Clippers, the younger guys who are still older than him – they think they’re his age. They got a couple of 26, 27-year-olds and because of how he carries himself, because he had me, he had me there to say to him ‘no, that ain’t it dog’, ‘don’t do that’ and so on. And that’s what it is, it’s being a vet, seeing guy’s behaviors like ‘okay, that’s good, yeah you keep doing that’. Praise him when he’s doing good, telling him ‘you keep that up’ or if he on some BS you pull him to the side like ‘no that ain’t going to rock around here’. Like, ‘you need to change this, you need to do this different, that’s the way we are around here.’ And the NBA would be a lot better if you had more of that going on some of these teams, but they don’t want the influences of veterans around telling guys the real thing because they want to influence their thought process.

Martin said that he himself had to provide veteran leadership to young Rockets players despite his having been out of the NBA since 2014-15:

So I’m sitting around with them dudes, I’m going to watch them on the road, we in the hotel lobby and I’m talking to these dudes and everything that I’m saying is like it’s the word to them, because they ain’t heard none of this sh*t before. They are all locked in like ‘give me more OG’. like ‘talk to me’ like’ what would you do in this, how would you handle this’… They ain’t heard none of this sh*t.

So, it’s clear that current and former NBA players believe the league has a problem right now with its lack of veterans on rosters.

But, statistically, is that true?

Our research indicates that it isn’t, as we found that in 2024-25, the NBA set a record for most players with 15-plus years of NBA experience being on an NBA roster at the same time, with a whopping 20 such players. The previous high mark for a single season was 16 such players on rosters… which was set last season in 2023-24.

Of course, that doesn’t negate what players like Harden and Martin were saying. Just because the NBA has the most players ever with 15-plus years of experience on rosters right now, that doesn’t mean they’re all there to focus on being leaders. It’s more like, be it due to modern medicine and recovery methods or whatever else, more elite players are playing until they have 15-plus years in the league.

Just look at some of the names who qualify for the 15-plus-year-in-the-NBA club right now: LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and Harden, as well as DeMar DeRozan, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook and Jrue Holiday.

We can assure you that those guys aren’t being kept on rosters just to mentor younger players. Most of those players remain elite or very, very good at worst, and their primary focus is to play at a star – or great-backup – level, not to talk to younger players during games to point out their mistakes.

So, as is the case with many things in life, it seems that two things can be true at once here: The NBA might lack veteran leadership on a variety of teams right now. However, if you remain playing at a high level, you will still find yourself on an NBA roster. It’s not like older players are being shunned from the NBA, which is what some pundits and former players make it sound like when discussing the topic.

Regardless, below, check out all of the seasons in NBA history that had at least one player with 15-plus years of NBA experience. Note: If a year is not listed below, that means that that season had zero such players.

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Players with 15-plus years of experience: Kevin Durant, James Harden, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, DeMar DeRozan, Brook Lopez, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, Jrue Holiday, Mike Conley, Al Horford, Eric Gordon, Nicolas Batum, DeAndre Jordan, Kyle Lowry, Jeff Green, Kevin Love, Patrick Mills, Taj Gibson, James Johnson

Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

Players with 15-plus years of experience: Al Horford, Brook Lopez, Chris Paul, DeAndre Jordan, Eric Gordon, JaVale McGee, Jeff Green, Kevin Durant, Kevin Love, Kyle Lowry, LeBron James, Mike Conley, Nicolas Batum, Robin Lopez, Russell Westbrook, Thaddeus Young

Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

Players with 15-plus years of experience: Al Horford, Andre Iguodala, Chris Paul, Kyle Lowry, LeBron James, Mike Conley, Rudy Gay, Thaddeus Young, Udonis Haslem

Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Players with 15-plus years of experience: Andre Iguodala, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, CJ Miles, Dwight Howard, Joe Johnson, Kyle Lowry, LaMarcus Aldridge, LeBron James, Louis Williams, Paul Millsap, Rajon Rondo, Rudy Gay, Trevor Ariza, Udonis Haslem

Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

Players with 15-plus years of experience: Andre Iguodala, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Louis Williams, Trevor Ariza, Udonis Haslem

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Players with 15-plus years of experience: Andre Iguodala, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Jamal Crawford, JR Smith, Kyle Korver, LeBron James, Trevor Ariza, Tyson Chandler, Udonis Haslem, Vince Carter

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Players with 15-plus years of experience: Carmelo Anthony, Dirk Nowitzki, Dwyane Wade, Jamal Crawford, Kyle Korver, LeBron James, Nenê, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker, Tyson Chandler, Udonis Haslem, Vince Carter, Zaza Pachulia

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Players with 15-plus years of experience: Dirk Nowitzki, Jamal Crawford, Jason Terry, Joe Johnson, Manu Ginobili, Nenê, Pau Gasol, Richard Jefferson, Tony Parker, Tyson Chandler, Vince Carter, Zach Randolph

Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images

Players with 15-plus years of experience: Dirk Nowitzki, Jamal Crawford, Jason Terry, Joe Johnson, Metta World Peace, Mike Miller, Pau Gasol, Paul Pierce, Richard Jefferson, Tony Parker, Tyson Chandler, Vince Carter, Zach Randolph

Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Players with 15-plus years of experience: Andre Miller, Dirk Nowitzki, Elton Brand, Jamal Crawford, Jason Terry, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Metta World Peace, Mike Miller, Nazr Mohammed, Paul Pierce, Tim Duncan, Vince Carter

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Players with 15-plus years of experience: Andre Miller, Dirk Nowitzki, Elton Brand, Jason Terry, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Nazr Mohammed, Paul Pierce, Shawn Marion, Tim Duncan, Vince Carter

Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images

Players with 15-plus years of experience: Al Harrington, Antawn Jamison, Chauncey Billups, Derek Fisher, Dirk Nowitzki, Jermaine O’Neal, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Nazr Mohammed, Paul Pierce, Rashard Lewis, Ray Allen, Steve Nash, Tim Duncan, Vince Carter

Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Players with 15-plus years of experience: Chauncey Billups, Derek Fisher, Grant Hill, Jason Kidd, Jermaine O’Neal, Jerry Stackhouse, Juwan Howard, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Kurt Thomas, Marcus Camby, Rasheed Wallace, Ray Allen, Steve Nash, Tim Duncan

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Players with 15-plus years of experience: Ben Wallace, Derek Fisher, Erick Dampier, Grant Hill, Jason Kidd, Jermaine O’Neal, Jerry Stackhouse, Juwan Howard, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Kurt Thomas, Marcus Camby, Ray Allen, Steve Nash

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Players with 15-plus years of experience: Grant Hill, Jason Kidd, Jerry Stackhouse, Joe Smith, Juwan Howard, Kevin Garnett, Kurt Thomas, Shaquille O’Neal, Theo Ratliff

Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Players with 15-plus years of experience: Jason Kidd, Juwan Howard, Lindsey Hunter, Shaquille O’Neal

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Players with 15-plus years of experience: Dikembe Mutombo, Lindsey Hunter, Shaquille O’Neal

Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Players with 15-plus years of experience: Dikembe Mutombo, Robert Horry, Shaquille O’Neal

Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images

Players with 15-plus years of experience: Clifford Robinson, Dale Davis, Dikembe Mutombo, Gary Payton, Kevin Willis

Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

Players with 15-plus years of experience: Clifford Robinson, Gary Payton

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Players with 15-plus years of experience: Clifford Robinson, Kevin Willis, Reggie Miller, Rod Strickland, Vlade Divac

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Players with 15-plus years of experience: Avery Johnson, Charles Oakley, Horace Grant, Karl Malone, Kevin Willis, Mark Jackson, Reggie Miller, Rod Strickland, Scottie Pippen

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Players with 15-plus years of experience: Charles Oakley, Chris Dudley, Horace Grant, John Stockton, Karl Malone, Kevin Willis, Mark Jackson, Reggie Miller, Scottie Pippen

JAMES NIELSEN/AFP via Getty Images

Players with 15-plus years of experience: Charles Oakley, Dell Curry, Hakeem Olajuwon, John Stockton, Johnny Newman, Karl Malone, Kevin Willis, Patrick Ewing, Terry Porter

Ronald Martinez/Allsport

Players with 15-plus years of experience: A.C. Green, Charles Oakley, Chris Mullin, Detlef Schrempf, Hakeem Olajuwon, Jerome Kersey, John Stockton, Karl Malone, Kevin Willis, Otis Thorpe, Patrick Ewing, Sam Perkins, Terry Porter, Tyrone Corbin

GEORGE FREY/AFP via Getty Images

Players with 15-plus years of experience: Antoine Carr, Charles Barkley, Dale Ellis, Hakeem Olajuwon, Jerome Kersey, John Stockton, Mark West, Otis Thorpe, Sam Perkins, Terry Cummings

Players with 15-plus years of experience: Dale Ellis, Danny Schayes, Derek Harper, Eddie Johnson, Herb Williams, Mark West, Rick Mahorn, Terry Cummings

Otto Greule Jr/Allsport/Getty Images

Players with 15-plus years of experience: Alton Lister, Buck Williams, Danny Schayes, Eddie Johnson, Herb Williams, Rick Mahorn, Ricky Pierce, Terry Cummings, Tom Chambers