The players who played most games per season in NBA history

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Best mark: 103 games in 1977-78
Worst mark: 75 games in 1988-89
Seasons played: 14

The legendary Dennis Johnson finishing first in this exercise is no surprise, as the ball-handling bucket-getter had great durability in his prime, suiting up in 95.8 percent of regular-season games throughout his career and missing more than seven games in a single season just once in his entire time as a pro. He also played on multiple elite teams, first with the Seattle SuperSonics in the late ’70s, where he won his first championship in 1978-79, and then obviously with the Boston Celtics. All those deep playoff runs and all that regular-season action, sans load management, led to Johnson playing in a whole lot of games per year in his career.

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Best mark: 101 games in 1967-68
Worst mark: 81 games in 1969-70
Seasons played: 16

Between the regular season and the playoffs, John Havlicek never played in fewer than 81 games in a single season. That’s even more impressive when you consider he played for 16 years. What’s more, when Havlicek played, the league was smaller and a team only had to win 12 total games in the playoffs to win the championship, so had Havlicek been able to keep up his level of durability playing a more modern schedule, he would have finished first in this exercise.

NBA.com

Best mark: 99 games in 1979-80
Worst mark: 80 games in 1983-84
Seasons played: 10

Hall-of-Fame forward Bobby Jones played 10 NBA seasons but also played two more in the ABA early on in his career, playing 193 combined games over two campaigns before even getting to the NBA, so he could rank even higher on this list if we were taking into account ABA participation. Despite winning just one championship, Jones made the playoffs every single year of his career and had various deep postseason runs, making his durability oh so impressive.

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Best mark: 104 games in 1987-88
Worst mark: 65 games in 1974-75
Seasons played: 20

One of the league’s GOATs, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played an astounding 20 seasons in the NBA, making the playoffs 18 times and getting all the way to the Finals an even more impressive 10 times, winning six championships in his career. That means he had to play a ton of games and even then, he had great injury luck and durability, enough so to rank fourth all-time in games played per season.

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Best mark: 106 games in 1987-88
Worst mark: 50 games in 1998-99
Seasons played: 16

Both extremely durable and boasting great longevity, one-time All-Star AC Green even played 83 games in a single regular season once, which took place in 1996-97 when he was part of a mid-season trade from the Phoenix Suns to the Dallas Mavericks. Green is the NBA’s Iron Man, owning the record for most games played in a row at 1,192. Overall, Green missed just three regular-season games in his entire career, which came in his second season when he still suited up in 79 games anyway. Green would have finished No. 1 in this exercise if not for the 1998-99 lockout and had he not missed the playoffs that year he got traded to Dallas.

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Best mark: 100 games in 2021-22
Worst mark: 69 games in 2020-21
Seasons played: 7

A modern player finishing this high up on this ranking is quite impressive considering what teams do to rest their stars during the regular season these days, especially when it comes to star-level players. So Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum deserves much credit for ranking so high in this exercise. At the same time, that moreso has to do with the number of deep playoff runs Tatum and Boston have made in their time together, and the lower sample size on his career, because Tatum has yet to suit up in all 82 regular-season games in a single campaign. On the other hand, he already has five playoff runs in which he has played in at least 17 games, which really helps lift him up this ranking.

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Best mark: 103 games in 1983-84
Worst mark: 54 games in 1991-92
Seasons played: 12

Los Angeles Lakers legend James Worthy played in 82 regular-season games three times in his career and at least 80 games four other times. That’s coupled with Worthy taking part in so many deep playoff runs with the Lakers dynasty of the ’80s, playing at least 14 playoff games seven times in his career to help propel him up this list despite having one year in which he played just 54 games between regular season and playoffs.

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Best mark: 102 games in 1981-82
Worst mark: 65 games in 1986-87
Seasons played: 11

As was the case with Jones, one-time superstar Julius Erving had a ton of ABA mileage that we didn’t consider for this exercise which would have helped him finish higher up on this list. That’s because, over his first five pro seasons in the ABA, Erving was extremely durable, playing 84 regular-season games four times in that span and making the playoffs all five years. Erving hit double-digit postseason appearances three times in the ABA, too, playing in a total of 455 pro games before even getting to the NBA. Dr. J averaged 91 games per season in the ABA, and that’s before an equally durable career in the NBA so if anything, the iconic Dr. J is being underrated in this exercise.

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Best mark: 102 games in 1996-97
Worst mark: 61 games in 1998-99
Seasons played: 19

An underrated Iron Man, all-time assists leader John Stockton played in all 82 regular-season games 16 times in his 19-year career. Oh, and one of those other years, he played in all 50 regular-season games of the ’99 lockout year. Besides that, Stockton played in 78 regular-season games in 1989-90. His one down year as far as durability came in ’98, later in his prime when he missed 18 regular-season games. That means as far as his regular-season career is concerned, Stockton suited up in 98.6 percent of potential regular-season action, an astounding mark. Stockton also made the playoffs all 19 years of his career but with nine of those postseason trips ending in the first round, the legendary playmaker doesn’t rank higher on this list than he potentially could have with more deep playoff runs.

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Best mark: 104 games in 1977-78
Worst mark: 53 games in 1965-66
Seasons played: 16

After his first three seasons, Paul Silas missed just 14 regular season games over 13 seasons for an average of one missed game per year. He also made the playoffs 14 times, giving him a high games-played-per-season average.

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Best mark: 104 games in 1992-93
Worst mark: 63 games in 1981-82
Seasons played: 14

Danny Ainge never played all 82 games in a regular season but he did have six seasons where he played in at least 80 regular-season games. He also took part in six Finals runs, further giving him a boost in this exercise. Ainge won two championships in his career.

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Best mark: 102 games in 1996-97
Worst mark: 60 games in 1998-99
Seasons played: 19

Two-time league MVP Karl Malone played all 82 regular-season games an impressive 10 times in his career. In fact, if we remove his final season when he was already 40 years old, Malone missed just 10 total regular-season games over an 18-season stretch. Like with Stockton, Malone doesn’t rank higher in this exercise due to various playoff runs that ended in the first round.

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Best mark: 105 games in 1983-84
Worst mark: 66 games in 1991-92
Seasons played: 13

Celtics legend Kevin McHale didn’t miss a single regular-season game over his first four seasons. He had a fifth season later on in which he played all 82 games as well. Despite getting to the Finals five times, McHale doesn’t rank higher on this list due to injury troubles later in his career.

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Best mark: 104 games in 2003-04
Worst mark: 50 games in 1998-99
Seasons played: 17

If we remove his final season in 2006-07, Hall of Fame point guard Gary Payton missed just 13 regular-season games in 16 seasons, an astounding mark. Payton played every regular-season game 10 times in his career, though one of those times was in the ’99 lockout-shortened campaign.

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Best mark: 96 games in 1966-67
Worst mark: 81 games in 1963-64
Seasons played: 13

Hall of Famer Chet Walker played at least 80 games six times in his career and never played fewer than 76 games. He also played double-digit playoff games five times in his career, including in 1966-67 when he won a championship with the Philadelphia Warriors.

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Best mark: 102 games in 1977-78
Worst mark: 81 games in 1980-81
Seasons played: 16

In his 16-year career, Elvin Hayes missed just nine regular-season games. That means he played in 99.3 percent of potential games in his regular-season career. Hayes had more All-Star appearances (12) than missed regular-season games.

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Best mark: 102 games in 1996-97
Worst mark: 59 games in 1998-99
Seasons played: 14

In nine of his 14 seasons, Jeff Hornacek played at least 80 games. He also made the playoffs 11 times and played double-digit playoff games eight times.

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Best mark: 97 games in 1974-75
Worst mark: 78 games in 1979-80
Seasons played: 10

Unlike Jones and Erving, one-time NBA scoring champion Rick Barry is actually aided in this exercise by us not including his ABA career, as Barry played in just 35 games in ’69, 52 games in ’70 and 59 games in ’71, all during his time in the ABA.

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Best mark: 97 games in 1967-68
Worst mark: 58 games in 1956-57
Seasons played: 13

11-time NBA champion Bill Russell played 75-plus games nine times in his NBA career. He’s hurt in this exercise due to only suiting up in 48 regular-season games in his rookie season, but that wasn’t due to injury but rather because of his commitment to play in the 1956 Olympics, which didn’t end until December of that year.

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Best mark: 144 games in 1954-55
Worst mark: 54 games in 1964-65
Seasons played: 11

Hall of Famer Bob Pettit played at least 70 regular-season games in 10 of his 11 seasons. In his last campaign, 1964-65, Pettit was only able to play in 54 combined games, however, which sank him a good bit in this ranking.

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Best mark: 105 games in 2002-03
Worst mark: 67 games in 1998-99
Seasons played: 19

Focus on Sport/Getty Images

Best mark: 104 games in 1977-78
Worst mark: 68 games in 1984-85
Seasons played: 14

Dick Raphael/NBAE via Getty Images

Best mark: 101 games in 1967-68
Worst mark: 77 games in 1959-60
Seasons played: 12

Mike Powell/Getty Images

Best mark: 97 games in 1991-92
Worst mark: 69 games in 1992-93
Seasons played: 11

Dick Raphael/NBAE via Getty Images

Best mark: 99 games in 1968-69
Worst mark: 30 games in 1969-70
Seasons played: 14

New York Times

Best mark: 142 games in 1952-53
Worst mark: 18 games in 1957-58
Seasons played: 7

Rick Stewart /Allsport

Best mark: 95 games in 1977-78
Worst mark: 80 games in 1980-81
Seasons played: 9

NBAP/ NBAE/ Getty Images

Best mark: 144 games in 1954-55
Worst mark: 71 games in 1956-57
Seasons played: 9

Darryl Norenberg-USA TODAY Sports

Best mark: 92 games in 1968-69
Worst mark: 66 games in 1964-65
Seasons played: 6

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Best mark: 103 games in 1983-84
Worst mark: 45 games in 1996-97
Seasons played: 21

Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Best mark: 92 games in 1961-62
Worst mark: 64 games in 1957-58
Seasons played: 12

JOHN RUTHROFF/AFP via Getty Images

Best mark: 103 games in 1999-00
Worst mark: 63 games in 1998-99
Seasons played: 18

Photo by Focus on Sport via Getty Images

Best mark: 94 games in 1978-79
Worst mark: 76 games in 1983-84
Seasons played: 10

Dick Raphael/NBAE via Getty Images

Best mark: 98 games in 1977-78
Worst mark: 63 games in 1973-74
Seasons played: 13

Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

Best mark: 104 games in 2017-18
Worst mark: 51 games in 2020-21
Seasons played: 21

Getty Images

Best mark: 103 games in 1989-90
Worst mark: 53 games in 1998-99
Seasons played: 18

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Best mark: 105 games in 1987-88
Worst mark: 11 games in 1993-94
Seasons played: 14

MPS-USA TODAY Sports

Best mark: 98 games in 1986-87
Worst mark: 36 games in 1995-96
Seasons played: 13

AP Photo/J. Walter Green

Best mark: 93 games in 1961-62
Worst mark: 77 games in 1958-59
Seasons played: 9