Oldest NBA player still playing in 2023 includes LeBron James, Chris Paul, PJ Tucker who are all 38. Andre Iguodala is the oldest active player at 39 years.
It is wild how some basketball stars are defying age and still playing in the NBA. King James, who turned 38 in December 2022, still believes he can give his all on the court for a couple more years.
James, the second oldest player in the NBA right now, found it funny and asked who the first oldest player was because he thought he was the most senior.
Presently, Andre Iguodala holds the title, who is an impressive 39 years old and still going strong in the league and continues to show his skills.
Last season, a former teammate of LeBron from the Miami Heat, Udonis Haslem, was the oldest player at 42 years old. Haslem announced his retirement after Heat lost the 2022-23 Finals to the Nuggets.
1. Andre Iguodala - 39 Years Old
Andre Iguodala is the record holder for the oldest basketball player still playing in NBA. Andre will be 39 years and 8 months old by the start of the 2023-24 season.
The 9th overall pick for the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2004 NBA Draft, Andre will play his 19th season in the league next season.
Due to recurring injuries towards the end of his career, many people believe that Iguodala's time with the Warriors in the 2022-23 season could be his last in the NBA. The 4-time NBA champion will be a free agent in September 2023 after his one-year contract with the Golden State expires.
However, he has yet to decide what he will do next. Currently, he is dealing with a fractured left wrist, which happened during a game against the Phoenix Suns. He underwent surgery and is taking some time off to recover.
2. LeBron James - 38 Years Old
LeBron James makes second in the list of oldest active players in the NBA. The 6-foot-9 forward is 38 years and 7 months old as of July 2023.
If you have been following the NBA since early this decade, it feels like LeBron has been here forever. After the Cleveland Cavaliers recruited him in the 2003 NBA Draft, James stepped onto the court for the first time on 30th October 2003, against the Sacramento Kings.
And after two decades since his debut game, the 4x NBA Finals MVP and 19-time NBA All-Star still dominates the league.
During an NBA game in 2022, the young Houston Rockets stud Jabari Smith, 20, approached LeBron James. He mentioned that LeBron had actually played against his dad, Jabari Smith Sr.
It turns out that Jabari Smith Jr. is not the first player whose father had the chance to play against LeBron James in the past.
Legion Hoops Twitter account has a list of James playing against father-son duos:
- Kenyon and KJ Martin
- Jabari Smith Sr and Jr
- Rick Brunson, Jalen Brunson
- Gary Trent Jr and Sr
- Gary Payton Sr and II
- Glenn Robinson Jr and III
- Adrian Griffin Sr and Jr
- Glen Rice Sr and Jr
3. Chris Paul - 38 Years Old
Chris Paul is the third oldest among the current NBA players by age. Paul joined the Golden State Warriors from Phoenix Suns in July 2023.
After three years playing for the Suns, he was traded first to the Washington Wizards in June 2023. Two weeks later, the Wizards decided to make a trade with the Golden State Warriors.
In return, they sent Paul to the Warriors and received Jordan Poole, Ryan Rollins, Patrick Baldwin Jr, and two draft picks.
The 38-year-old will play his 18th season in the NBA in the upcoming 2023-24 campaign starting in October. Throughout his long career in the league, Paul became known by the nickname "the Point God."
He is a highly decorated player and is considered one of the best point guards ever to play the game.
4. Taj Gibson - 38 Years Old
Taj Gibson is the 2009 Chicago Bulls draft pick who has spent 12 years playing in NBA. At 38 years old, Gibson is on the list of oldest players in the NBA.
He has appeared in over 945 regular season games throughout his entire NBA career with five different franchises. Gibson stayed at the Bulls for eight seasons until February 2017, when the club traded him to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Then in July 2017, he agreed to join the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he played for two years before making a move to New York Knicks in 2019.
The Knicks waived Taj in July 2022, and he signed with the Washington Wizards. The New York native played 45 games for the Wizards in the 2022-23 season.
5. PJ Tucker - 38 Years Old
The Sixers power forward PJ Tucker is among the oldest active NBA players. Born in 1985, Tucker turned 38 in May 2023.
Back in July 2006, the Toronto Raptors picked Tucker as the 35th overall player in the NBA draft. He sealed the deal and joined the team by signing a two-year contract with them.
However, The Raptors let him go the following summer, and he signed with the Israeli Premier League side Hapoel Holon. Tucker was brought back into the NBA by the Phoenix Suns in 2012, and he spent five seasons with the club before returning to Toronto.
PJ became a part of a trade deal and arrived at Milwaukee Bucks in March 2021. He won his first championship ring with the Bucks that season.
6. Kyle Lowry - 37 Years Old
Kyle Lowry is a 37 year old point guard for the Miami Heat. Lowry, a 6-time NBA All star joined the Heat from the Raptors in 2021.
In August 2021, the Miami Heat brought Lowry on board from the Raptors through a sign-and-trade deal. In return, the Raptors received Goran Dragić and Precious Achiuwa, who used to be Lowry's former teammates.
When October 2023 rolls around, Lowry will be stepping into the arena for his 17th NBA season. It all began in 2006 when he debuted with Memphis.
Without a doubt, his standout season was when he achieved the ultimate victory by winning the NBA championship with Toronto in 2019.
7. Goran Dragic - 37 Years Old
Goran Dragic, a basketball star from Slovenia, is one of the senior players in the NBA, currently at 37 years old.
Born on May 6, 1986, in Ljubljana, the San Antonio Spurs selected Dragic in the second round of the 2008 NBA Draft, but they quickly traded him to the Phoenix Suns.
He spent six seasons playing for the Suns before moving to the Miami Heat in 2015. Along the way, he also had stints with the Houston Rockets, Toronto Raptors, Brooklyn Nets, and Chicago Bulls.
In August 2022, Goran Dragic joined the Bulls, but they let him go in February 2023. Then, in March 2023, he found a new team and signed with the Milwaukee Bucks.
8. George Hill - 37 Years Old
George Hill played his first game in the NBA on 4 November 2008 for the San Antonio Spurs. Hill was 22 years old then, and now he is 37.
Fast forward to 2023, the 6-foot-4 point guard has 15 years of expereice playing in the league with eight different teams.
In February, George made his return to the Indiana Pacers, rejoining his hometown team after seven years. He played for the Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia, Oklahoma, Cleveland, Sacramento, and Utah.
On top of that, Hill has played in more than 1000 NBA games, including both regular season and playoff matches combined.
9. Garrett Temple - 37 Years Old
Garrett Temple used to play for the New Orleans Pelicans in the NBA. He has been part of the league for more than 12 years.
From 2005 to 2009, he played college basketball for the LSU Tigers. After that, he tried to join the NBA but was not selected in the draft. Since then, he has been a bit of a wanderer in the league, playing for 11 different franchises.
Starting with the Houston Rockets in 2010, Temple has played for Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Washington Wizards, Los Angeles Clippers, Chicago Bulls and recently the Pelicans.
Following his one-year contract ended at Chicago ended in 2021, Temple was traded to New Orleans. However, in July 2023, he was waived by the Pelicans and is currently without a club.
10. Al Horford - 37 Years Old
Al Horford is a five-time NBA All-Star player currently playing for the Boston Celtics. The Dominican international has been actively playing in the league since 2007.
Horford, a skilled center, began his NBA career with the Atlanta Hawks after they chose him in the 2007 NBA Draft. For nine seasons, the former Florida Gators star was part of the Hawks team before joining the Celtics as a free agent in 2016.
Horford spent three seasons with the Celtics before moving to the 76ers in 2019. After one season with the 76ers, he got traded to the Thunder in 2020.
Then, before the 2021 season, he was traded back to the Celtics. In December 2022, Horford agreed to stay with the Celtics for two more years and got a contract worth $20 million.
