Playing a full ten years in a professional sport is an impressive feat. Playing two decades? Well, that’s something you just don’t see very often. There have been just 11 players in NBA history that have spent 20 years as a player in the league. That will now become an exclusive list of 12. That is because it has been announced that Kyle Lowry has re-signed for one year with the Philadelphia 76ers which will give him 20 years as an NBA player.
Kyle Lowry Set To Become 12th Member Of This Exclusive Club
Kyle Lowry Will Be Playing In His 20th Season
On Monday, Shams Charania of ESPN reported that guard Kyle Lowry is re-signing with the 76ers. That ensures that the 19-year NBA veteran will become a 20-year one.
Free agent guard Kyle Lowry has agreed to a one-year deal to return to the Philadelphia 76ers, Mark Bartelstein of @PrioritySports tells ESPN. The 2019 champion is back for his 20th NBA season – and a third consecutive year with his hometown 76ers. pic.twitter.com/6Wnw3S9TT3
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 7, 2025
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Last season was Lowry’s first full one with Philadelphia. The 39-year-old appeared in just 35 outings in 2024-25 as he was dealing with a right hip injury. That was the least since his rookie year of 2006-07. His 18.8 minutes per contest were also his lowest since that year. Lowry’s averages with Philadelphia consisted of 3.9 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 2.7 assists. He shot 35.0% from the field, 33.0% from beyond the arc, and 81.8% from the free-throw line.
It was way back in 2006 when Lowry was drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies with the 24th overall pick. Where he made his most impact though was his tenure with the Toronto Raptors. The 6-foot guard made six straight All-Star teams spanning from the 2014-15 until 2019-20 seasons. Of course, Lowry was a key part of the 2019 championship, the only one in Raptors franchise history.
Now 12 Players Who Have Done So
As mentioned, Lowry will become the 12th player to accomplish the feat of playing 20 seasons. The other 11 are as follows:
- LeBron James – 23 (picked up player option, 23rd season is the upcoming year)
- Vince Carter – 22
- Robert Parish – 21
- Kevin Willis – 21
- Kevin Garnett – 21
- Dirk Nowitzki – 21
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 20
- Kobe Bryant – 20
- Jamal Crawford – 20
- Udonis Haslem – 20
- Chris Paul – 20 (unsigned, 2025-26 will be his 21st if he plays)
Playing the 2025-26 season can help Lowry move up other career leaderboards. Right now, he is 57th all-time with 1,173 games played. If he appears in half the games Philadelphia plays in next season, he would move up to 45th with 1,214 outings.
His 2,205 made three-pointers place him with the 13th-most in league history. In order to move into the top 10, Lowry would need to make 86 triples (although Kevin Durant of the Houston Rockets is 14th with 14 less made threes than Lowry).
Lowry is also 19th in career assists, and 113 more would have him surpass Terry Porter and Lenny Wilkens. If Lowry were to see a lot of playing time this season, it would probably mean the 76ers are once again having an injury-ravaged season. Still, even if Lowry isn’t seeing much time on the floor, he will still be providing invaluable experience to others on the team such as young guards Jared McCain and VJ Edgecombe.
Photo credit: © Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
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