• The NBA doesn’t have players that will play 40 minutes per game anymore
• No NBA player in the last 12 years has averaged 40 minutes per game for a season
• The feat had been achieved 67 times between 2000-01 to 2010-11
NBA players used to spend as much time on the court as possible up until the 2010s. The NBA promoted a culture where players would take pride in playing every single game with heavy minutes to maximize their team’s chances of winning in the regular season. That doesn’t happen nowadays, with star players missing more games than ever while also playing fewer minutes per game.
Saying that players would average 40 minutes or more over a season isn’t an exaggeration. Since the first season of the 2000s, players have averaged 40 minutes or more 67 times. Unfortunately, no new additions to the list have been made since 2010-11 when Monta Ellis became the final player to crack the 40-minute mark for qualifying averages over the course of a full season.
The full list is fascinating, as Allen Iverson and LeBron James dominate with their consistent presence. No current stars in the NBA outside James have achieved the feat, with the last other person to achieve it being Andre Iguodala who has been out of the NBA since the end of the 2022-23 season.
2000-01
1. Michael Finley – 42.2 minutes per game
2. Allen Iverson – 42.0 minutes per game
3. Antoine Walker – 41.9 minutes per game
4. Ron Mercer – 41.6 minutes per game
5. Antawn Jamison – 41.4 minutes per game
6. Gary Payton – 41.1 minutes per game
7. Kobe Bryant – 40.9 minutes per game
8. Jalen Rose – 40.9 minutes per game
9. Anthony Mason – 40.7 minutes per game
10. Chris Webber – 40.5 minutes per game
11. Jerry Stackhouse – 40.2 minutes per game
12. Tracy McGrady – 40.1 minutes per game
13. Shareef Abdur-Rahim – 40.0 minutes per game
2001-02
1. Allen Iverson – 43.7 minutes per game
2. Cuttino Mobley – 42.1 minutes per game
3. Antoine Walker – 42.0 minutes per game
4. Steve Francis – 41.1 minutes per game
5. Latrell Sprewell – 41.1 minutes per game
6. Tim Duncan – 40.6 minutes per game
7. Baron Davis – 40.5 minutes per game
8. Gary Payton – 40.3 minutes per game
9. Paul Pierce – 40.3 minutes per game
2002-03
1. Allen Iverson – 42.5 minutes per game
2. Cuttino Mobley – 41.7 minutes per game
3. Shawn Marion – 41.6 minutes per game
4. Kobe Bryant – 41.5 minutes per game
5. Antoine Walker – 41.5 minutes per game
6. Steve Francis – 41.0 minutes per game
7. Jalen Rose – 40.9 minutes per game
8. Kevin Garnett – 40.5 minutes per game
9. Jamal Mashburn – 40.5 minutes per game
10. Gary Payton – 40.1 minutes per game
11. Stephon Marbury – 40.0 minutes per game
2003-04
1. Allen Iverson – 42.5 minutes per game
2. Shawn Marion – 40.7 minutes per game
3. Joe Johnson – 40.6 minutes per game
4. Steve Francis – 40.4 minutes per game
5. Cuttino Mobley – 40.4 minutes per game
6. Peja Stojakovic – 40.3 minutes per game
7. Stephon Marbury – 40.2 minutes per game
8. Baron Davis – 40.1 minutes per game
2004-05
1. LeBron James – 42.4 minutes per game
2. Allen Iverson – 42.3 minutes per game
3. Gilbert Arenas – 40.9 minutes per game
4. Tracy McGrady – 40.8 minutes per game
5. Kobe Bryant – 40.7 minutes per game
6. Stephon Marbury – 40.0 minutes per game
2005-06
1. Allen Iverson – 43.1 minutes per game
2. LeBron James – 42.5 minutes per game
3. Gilbert Arenas – 42.3 minutes per game
4. Ricky Davis – 41.1 minutes per game
5. Kobe Bryant – 41.0 minutes per game
6. Joe Johnson – 40.7 minutes per game
7. Shawn Marion – 40.3 minutes per game
8. Lamar Odom – 40.3 minutes per game
9. Antawn Jamison – 40.1 minutes per game
2006-07
1. Allen Iverson – 42.5 minutes per game
2. Joe Johnson – 41.4 minutes per game
3. LeBron James – 40.9 minutes per game
4. Kobe Bryant – 40.8 minutes per game
5. Andre Iguodala – 40.3 minutes per game
6. Ray Allen – 40.3 minutes per game
2007-08
1. Allen Iverson – 41.8 minutes per game
2. Joe Johnson – 40.8 minutes per game
3. LeBron James – 40.4 minutes per game
None in 2008-09
2009-10
1. Monta Ellis – 41.4 minutes per game
2. Gerald Wallace – 41.0 minutes per game
2010-11
1. Monta Ellis – 40.3 minutes per game
LeBron James and Allen Iverson are the only players who can claim to have averaged over 40 minutes during this two-decade span. Kobe Bryant made five appearances on this list, showing that even the all-time greats weren’t too shy to keep themselves on the court to maximize their team’s chances of winning.
There Hasn’t Been A Player Since 2010-11 To Play 40 Minutes Per Game
No player in the NBA has been able to clock 40 minutes per game over the course of a season. Even playing 38 minutes per game is considered too much by most people. The rapid increase in injury science means players are less likely to put their bodies at risk if they have injuries, along with them wanting to play fewer minutes to safeguard their health.
This has led to players enjoying longer primes, as we still have many stars that could win MVP next season while still in their mid-30s. LeBron used to play 40+ minutes early in his career and has still found a way to not only provide big minutes almost two decades later but also manage a heavy workload unlike other players his age.
It seems unlikely that we’ll see another player add their name to this list. No modern player is taking the risk of 40 minutes per game for 82 games a season on their bodies, which shows how quickly the league changed at the dawn of the 2010s.
Ray Allen On Load Management
Fadeaway World spoke to Ray Allen in May and asked him what his thoughts on load management in the modern NBA were. He is clearly not a fan of the practice, telling us that he would take pride in playing every single game.
“I don’t particularly think it’s good for the game. When I played, we took pride in playing each game. Sometimes it doesn’t work out, you have injuries or something happens. To get to the end of the year you looked up and you played 82. You never remember game 58 when you were tired and wanted to sit down and take a rest, but you didn’t. It’s easy to say I will take tonight off because I’m sore. We constantly felt like we had to play for each other, regardless of what was going on during the season. On off days, we made sure we lifted weights, we made sure we took care of our body, and that was our load management. We took care of our bodies so we could play 82 games.”
Allen averaged over 40 minutes per game in the 2006-07 season. He played over 80 games six times in his career, proving he believes in every word he says.
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