Who will be the next NBA star to play their entire career with one team?

PORTLAND, OR - MAY 18: Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers and Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors looks on during Game Three of the Western Conference Finals of the 2019 NBA Playoffs on May 18, 2019 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images) /

2 of 7

(Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Honorable Mentions

Trae Young, RJ Barrett

It’s almost impossible to put anyone so young on this list (with one exception who we’ll get to soon), but these are the two guys from the last two drafts who’d at least make you think twice.

Barrett is built for New York. He not only seems like the type of player whose brand will be elevated by playing under the NBA’s brightest lights, but who won’t shrink under them either. He’s also incredibly smart, so if the Knicks can’t get their act together within the next couple of years (it’s only been 20…what’s another few?), he may try to cut bait just like certain Latvian. As a Knicks fan, I’m going to wash the previous sentence from my brain entirely.

As for Young, the Hawks have built their entire roster around him, so if there were ever an incentive for him to stay put, it’s that. There’s only one problem: name the last NBA great who spent their entire career with the Hawks. You have to go back to Bob Petit, who retired before the franchise even moved to Atlanta. So this would be a first.

Draymond Green

He probably isn’t getting to our minimum qualification of six All-Star games, but even if we make an exception for the three-time champ and best defensive player the league has seen since Scottie Pippen, do we really think any organization will be able to stand his antics for an entire career?

Andre Drummond

By February he’ll have made his third All-Star team and he’s only 26. All indications are that the owner loves him, and if he gets a five-year max and stays for the duration of that contract, that takes him through year 13. It’s not that nuts.

Giannis Antetokounmpo

When I pitched this story to my editor and shared with him my list of candidates for the top five as well as the names who I thought would just miss, his response echoed the sentiments of every NBA purist out there:

“I would really hope Giannis would be there but I like your list”

How’s this for nuts: Steph, Kobe, Dirk, Timmy and the Admiral are the only MVPs from the last three decades to spend their entire careers with one team. Something about being the best seems to make guys antsy, and the clock is already ticking in Milwaukee.

Donovan Mitchell

Easily the toughest omission from the top five. Even though the organization’s recent track record with All-Star level players is quietly spotty (Hayward recently, and Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer before him), Mitchell is a different caliber of player and a unique star in his own right. Being drafted by the Jazz hasn’t diminished the spotlight on him one bit, and if anything, has made him a better story in an odd sort of way.

Still, he’s so damn young. But then again, so is the next guy on our list, who is the exception to every rule:

Home/NBA