One franchise players: A depleting kin in the NBA
The age of the one franchise player is dead, and it has been for a while. We now live in a time where the league is dictated by the players, being given the choice to go almost anywhere they want, almost anytime they want. Player options are often added on to contracts, and loyalty is a word often thrown around for good reasons and for bad. This free agency, we have seen lots of signings, trades and roster adjustments that all seem to back up the fact that the idea of being a One Franchise Player in the NBA is dead.
This last week we saw Manu Ginobili retire from the San Antonio Spurs, and before he announced his retirement he had one of the longest-running one-franchise playing records in the NBA today. His record of 16 seasons (2002 to 2018) was second only to the current record holder Dirk Nowitzki, whose current record of 20 seasons with the Dallas Mavericks (1998 to present) is the all-time record for a career one franchise player.
Looking down the list, the next active players are Udonis Haslem (15 season with Miami Heat, 2003 to present), Mike Conley (11 seasons with Memphis Grizzlies, 2007 to present), Marc Gasol (10 seasons with Memphis, 2008 to present) and then (wait for it - because this will blow your mind!), Russell Westbrook has the equal fourth longest career - one franchise record in the NBA today (also with 10 seasons at Oklahoma City, 2008 to present).
If we take the NBA's top 5 players from last year (using the All NBA First Team as a guide), this is how their career/franchise seasons breakdowns look:
LeBron James has played for 2 franchises in the league and has just signed with his third. King James started his career in Cleveland playing 7 seasons before signing with Miami and playing 4 seasons (including winning back to back championships). LeBron then returned to Cleveland for another 4 seasons (winning his third NBA championship), before signing a 4-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Kevin Durant has already played for two franchises, and there are rumours circulating that a third will come in the next two years. Beginning his career with Seattle/Oklahoma City in 2007, he played 9 seasons with OKC before signing with Golden State to win back to back championships in the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 seasons.
Damian Lillard is one of two players in this team to have played with the franchise that drafted him. He was drafted by Portland prior to the 2012-2013 season and has played there since. He is currently signed until the end of the 2021 season and is also currently one of only 6 franchise players to make 3 All-Star games. For Lillard to get close to Dirk's record, he would need to play until the end of the 2032 season!
Finally, let's look at Anthony Davis. Like Lillard, he has played for the New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans since being drafted prior to the 2012-2013 season, and also like Lillard he would need to stay with the Pelicans until the end of the 2032 season to equal Dirks current record of 20 seasons.
The other player to note is Stephen Curry. Steph has played 9 seasons for Golden State and has won three NBA championships. Steph looks like he is the closest of that next generation of players who is going to even get close to Dirk's record, but for him to equal it he would need to play until the end of the 2029 season!
For all these players that have signed elsewhere or are rumoured to be signing elsewhere, it all seems to come down to winning above all else. LeBron left Cleveland and won two championships with Miami, Durant left OKC and has now won 2 championships with Golden State, Harden left OKC and has yet to win a championship, but he made the Western Conference Finals last postseason.
What the future holds for players like Davis and Lillard, and whether they leave to play for other clubs is yet to be seen, but it will be very interesting to see if we keep seeing this trend of multi-franchise players, or if we see another Dirk come through. Only time will tell.