List of NBA career playoff minutes leaders

This article provides two lists:

A list of National Basketball Association players by total career playoff minutes played.

A progressive list of playoffs minutes played leaders showing how the record increased through the years.^[1]

Minutes played leaders

This section provides a list of National Basketball Association players by total career playoff minutes played.

Statistics accurate as of June 13, 2024.

LeBron James has played the most minutes in NBA playoff history.

^	Active NBA player
*	Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

Rank	Player	Position(s)	Playoff team(s) played for (years)[2]	Total minutes	Games played	Minutes per game average[3]
1	LeBron James^	SF	Cleveland Cavaliers (2006–2010, 2015–2018) Miami Heat (2011–2014) Los Angeles Lakers (2020–2021, 2023–2024)	11,858	287	41.3
2	Tim Duncan*	PF/C	San Antonio Spurs (1998–1999, 2001–2016)	9,370	251	37.3
3	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*	C	Milwaukee Bucks (1969–1975) Los Angeles Lakers (1975–1989)	8,851	237	37.3
4	Kobe Bryant*	SG	Los Angeles Lakers (1997–2004, 2006–2012)	8,641	220	39.3
5	Scottie Pippen*	SF	Chicago Bulls (1987–1998) Houston Rockets (1999) Portland Trail Blazers (2000–2003)	8,105	208	39.0
6	Shaquille O'Neal*	C	Orlando Magic (1994–1996) Los Angeles Lakers (1997–2004) Miami Heat (2005–2007) Phoenix Suns (2008) Cleveland Cavaliers (2010) Boston Celtics (2011)	8,098	216	37.5
7	Karl Malone*	PF	Utah Jazz (1986–2003) Los Angeles Lakers (2004)	7,907	193	41.0
8	Tony Parker*	PG	San Antonio Spurs (2002–2018)	7,758	226	34.3
9	Wilt Chamberlain*	C	Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors (1960–1962, 1964) Philadelphia 76ers (1965–1968) Los Angeles Lakers (1969–1973)	7,559	160	47.2
10	Magic Johnson*	PG	Los Angeles Lakers (1980–1991, 1996)	7,538	190	39.7
11	Bill Russell*	C	Boston Celtics (1957–1969)	7,497	165	45.4
12	Michael Jordan*	SG	Chicago Bulls (1985–1993, 1995–1998)	7,474	179	41.8
13	Dennis Johnson*	PG	Seattle SuperSonics (1978–1980) Phoenix Suns (1981–1983) Boston Celtics (1984–1990)	6,994	180	38.9
14	Kevin Durant^	SF/PF	Oklahoma City Thunder (2010–2014, 2016) Golden State Warriors (2017–2019) Brooklyn Nets (2021–2022) Phoenix Suns (2023–2024)	6,893	170	40.5
15	Larry Bird*	SF/PF	Boston Celtics (1980–1988, 1990–1992)	6,886	164	42.0
16	John Havlicek*	SF	Boston Celtics (1963–1969, 1972–1977)	6,860	172	39.9
17	Derek Fisher	PG/SG	Los Angeles Lakers (1997–2004, 2008–2011) Utah Jazz (2007) Oklahoma City Thunder (2012–2014)	6,856	259	26.5
18	Robert Horry	PF/SF	Houston Rockets (1993–1996) Los Angeles Lakers (1997–2003) San Antonio Spurs (2004–2008)	6,823	244	28.0
19	Dwyane Wade*	SG	Miami Heat (2004–2007, 2009–2014, 2016, 2018) Chicago Bulls (2017)	6,697	177	37.8
20	John Stockton*	PG	Utah Jazz (1985–2003)	6,398	182	35.2
21	Jerry West*	PG	Los Angeles Lakers (1961–1974)	6,321	153	41.3
22	Al Horford^	C	Atlanta Hawks (2008–2013, 2015–2016) Boston Celtics (2017–2020, 2022–2024) Philadelphia 76ers (2020)	6,239	184	33.9
23	Paul Pierce*	SF	Boston Celtics (2002–2005, 2008–2013) Brooklyn Nets (2014) Washington Wizards (2015) Los Angeles Clippers (2016)	6,229	170	36.6
24	Robert Parish*	C	Golden State Warriors (1977) Boston Celtics (1981–1993) Charlotte Hornets (1995) Chicago Bulls (1997)	6,177	184	33.6
25	Horace Grant	PF/C	Chicago Bulls (1988–1994) Orlando Magic (1995–1996, 1999, 2002) Seattle SuperSonics (2000) Los Angeles Lakers (2001)	6,172	170	36.3
Rank	Player	Position(s)	Playoff team(s) played for (years)[2]	Total minutes	Games played	Minutes per game average[3]

Progressive list of playoff minutes played

This is a progressive list of minutes played leaders showing how the record has increased through the years.^[4]

Statistics accurate as of June 13, 2024.^[5]

^	Active NBA player
*	Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
†	Not yet eligible for Hall of Fame consideration[6]

Team abbreviations

Team listed is the one player was on when he established the record

BAL	Baltimore Bullets	FTW	Fort Wayne Pistons	OKC	Oklahoma City Thunder	SEA	Seattle SuperSonics
BOS	Boston Celtics	GSW	Golden State Warriors	ORL	Orlando Magic	SFW	San Francisco Warriors
CHH	Charlotte Hornets	HOU	Houston Rockets	PHI	Philadelphia 76ers	STL	St. Louis Hawks
CHI	Chicago Bulls	LAL	Los Angeles Lakers	PHW	Philadelphia Warriors	SYR	Syracuse Nationals
CLE	Cleveland Cavaliers	MIA	Miami Heat	PHX	Phoenix Suns	TOR	Toronto Raptors
DAL	Dallas Mavericks	MNL	Minneapolis Lakers	POR	Portland Trail Blazers	UTA	Utah Jazz
DET	Detroit Pistons	NYK	New York Knicks	SAS	San Antonio Spurs	WSB	Washington Bullets

Leaders and records for playoff minutes played for every season

Season	Year-by-year leader	MP	Active leader	MP	Career record	MP	Single-season record	MP	Season
1951–52	George Mikan*000MNL	553	George Mikan*000MNL	553	George Mikan*000MNL	553	George Mikan*000MNL	553	1951–52
1952–53		463		1,016		1,016			1952–53
1953–54	Paul Seymour000SYR	559	Slater Martin* 000MNL 1953–56 000STL 1957–59	1,509	Slater Martin* 000MNL 1953–56 000STL 1957–59	1,509	Paul Seymour000SYR	559	1953–54
1954–55	Andy Phillip*000FTW	445		1,824		1,824			1954–55
1955–56	Paul Arizin*000PHW	409		1,945		1,945			1955–56
1956–57	Bob Cousy*000BOS	440		2,384		2,384			1956–57
1957–58		457		2,800		2,800			1957–58
1958–59	Elgin Baylor*000MNL	556		2,818		2,818			1958–59
1959–60	Bob Pettit*000STL	576	Bob Cousy*000BOS	2,916	Bob Cousy*000BOS	2,916	Bob Pettit*000STL	576	1959–60
1960–61	Elgin Baylor*000LAL	540		3,253		3,253			1960–61
1961–62	Bill Russell*000BOS	672		3,727		3,727	Bill Russell*000BOS	672	1961–62
1962–63		617		4,120		4,120			1962–63
1963–64	Wilt Chamberlain*000SFW	558	Bill Russell*000BOS	4,034		4,120			1963–64
1964–65	Bill Russell*000BOS	561		4,595	Bill Russell*000BOS	4,595			1964–65
1965–66		814		5,409		5,409		814	1965–66
1966–67	Wilt Chamberlain*000SFW	718		5,799		5,799			1966–67
1967–68	Bill Russell*000BOS	869		6,668		6,668		869	1967–68
1968–69	John Havlicek*000BOS	850		7,497		7,497			1968–69
1969–70	Wilt Chamberlain*000LAL	851	Elgin Baylor*000LAL	5,510					1969–70
1970–71	Wes Unseld*000BAL	759	Wilt Chamberlain*000LAL	6,055					1970–71
1971–72	Jerry Lucas*000NYK	737		6,758					1971–72
1972–73	Wilt Chamberlain*000LAL	801		7,559	Wilt Chamberlain*000LAL	7,559			1972–73
1973–74	John Havlicek*000BOS	811	Jerry West*000LAL	6,321					1973–74
1974–75	Elvin Hayes*000WSB	751	John Havlicek*000BOS	5,980					1974–75
1975–76	Dave Cowens*000BOS	798		6,485					1975–76
1976–77	Doug Collins000PHI	759		6,860					1976–77
1977–78	Marvin Webster000SEA	904					Marvin Webster000SEA	904	1977–78
1978–79	Bob Dandridge*000WSB	787	Wes Unseld*000WSB	4,802					1978–79
1979–80	Julius Erving*000PHI	694		4,889					1979–80
1980–81	Moses Malone*000HOU	955					Moses Malone*000HOU	955	1980–81
1981–82	Julius Erving*000PHI	780	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*000LAL	4,769					1981–82
1982–83	Magic Johnson*000LAL	643		5,357					1982–83
1983–84	Larry Bird*000BOS	961		6,124			Larry Bird*000BOS	961	1983–84
1984–85	Dennis Johnson*000BOS	848		6,734					1984–85
1985–86	Rodney McCray000HOU	835		7,223					1985–86
1986–87	Larry Bird*000BOS	1,015		7,782	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar* 000LAL	7,782		1,015	1986–87
1987–88	Magic Johnson*000LAL	965		8,500		8,500			1987–88
1988–89	Michael Jordan*000CHI	718		8,851		8,851			1988–89
1989–90	Clyde Drexler*000POR	853	Dennis Johnson*000BOS	6,994					1989–90
1990–91	Magic Johnson*000LAL	823	Magic Johnson*000LAL	7,403					1990–91
1991–92	Michael Jordan*000CHI	920	Larry Bird*000BOS	6,886					1991–92
1992–93	Dan Majerle 000PHX	1,071	Robert Parish* 000BOS 1992–94 000CHI 1994–95	6,088			Dan Majerle 000PHX	1,071	1992–93
1993–94	Patrick Ewing*000NYK	1,032							1993–94
1994–95	Hakeem Olajuwon*000HOU	929		6,159					1994–95
1995–96	Gary Payton*000SEA	911	Magic Johnson*000LAL	7,538					1995–96
1996–97	Karl Malone*000UTA	816	Michael Jordan*000CHI	6,602					1996–97
1997–98	Michael Jordan*000CHI	872		7,474					1997–98
1998–99	Allan Houston 000NYK	783	Scottie Pippen* 000HOU 1998–99 000POR 1999–03	7,200					1998–99
1999–00	Shaquille O'Neal*000LAL	1,000		7,814					1999–00
2000–01	Allen Iverson*000PHI	1,016		7,931					2000–01
2001–02	Kobe Bryant*000LAL	833		8,030					2001–02
2002–03	Tim Duncan*000SAS	1,021		8,105					2002–03
2003–04	Kobe Bryant*000LAL	973							2003–04
2004–05	Richard Hamilton00DET	1,079	Shaquille O'Neal* 000MIA 2004–07 000PHO 2008–09 000CLE 2010	6,813			Richard Hamilton000DET	1,079	2004–05
2005–06	Dirk Nowitzki*000DAL	983		7,572					2005–06
2006–07	LeBron James^000CLE	893		7,693					2006–07
2007–08	Paul Pierce*000BOS	990		7,843					2007–08
2008–09	Rashard Lewis000ORL	986							2008–09
2009–10	Rajon Rondo†000BOS	975		8,086					2009–10
2010–11	LeBron James^000MIA	922	Kobe Bryant*000LAL	8,165					2010–11
2011–12		983		8,641					2011–12
2012–13		960							2012–13
2013–14	Kevin Durant^000OKC	815	Tim Duncan*000SAS	8,902	Tim Duncan*000SAS	8,902			2013–14
2014–15	LeBron James^000CLE	844		9,152		9,152			2014–15
2015–16	Draymond Green^00GSW	879		9,370		9,370			2015–16
2016–17	LeBron James^000CLE	744	LeBron James^ 000CLE 2016–18 000LAL 2018–24	9,127					2016–17
2017–18		922		10,049	LeBron James^ 000CLE 2017–18 000LAL 2018–24	10,049			2017–18
2018–19	Kawhi Leonard^000TOR	939							2018–19
2019–20	Jimmy Butler^000MIA	806		10,811		10,811			2019–20
2020–21	Khris Middleton^000MIL	922		11,035		11,035			2020–21
2021–22	Jayson Tatum^000BOS	983							2021–22
2022–23	Jimmy Butler^000MIA	874		11,654		11,654			2022–23
2023–24	Luka Dončić^000DAL	824		11,858		11,858			2023–24
Season	Year-by-year leader	MP	Active player leader	MP	Career record	MP	Single-season record	MP	Season

See also

• List of National Basketball Association career minutes played leaders
• List of National Basketball Association annual minutes leaders

References

General

• "NBA ALL-TIME LEADERS MINUTES PLAYED". Hispanos NBA. Retrieved June 1, 2013.

Specific

1. "NBA Progressive Playoff Leaders and Records for Minutes Played". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
2. American Basketball Association (ABA) teams other than those admitted into the NBA in 1976 are not included; each year is linked to an article about that particular NBA season. The years listed are only ones in which the player played in a playoff game.
3. Average is rounded to the nearest tenth.
4. "NBA Progressive Playoff Leaders and Records for Minutes Played". Basketball reference .com. Sports reference .com. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
5. "2020 NBA Playoffs Leaders". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
6. A player is not eligible for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame until he has been fully retired for three calendar years.

External links

• NBA & ABA Career Playoff Leaders and Records for Minutes Played at Basketball-Reference.com