For basketball players in the National Basketball Association (NBA), playing 500 consecutive regular season games is considered a highly significant achievement. This is often referred to as an "iron man streak".

As of the 2025-26 NBA season, 22 players have played at least 500 consecutive regular season games in their NBA career. The all-time leader of consecutive games is A.C. Green, who played in 1,192 consecutive games during his career. Mikal Bridges is the current active leader, having played 638 games consecutively (as of April 12th, 2026). If ABA games were to be included, Ron Boone would have 1,041 consecutive games played with 379 games from his time in the NBA.

500 consecutive games played +Key^Denotes player who is currently active in the NBA*Denotes player who has been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of FameDenotes a streak that is currently in progressGames(in bold text)Denotes a streak that began at their NBA debut

Rank Name Games Start End Notes 1 1,192 Last game missed was when he was a DNP-CD in his sophomore season. He never missed a game due to injury. 2 906 Missed 6 games in his rookie season for undisclosed reasons (most likely DNP-CD's as they were spread out on random days not connected), with the last one being on February 15th, 1972. In the 1983-84 season, he missed a game while waiting to clear waivers, technically stopping his streak. He then retired following the season. If it had been allowed to continue, he would have had 921 games by the end. 3 844 First game he ever missed in his entire career was a deliberate DNP-CD by the Baltimore Bullets' first-year coach Paul Seymour, allegedly to "take off the stress" from Kerr, just 10 games into what would become his final season. A game the Bullets coincidentally lost regardless of Kerr's benching, after which Kerr's wife, Betsy, wanted to punch Seymour in the nose. 4Michael Cage 736 Hamstring injury 5Dolph Schayes* 706 Shattered Cheek Bone 6 Bill Laimbeer 685 Suspension 7 Harry Gallatin* 682 Retirement 8^ 638 Present 9 Andre Miller 632 Suspension 10John Stockton*609 Knee injury Jack Twyman* Broke two bones in his left hand https://www.newspapers.com/image-view/104338259/?match=1&terms=jack%20twyman%20hand 12 Mark West 602 13 James Donaldson586 Suspension 14 B.J. Armstrong 577 Knee injury 15 Terry Tyler 574 Free agent at start of 1985-1986 season.16 Shandon Anderson543 DNP-CD Karl Malone* Suspension 18 Otis Thorpe 542 Kidney injury 19 Derek Fisher 537 Traded to Houston Rockets, streak ended seeking buyout with team 20 Jim Chones 528 DNP-CD 21 Hersey Hawkins 527 Torn calf muscle 22 Bruce Bowen 500 Suspension

See also

List of NHL players with 500 consecutive games played

References