NBA Playoffs: Top 10 Players with Most Games Played Ever

Players enter the league with a common aim to have an NBA Championship ring (or multiple rings) on their fingers one day. They go through intense workouts, challenge their work ethic and test their limits on a daily basis, all in a hope to improve every single day. But what happens when the moment arrives. When they can see what they wanted all their lives within reach. What's that 'X' that differentiates the ones who are able to seize that opportunity from the ones that don't?!

Before diving into the list, let's take a moment to acknowledge the ardour for basketball that these men possess. After going through a gruelling set of 82 regular season games, the job is only half done. The playoffs series test their mental fibre or what's left of it after performing to their bests throughout the regular season. Every 'Best of 7' series starting from the Round 1 going all the way to the NBA Finals, requires a special set of nerves and focus in order to obviate the opposition and go through.

The list of all-time leaders in playoff games played is just another way to celebrate the sheer greatness of these men who had the mental and physical toughness to endure the pains of the post-season over and over again. So, let's get to it.

#10 Scottie Pippen - 208

Pippen won 6 NBA Championships during his career

He was selected fifth overall in the 1987 NBA draft by the Seattle SuperSonics and traded to the Chicago Bulls. Pippen was a key contributor to the Bulls’ three consecutive NBA championships from 1991 to 1993, and, with Jordan’s retirement after the third title-winning season, Pippen became the primary star on the team. He ended his basketball career as a 7-time All-star & a 6-time NBA champion.

His intense work ethic and athletic physique gave him the ability to consistently make highlight-reel plays. Out of his 17 seasons in the NBA, he made it to the playoffs in 16 of them, averaging 17.5 points & 7.5 rebounds in 208 post-season games.

Pippen is a two-time inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (for his individual career, and as a member of the "Dream Team").

#9 Shaquille O' Neal - 216

Shaq won 3 of his 4 championship rings with the Lakers

Shaq was named in NBA's list of 50 greatest players of all time in 1996. He redefined on-court dominance and the use of muscle in the paint, to bag 4 NBA titles, capturing NBA Finals MVP at three of those finals with the Lakers.

His last and 4th NBA championship ring came with Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat in 2006, and that was it. He played in the post-season in 17 of his total 19 seasons in the league, stacking up 216 playoff games appearances. Along with 15 All-Star Game selections, O’Neal was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.

His career playoffs total includes 5,250 points (5th highest total in NBA playoffs history) & his career totals include 28,596 points (the 7th highest total in NBA history at the time of his retirement, currently 8th).

#8 Manu Ginobili - 218

Manu has played all his 16 seasons with the Spurs till date

One of the few things that are certain in the ever-changing NBA is the fact that San Antonio Spurs will make it to the playoffs. They have made the playoffs in 27 of the last 28 seasons(since 1989-90). So it's fitting that we come across Spurs legends while running through the all-time NBA playoffs icons.

The Argentine joined the Spurs for the 2002–03 NBA season and soon became an integral part of the 'Big Three' until Duncan retired in 2016. He has capped off his regular season with playoffs at 15 instances out of his 16 seasons with the Spurs and also finds his name amongst the Top 10 all-time playoffs steals leaders in the history of the NBA. The former EuroLeague Finals MVP has won 4 NBA Championships with the Spurs franchise, fetched in 218 post-season appearances. In 2007–08, he was named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year, averaging 19.5 points per game.

Manu Ginobili is one of the only two players to have won a EuroLeague title, an Olympics Gold Medal and an NBA Championship.

#7 Kobe Bryant - 220

Both of Kobe's #8 & #24 jerseys were retired by the Lakers franchise

Kobe Bryant could only make it to the playoffs in 15 of his 20 seasons, but the deep runs he had in the ones he made it to the post-season, got him 220 post-season appearances, ranking 7th all-time.

Bryant had accumulated 5,640 playoff points by the time he retired, and in the mix of things, picked up 5 championship rings. He was voted an All-Star 18 times and also has the NBA MVP award for the year 2008 placed in his trophy shelf. Following this, Kobe led Lakers to 2 more championships in 2009 and 2010, winning the Finals MVP on both the occasions. During his career, the 'Black Mamba' was named in the All-NBA first team 11 times and on 9 occasions in the All-NBA defensive first team.

Kobe features in the Top 10 all-time lists of playoff points, playoff assists, playoff steals, playoff made field goals and playoff made free-throws.

#6 Tony Parker - 226

NBA Finals Game 4: San Antonio Spurs v Cleveland Cavaliers

Tony Parker was born in Bruges, Belgium, and raised in France. As Parker built his skill, he played the point guard position, recognizing that his speed and agility made this position ideal for him. Parker has reached the playoffs in all 17 of his seasons and has been named an All-star 6 times during his career.

Owing to the consistent and classic teamwork of the Spurs franchise, Tony Parker played in 226 playoff games alongside legends Duncan and Ginobili. Parker won 4 NBA Championships with the Spurs in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014 and was named in the All-NBA second team for 3 years in a row from 2012 to 2014.

He had 4,045 points stacked next to his playoff total(9th on the all-time playoff points list) by the time Spurs lost to Warriors in the first round in the 2017-18 season. Parker also has 1,145 playoff assists, ranking 5th all-time on the playoff assists list and also ranks 9th on the all-time playoffs FG made list with 1,163 made FGs.

#5 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - 237

He retired in 1989 and is widely considered as one of the greatest players in NBA history.

Kareem is one of only 2 players to have played in the playoffs in 18 different seasons. He has 5,762 points(ranked 3rd in all-time playoff points) in 237 post-season games topping it off with 2 NBA Finals MVPs twice (in 1971 and 1985).

He is the all-time regular season leading scorer in the NBA with 38,387 points, along with most games regular season games played appearing in 1,560 matchups. His predominance on the boards was feared around the league and is currently ranked amongst the Top 10 in all-time Playoff offensive & defensive rebounding.

With 6 rings (1 with the Bucks and 5 with the Lakers) and 6 regular season MVP awards headlining his basketball resume, Kareem has set the bar for professional basketball in the years to come. He was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995 and was named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history in 1996.

#4 LeBron James - 239

LeBron James has played in 239 post-season games and has scored 6,911 points averaging 28.9 points per playoff game. His playoff scoring tally is astronomical, in terms of the fact that the person who stands second (Michael Jordan) is 924 points behind.

Now, in the 15th season of his illustrious NBA career, The King has been proving everybody wrong with his inhuman level of physical fitness and durability at the age of 33. James has reached the NBA Finals again this season, this one being his 8th consecutive trip to the biggest stage of them all.

He has been named an All-Star for 14 consecutive years, also winning the NBA 'Rookie of the Year' in 2004. With 3 NBA Championships (2 with Miami Heat and 1 with the Cavaliers) and 4 regular season MVP awards already, James doesn't look like stopping before he has crashed every record there is in the basketball books.

#3 Robert Horry - 244

Robert Horry reached playoffs in all 16 of his seasons in the NBA

Robert Keith Horry was selected 11th overall in the 1992 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets and played 4 seasons with the franchise. He averaged his career high in ppg in his last season with the Rockets, averaging 12 points per game in the 1995-96 season.

He played 16 seasons in the NBA and won 7 Championships, and was one of the most famous reserve player and clutch shooter in the league. He holds the NBA Playoffs record for most three-point field goals made in a game without a miss (7). Horry has regular season career averages of 7.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.

He is one of only two players (the other being John Salley) to have won NBA championships with three teams: two with the Houston Rockets, three with the Los Angeles Lakers and two with the San Antonio Spurs. Also, he is one of only nine players to have won seven or more championships in the NBA.

#2 Tim Duncan - 251

Duncan won the NBA's regular season MVP for 2002 and 2003.

Tim Duncan played his 19-year career with the San Antonio Spurs. A jaw-dropping 15-time All-Star, 2-time MVP winner and 10-time All NBA First team member, Duncan was one of the 14 NBA players to have registered more than 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a single season (2001-02), and was widely considered to be the greatest power forward of all time.

In the 2004–05 season San Antonio defeated the defending champions, the Detroit Pistons, to win their third championship. That year Duncan became just the fourth player to win three finals MVP awards. He is also the only player to be selected to both the All-NBA and All-Defensive Teams for 13 consecutive seasons.

Tim Duncan was a part of 251 playoff clashes(capping off 18 of his 19 seasons with a playoff-ending), ranked 2nd on the all-time playoff games played list and has dropped 5,172 post-season points(currently ranked 6th on the all-time playoff points list).

#1 Derek Fisher - 259

Derek Fisher won 5 NBA Championships with the Lakers

Fisher was selected 24th overall in the 1996 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers and spent the majority of his career with the franchise with whom he won 5 Championships. He spent his first 8 seasons with the franchise winning three consecutive championships(2000-2002) with Kobe Bryant & Shaquille O' Neal and had career-high playoffs average of 13.4 ppg in the postseason of 2001.

While playing for the Lakers, he hit a buzzer beater with 0.4 seconds left in game 5 of the 2004 Western Conference Semifinals against the San Antonio Spurs. Lakers eventually went on to eliminate the Spurs in 6 games.

Fisher is the all-time NBA record holder in playoff games played with 259 postseason appearances before he retired in 2014.

Derek Fisher was hired by the New York Knicks as head coach on June 10, 2014, owing to his relationship with Phil Jackson(former coach of the Lakers) who was the then President of Knicks. He was eventually fired on February 8, 2016.