NBA History: 5 Players who have represented the most number of teams

Jackson in game
Jackson in game

Some players represent a single franchise for the entire duration of their career and others leave in the quest for glory or money.

If a player is good, then the decision remains with him to stay loyal or to leave for better terms, but if he is not performing up to the par, getting old or doesn’t fit in the team, the management decides his fate, even if it is against the player's wishes.

For or one or another reason some players have moved (got traded) a lot and are known as the NBA's Journeyman.

In this presentation, we will take a look at the players who have represented the most number of teams in the NBA.


#5 Mike James

Toronto Raptors v Indiana Pacers
Toronto Raptors v Indiana Pacers

Mike James played for 11 teams in his 12-year NBA career. He went undrafted in the 1998 NBA Draft and decided to play professional basketball in France and Austria. James was a decent player but was criticized for being one dimensional.

Mike's journey started when he signed as a free agent with the Miami Heat during the 2001-02 season.

He went on to play for several teams including Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks, the Houston Rockets, Toronto Raptors, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Hornets, Washington Wizards, Chicago Bulls and Dallas Mavericks.

After unsuccessful stints with Heat and Celtics, James tasted his first and only NBA Title victory with the Detroit Pistons in 2004 as a back-up guard. He averaged 20.3 points, 5.8 assists, 3.3 rebounds per game during the 2005-06 season with the Toronto Raptors (his best season statistically), playing 79 games for them and also became the first player for the franchise to score 30 or more points in four consecutive games.

James' last NBA appearance came with the Chicago Bulls, who signed him for the 2013-14 season. On July 15, 2014, he was waived by the Bulls and returned to the D-League to play for the Texas Legends.

#4 Joe Smith

Cleveland Cavaliers v Milwaukee Bucks
Cleveland Cavaliers v Milwaukee Bucks

Joe Smith played at power forward position for 12 NBA teams during his 16-year long career. He was named college player of the year at Maryland in 1995 and declared himself eligible for the 1995 NBA Draft.

Things were looking promising for Joe, he was selected as the first overall pick in the first round of Draft by the Golden State Warriors.

Smith was named in the NBA All-Rookie First Team and spent three years with the Warriors, in his rookie season he averaged 15.3 points and his career best 8.7 rebounds per game. He was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers midway through the 1997–98 season and was soon a free agent at the end of 1998.

He was signed by the Minnesota Timberwolves at the start of the season, stayed with them for a year but was released and signed with the Detroit Pistons for the 2001-01 season as a backup.

At the end of the season, he re-signed with the Timberwolves where he played for two more seasons forming a good partnership with All-Star Kevin Garnett.

Joe went on to play for many teams, including Bucks, Nuggets, Bulls, Cavaliers, Hawks, Nets and the Lakers in his final season. He averaged 11 points and 6.4 rebounds throughout his career.

#3 Tony Massenburg

Tony Massenburg
Tony Massenburg

Tony Massenburg was selected in the second round of 1990 NBA Draft as the 43rd pick by the San Antonio Spurs. Before he was injured, he played 35 games for the Spurs in his rookie season. As part of his injury's rehabilitation program, he went to the Italian League in 1991.

Tony returned to the NBA and was traded to the Charlotte Hornets, playing only three games for them. He ended his second season with a total of 18 games played with four franchises that season (Spurs, Hornets, Celtics and the Warriors).

Over the years, Massenburg was a role player for many teams like LA Clippers, Raptors, 76ers, Rockets, Jazz and Kings. With Clippers and the New Jersey Nets he came close to play all games in the regular season but could not play more than 80.

Massenburg returned to the Spurs for the 2004-05 season and won the NBA Championship with them. Tony played for 12 teams in his 15-year NBA career, playing 683 games, averaging 6.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.

#2 Chucky Brown

Chucky Brown
Chucky Brown

Brown shares the record for the most teams played for during his NBA career with twelve. He played college for North Carolina State University.

Selected as the 43rd pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1989 NBA Draft. Starting 86 games for them, he averaged 6.9 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 0.8 assists per game.

After two seasons with the Cavs, Brown became a journeyman. His stats declined and was traded every year. Following are the teams he played for throughout his career (apart from the Cavaliers) - LA Lakers, New Jersey Nets, Mavericks, Rockets, Suns, Milwaukee, Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Spurs, Warriors, and Sacramento Kings .

During his stay with the Houston Rockets, he won the NBA Title. He started in all 82 games for the team and averaged 7.8 points per game, 5.4 rebounds per game, and 1.1 assists per game. Brown is the head coach of the men's varsity basketball team at West Johnston High School in Benson, North Carolina.

#1 Jim Jackson

Phoenix Suns v New York Knicks
Phoenix Suns v New York Knicks

Jackson averaged 16.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per game as a freshman for the Ohio State Buckeyes. He was the fourth overall pick in the 1992 Draft by the Dallas Mavericks, with them he spent five years.

He played only 28 games in his rookie season. But gained more playing time from the second season. During the 1994-95 season, Jackson averaged 25.7 points and 5.1 rebounds, he finished fifth in the NBA in scoring, but suffered an ankle injury.

Jackson was traded to the New Jersey Nets in the middle of the 1996-1997 season. From that season on, Jim found himself with ten different NBA teams.

He was traded every year. The list includes 76ers, Warriors, Trailblazers, Hawks, Cavaliers, Heat, Kings, Rockets, Suns and with the Lakers. Jackson did not receive an offer to sign with any team in the following off season and decided to retire.

Jim was a decent player, he scored 14.3 points ,4.7 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game throughout his NBA career. He is currently a basketball analyst for Fox Sports 1.

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Edited by Alan John