Paul, in 20th year, makes history with 82 starts

In Year 20, Chris Paul started all 82 games and made some NBA history.

Paul was in the San Antonio Spurs' starting lineup for their season finale Sunday, making him the first player to make 82 starts this deep into a career. The previous mark was held by Utah's John Stockton, who started all 82 games in his 19th and final season.

Paul -- who turns 40 in less than a month -- is one of three players to have a season with 82 appearances at his age. Stockton did it in the seasons he turned 39 and 40, and Michael Jordan turned 39 in his final season while playing in all 82 games and starting 67 of them.

"It's crazy," Paul said. "I was talking to my wife about this. When you're sort of in it, you're not really thinking about it. It's like, 'OK, it's Game 30. OK, it's Game 40-something. It's game such and such.'"

It became Game 82. And Paul never missed a beat as the Spurs rallied from a 22-point deficit to beat the Toronto Raptors 125-118.

He's one of six players who made 82 starts in this NBA regular season, which ended Sunday. The others: New York's Mikal Bridges, Minnesota's Jaden McDaniels, Houston's Jalen Green, Cleveland's Jarrett Allen and Paul's San Antonio teammate Harrison Barnes.

With Paul, Barnes and Julian Champagnie, the Spurs became the first team since the 2017-18 Timberwolves with at least three players to appear in 82 games.

For Barnes, who is in his first season with the Spurs, Sunday's game was his 304th in a row. He and Paul are the first Spurs to play all 82 games since Bryn Forbes and Patty Mills in 2018-19 -- and the first Spurs to start all 82 games since Bruce Bowen in 2006-07.

"Year 20, this is only the second time in my career playing 82 games," Paul said. "And also playing as long as I have, I think I know how hard it is. That's why I have so much respect for Harrison, who is doing this for the third year in a row. And Mikal, who was my teammate, he never misses a game."

Also playing in Game 82s on Sunday: Golden State's Buddy Hield, Detroit's Malik Beasley, Washington's Bub Carrington and Minnesota's Nickeil Alexander-Walker.

Bridges was playing in his 556th consecutive regular-season game Sunday -- out of a possible 556. He hasn't missed any game since his junior year of high school, including 116 at Villanova and 39 NBA playoff games. Add that up, and he's played in 711 consecutive games since entering college.

The Knicks held out four starters for a meaningless game standings-wise Sunday. Bridges was the exception.

"I think he's earned that right," Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. "It's a tribute to him. I think he's worked hard to put himself in that position. I've said this before: He should be commended for it."

Bridges played the first six seconds to extend the streak Sunday, took a foul, got subbed out by Landry Shamet and went to the bench. (He did something similar in the final game of the 2023-24 season, playing four seconds for Brooklyn against Philadelphia on the last day.)

"I mean, they just asked to see what I want to do," Bridges said. "It's really for the young guys because I could play a quarter or play a half, but that's taking away from young guys like (Pacome Dadiet and Kevin McCullar Jr.), guys that played well today, too, but just for their minutes."

It happened elsewhere as well: Allen played 41 seconds for Cleveland on Sunday to get to 82 starts, then was subbed out.

Sacramento's Jonas Valanciunas appeared in 81 games this season, not 82, with a big caveat -- he was inactive for two teams on the same day, which is the only reason he didn't get to 82 this season. Valanciunas was traded by Washington to the Kings on Feb. 5; he appeared that night as inactive for both of those teams on the official NBA box scores because the trade was pending.

He played Feb. 6 for the Kings and hasn't missed a game since.

Paul was the 11th player in NBA history to make it to 20 seasons in the league. LeBron James, if he plays next season as expected, will then become the first to make it to 23 seasons in the league, breaking a tie with Vince Carter, who played in 22 seasons.

Bridges, the NBA's reigning iron man, doesn't see himself pulling off what his former teammate in Phoenix did this season.

"That's why CP is one of the greatest," he said. "But I don't think I'll make it that long, however many years he's played."

Robert Parish, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Willis all played 21 NBA seasons, which Paul will get to next season if he -- again, as expected -- returns. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, Jamal Crawford and Udonis Haslem all played 20 seasons, a club that Kyle Lowry will join next season.

"I know there's stuff still in the tank," Paul said. "You know, I think for me, the summer will just be a really good time to just evaluate everything, the opportunities. But the love for the game is still there."