<P> The oldest player ever to play in the NBA was Nat Hickey who played one game in the 1947 -- 48 season when he was 45 years and 363 days old . Hickey , who was coaching the Providence Steamrollers at the time , decided to activate himself and played in a game for the Steamrollers . In his first and only game as a player for the Steamrollers , he missed all six of his shot attempts and only scored two points from three free throw attempts . The second oldest player is Kevin Willis . Willis , who had played 20 seasons ( excluding the 1988 -- 89 season he missed due to injury ) in the league before he sat out the 2005 -- 06 season and earned a contract with the Dallas Mavericks on April 2 , 2007 . He then played 5 games for the Mavericks at the age of 44 . The third oldest player is Hall of Famer Robert Parish . Parish , who starred with the Boston Celtics in the 1980s , played his last season with the Chicago Bulls at the age of 43 . He played in 1,611 regular season games during his 21 - year career , more than any other player in NBA history . When the Bulls won the 1997 Finals , Parish became the oldest player ever to win the NBA championship . There are currently 27 players who played in the NBA after they turned 40 . </P>
<P> The oldest player ever to play in the NBA was Nat Hickey who played one game in the 1947 -- 48 season when he was 45 years and 363 days old . Hickey , who was coaching the Providence Steamrollers at the time , decided to activate himself and played in a game for the Steamrollers . In his first and only game as a player for the Steamrollers , he missed all six of his shot attempts and only scored two points from three free throw attempts . The second oldest player is Kevin Willis . Willis , who had played 20 seasons ( excluding the 1988 -- 89 season he missed due to injury ) in the league before he sat out the 2005 -- 06 season and earned a contract with the Dallas Mavericks on April 2 , 2007 . He then played 5 games for the Mavericks at the age of 44 . The third oldest player is Hall of Famer Robert Parish . Parish , who starred with the Boston Celtics in the 1980s , played his last season with the Chicago Bulls at the age of 43 . He played in 1,611 regular season games during his 21 - year career , more than any other player in NBA history . When the Bulls won the 1997 Finals , Parish became the oldest player ever to win the NBA championship . There are currently 27 players who played in the NBA after they turned 40 . </P>
who is the oldest nba player in history
who is the oldest nba player in history
Nat Hickey
Nat Hickey