~~ A dialogue featuring Draymond Green, Bismack Biyombo, Cory Joseph, Garrett Temple, and P.J. Tucker discussing sustaining a decade-long NBA career with an average of less than 10 points per game.~~

Since the days of George Mikan’s hook shots in the 1950s, the NBA has been synonymous with scoring prowess. The likes of Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Luka Dončić have captivated fans and filled arenas with their offensive brilliance for generations. However, while scoring may steal the spotlight, it’s not always the key to a prolonged NBA career. Just ask Draymond Green, Bismack Biyombo, P.J. Tucker, Garrett Temple, and Cory Joseph.

According to ESPN Stats & Information, there are currently 24 NBA players who have logged more than 10 seasons in the league without averaging double-digit points throughout their careers. These players excel on the defensive end, thrive in role-playing roles, embrace the gritty aspects of the game, and serve as mentors to younger teammates. Despite not putting up gaudy scoring numbers, they’ve managed to outlast many of their draft class peers, earning substantial contracts, championship rings, and secure retirements along the way.

“You come into this league, and try to make it and leave a good mark,” Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green said. “So, when I look back on it, it’s like, wow, man, it’s incredible.

We convened a roundtable discussion featuring five seasoned NBA players who have defied the odds by enjoying lengthy careers despite notching less than 10 points per game on average. Our panelists included:

– Green, a former second-round draft pick boasting an impressive resume of four NBA championships, four NBA All-Star selections, and the 2017 NBA Defensive Player of the Year award. Currently in his 12th season with the Golden State Warriors, Green maintains a career scoring average of 8.7 points per game.
– Biyombo, a 12-year NBA veteran hailing from the Democratic Republic of Congo. As a center for the Oklahoma City Thunder, he has tallied an average of 5.1 points throughout his career.
– Tucker, another 12-year NBA veteran who has plied his trade internationally before making his mark in the NBA. Now suiting up for the LA Clippers, Tucker clinched an NBA championship with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021 and has maintained a career scoring average of 6.7 points.
– Temple, currently lacing up for the Toronto Raptors, embarked on his NBA journey after going undrafted out of Louisiana State University in 2009. Over the course of his 13-season career, he has posted an average of 6.1 points per game.
– Joseph rounds out our esteemed panel, with a career spanning 12 years and counting. With an average of 6.9 points per game, Joseph secured an NBA championship with the San Antonio Spurs in 2014 before recently donning the jersey of the Indiana Pacers following a stint with the Golden State Warriors.

What has been the key to your longevity?

Green: The expectation was that I was an undersized tweener and was going to be a bust. I always expected to do good things. I always thought that I was better than everyone else thought I was. But I can’t say I envisioned it turning into this. You come in like, ‘Man, I want to be an All-Star.’ But I am the same person that thought playing in the World University Games would be my last time playing for USA Basketball. Now I stand here with two Olympic gold medals. You have this vision of what you think it can look like or what you want it to look like, but I can’t say that my vision was this …

You have to find your niche. You got to find what it is that you bring to a spot. Every squad needs something that’s not scoring, but most basketball players want to score. So, it’s just all about finding that niche and understanding what it is that’s going to help you or what it is that you can do that’s going to help that team be successful. It’s also finding what that team can’t necessarily go without to be successful.

Biyombo: Play your role to the best of your ability. Also, understanding every system you’re going to is different with everybody trying to do everything. The most important thing for me has always been find and understand what the team needs and then do that to the best of everything and that will eventually lead to winning. Everybody wants to win. You got to contribute to winning, but it takes the hard stuff to actually win.

Leaning on God and letting God kind of lead the way takes care of everything. You just got to lean on him. My family, we’ve always been believers in God. My mom still talks makes sure we pray, so we’re not changing that.

Tucker: Especially now with social media and so much insight on the game and [certain] guys, now is the worst time in terms of basketball because [players] don’t really understand what goes into the team and what pushes its gears and the little things that go on that people don’t see. That ain’t in no stat sheets. So that’s why now, more than ever, it gets talked about how guys have games where they don’t score a bucket, but they had the highest plus-minus in the game. People don’t have no idea all the things going through it. Team guys are able to have a major effect on the game and on the team winning …

I’m proud of me. But it’s crazy. I haven’t taken a chance to sit back and reflect on it yet. I feel like I’m still [in] the last few years of my prime.

Temple: I kind of pinch myself every day for it. My middle brother, we talk and he tells me every few weeks that how crazy it is that I’m 13 years in the NBA. I wasn’t heralded. I wasn’t highly touted. It’s a blessing. I’m proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish and I give a lot of credit to my parents and how they raised me. I appreciate them for raising me the way they did to instill the values in me. A lot of credit goes to God.

Joseph: I just really believe no one is bigger in the game. I really took that to heart in terms of everybody was the main guy in high school, the main guy in college. When you first get to the league, you’re not going to be able to do the same things. You can’t feel entitled and you have to be able to look at it with gratitude. I approach every day with gratitude and that helps me throughout the day. I’ve been on different teams and I’m able to adapt in terms of just being a winner. The winner is not always what the fans see.

But sometimes it happens behind closed doors with practice or just staying ready and obviously being ready when your name is called and doing the little things that might not show up on the staff sheet. It’s being a good human being, too. But doing all the dirty work, I’ve been able to hang my hat on that throughout the years, but also still play my game well when needed. You obviously still have to perform at a high level, but you got to just think outside of you and you have to be able to adapt to different situations and be able to identify what the team needs and be able to capitalize on it.

Which NBA veterans provided mentorship and guidance during your formative years, and what invaluable advice did they impart?

Green: Jarrett Jack, No. 1, first and foremost. Jermaine O’Neal. Andrew Bogut taught me so much about defense. I would not be the player that I am without Andrew Bogut. David Lee. Bog taught me how to defend the post, how to read angles on the defensive side of the ball. RJ [Richard Jefferson] was about knowing my demeanor and who I am, and was not about changing that and understood that it is a skill that you have and embracing that skill. Jarrett Jack taught me everything from how to work every day, how to be a pro, how to live your life, how to carry yourself. He laid an incredible foundation. Jermaine O’Neal, same thing. How to be a pro, things to be doing off the court from top to bottom. Jarrett Jack and Jermaine O’Neal, those guys not only poured into me on the court, they poured into me off the court. Now I just can’t thank those guys enough.

Biyombo: Boris (Diaw). Eduardo Nájera and Matt Carroll. But with Boris, I spent most of the time with on the road and at home. I was never by myself. But it’s been a blessing, man. Now with young guys, you have to pass on the knowledge. I’m extremely grateful.”

Tucker: I had [former Phoenix Suns associate head coach] Dan Majerle who helped me out a ton. And Dan was like, ‘Look, I want you to guard the best player on the court every time you’re out there. I want you to be able to stretch the floor, knock down the 3, and I need you to get every single 50-50 ball out. If you do that, you are going to make a lot of money. You are going to play a lot of minutes.’ That’s all he had to tell me. That’s all I focused on — working on my shot and being able to guard every position at any given time, be the best on the floor, no matter what it was, being able to guard point guards. I’d start the game out guarding point guards or guarding centers. I would do the same thing every night.

Dan Majerle was my coach, but obviously an ex-player and somebody I respected and wanted to be like. I always admired Dan Majerle and wanted to be like him. Dan has always been an inspiration to me and having him in Phoenix, it was all of that. He was the major one. As far as actual teammates, I was already 27 when I came back to the NBA. It wasn’t like that. I was already older than the average age of the team.

Temple: Antonio McDyess in San Antonio. Dice was big. Really big. Tim Duncan just for showing me how to be a pro. He was a man of a few words, but he showed me every day how to be a pro with his workouts and his habits. Guys like that do things with action. Me and McDyess talked a lot. Ray Allen even for just the little bit of time I was in Miami in training camp showing me how to be a pro. Emeka Okafor when I was called up in D.C. my fourth year. I was with so many different teams. I had a lot of different vets.

Joseph: I was blessed. I went to the Spurs. It was Tony [Parker], Tim [Duncan], Manu [Ginobili], Pop [coach Gregg Popovich], all those guys. You can’t be entitled to anything and play at those times with the Spurs. That’s not how it worked. It started from Tim Duncan all the way down. Those guys were the most selfless. Those guys were first-ballot Hall of Famers who had all that success. You can see why they had so much success because they were able to adapt. [Popovich] played many different players and they don’t have no type of ego.

Every day you try to prepare mentally and physically. Mentally, those guys were sharp. How do you do your job when things are going bad on and off the court? Tim, Tony and Manu taught me a lot about that. I was so blessed to learn there and see that firsthand from guys of that caliber. That allowed me to have my longevity.

What has been the most humbling part of your NBA career?

Green: The journey itself is humbling. It’s filled with so many ups and downs and when it is going good, it’s great. But when it’s not, it’s brutal. Trying to stay even-keeled is the hardest thing in the world to do. One minute, you are the greatest thing since sliced bread. The next minute you should be traded, cut, you’re a nuisance and you can never help a team win. And that can happen within days. You can hear those [naysayers] again and again. Everybody says don’t ride the roller coaster, stay even-keeled. But we are human beings.

It’s hard to point to just one thing that was humbling because the journey itself puts you on a pedestal and it’ll humble you in the blink of an eye. And that doesn’t happen once. That happens time after time, year after year, it don’t stop. Still get humbled today. It don’t go away until you go away.

Biyombo: When the team is demanding something of you that’s not requiring scoring, but it’s going to lead to winning. [Then-Charlotte Hornets majority owner] Michael [Jordan] was always talking about a lot of things when I was with Charlotte about winning. And then when I got to Toronto, that’s when you start sitting back and then observing everything that everybody was doing and seeing, this is how the team need me to contribute in order to be successful. And I remember I saw [Jordan] that year at the All-Star game and I was like, ‘Thank you so much because a lot of the things that you were saying back then, I kind of took it for granted because I was always around you. But then when you’re in a different environment, when that specific job is required of you, it changes the perspective …’

You got to figure a way to make a difference sustainable. So, you guys go do everything, and I’m going to sit here and watch as much film as needed. I’m going to start learning everybody on the team and then I’ll bring whatever is needed. I hear everybody understands their job and being able to do the best of their ability. And then you also start understanding when you can push guys and then you can help out. But overall, it’s been a blessing just to be able to learn from so many coaches that I’ve played for and teammates. I’m still learning.

Tucker: Being a first- and second-team All-American in college, you’re thinking, ‘I’m about to go to NBA, do the same thing and it’s going to be just as easy.’ The s— just don’t work that way, man. It’s impossible. It ain’t enough jobs and there ain’t enough balls. It’s just the numbers. Humility hits you real fast from having to deal with that and really having to understand what it takes as just a good player to be able to last. Good players only play four or five years …

Man, I’m telling you, I can talk about it for days because I don’t think it gets talked about enough really how hard it’s to beat the odds. To be able to get your 10 years, and for me coming up on 20 years of professional basketball, the odds just keep getting thinner and thinner to be able to hit them all.

Temple: I remember [Miami Heat head coach Erik] Spoelstra told me he was cutting me [on Oct. 27, 2012]. I was down because I knew I played well enough to make the team. Ironically, my dad [Collis Temple] was in town in Miami. We had a great sit-down talk and it was great to have him there. If there was ever a time where I had a ‘woe is me’ moment, that was it. But it quickly ended after a few [chicken] wings with my pops in Miami. It was on to the next mission. I went to the G League and I got called up again [by the Washington Wizards].

Joseph: Every basketball player has to want to do well teamwise, not individually. But there’s going to be time when things aren’t going your way as much. How do you handle those things? Do you blame it on everybody else or do you try to do whatever exhausts all opportunity, exhaust all avenues to be better? And I like to take that second route. I like to try to not blame anybody and just try to exhaust all avenues and keep on trying until something clicks. I think that part of your character that allows you to shape yourself into being a likable guy and it shapes you into a winner.

An NBA player with nine years of experience receives the full pension and lifetime medical insurance for themselves. With 10 years of experience, they add lifetime medical insurance for their immediate family. What did it mean for you to make it nine and 10 years and were you aware of the pension milestones?

Green: I remember being in Year 2 like, ‘Man, if I can make it to nine years, get full pension … I don’t know how I’m going to get to nine years, but if I can just get to nine, I’ll have pension for when I’m done.’ I remember looking forward to that in Year 1 and 2 and wondering if I could ever get there. If I remember correctly, once you got to four or something, four or five, you started pension. But to get to full pension, you had to get to nine. I remember very vividly thinking about that and actually having conversations about it.

I remember I used to say to [former Warriors teammate] Harrison [Barnes], ‘HB I got to get to nine here.’ That was a real goal. I signed a deal after Year 3 and then I signed an extension after Year 7, if I’m not mistaken. I remember thinking, ‘Oh, this gets me to the full pension since I signed the deal.’ Obviously it was a great amount of money, but I remember like, ‘Oh, now this takes me to full pension.’

Biyombo: When I came into the league, Boris and DeSagana Diop would always talk about the pension once you get to 10 years. So, as a young guy, like, ‘Oh, man, I’m hoping I can get there some day.’ But at the same time, your reputation in this league will always carry you wherever. But at the same time, it is a blessing, to be honest. I’m just a kid that came from Congo and wanted to be in the NBA. To be able to last this long and continue to play the game that I love and just enjoying the gift that God has provided me with, it’s been a blessing.

Tucker: It’s so much bigger than just being about my family because my family has no idea what I’ve been through to get to where I’m at now. And the average fan doesn’t either. It’s so much bigger than that. That wasn’t even in the sight to plan for me at all. I began in Europe playing, playing Puerto Rico, I went through the ringer. … Busing for 10-12 hours to go to games in Ukraine. I wasn’t thinking about getting a 10-year pension in the NBA. It’s the last thing on my mind. It’s an accomplishment, but it’s more for guys to see that it’s possible. It may not work out like you want in the beginning, but if you focus, get an opportunity to take advantage of it, it’s an opportunity that can happen for sure.

Temple: My first two years didn’t really count as two. They counted as one because I played maybe 30-something games. So, I started eyeing it when I signed with Sacramento for three years. And I wasn’t worried about a one-year deal then. And then I was like, ‘I need to get 11, but let me just get 12 just to make sure that I get the 10 years.’ When I was in a Year 6 or 7, I was like, ‘OK, let get four, five more if that’s possible.’ At that point, I realized if I just do the right thing, be the right type of person, my game is enough to be able to let me stay for that long barring injuries.

It means it’s a great deal, A great deal. I give a lot of credit to CP [NBA guard and former NBPA president Chris Paul] and to [former NBPA executive director] Michelle [Roberts] for getting that done. I was on the [NBPA] board and that was big. My wife was very grateful for the things that we’re able to get because of being in NBA. And she’s a military kid, so she understands good health insurance. So, what we do as players and what the NBPA was able to accomplish by getting that for retired players is really big.

Joseph: You always had milestones and goals. When on my rookie contract in San Antonio, I would be working out daily with [then-shooting coach] Chip Engelland and [then-assistant coach] Chad Forcier. They always had a goal of getting to 10 years. Chip Engelland was the guy that was like, ‘Look, the average career in the league span is like four years or something along the lines.’ He’s like, ‘you’re gunning for at least 10, that’s maximum pension. It has a major benefit for you and your family. That’s what you have to strive for.’

So, that was one of the goals, for the longevity of it — just to keep your head down, keep working and try to get to there. Now, obviously I surpassed that, so now I have other goals, but I was extremely happy to get to 10 years, man. It’s a blessing. Every day in this league is a blessing for sure. But to be able to last that long, obviously you’re doing something right and somebody likes you.

What advice would you give if you spoke at the NBA’s rookie transition camp?

Green: Find you a great vet because there’s no one that’s going to show you more, teach you more, mentor you more, care more than a great vet. Do all that you can to find yourself a great vet. I still talk to Jarrett Jack … That is one of the most important things a young dude can do. I also think that’s one of the most important things an organization can put in place for their young guys is to have a great vet. And if you’re lucky, you have great vets, which I’m a lucky one. A part of it falls on the organization, but you can’t always depend on that. As a rookie, you need to take it upon yourself to find a great vet.

Biyombo: Ask more questions. It may seem stupid sometimes that you are asking questions, but that will save probably your career by asking even stupid questions. There are mistakes that rookies make that are the simplest things you can receive advice on. Ask questions instead of being there and checking a box, because there’s so many guys that have been through the experience that have seen it, that have done it, that have made the mistakes, and then they’re here to help. Be able to learn.

Tucker: For 90% of y’all, it’s not going to be what y’all think it is. And I know that sounds crazy, but for 90% of y’all what y’all thinking in y’all minds right now and what you think you are getting into, it ain’t going to be that. So, prepare yourself right now to be disappointed. But in that disappointment, that is where you are going to find what is going to carry you through your career, whether you make it or not. That disappointment is what makes you make that left turn or that right turn. The turn you make at that fork is going to determine the rest of your career.