basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, minutes of game time during which a player is on the court are recorded. The minutes played statistics are recorded as far back as the 1951–52 season when statistics on minutes were first compiled by the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

(NBA). Fifteen times the average leader has played fewer than 40 minutes per game and eight times the leader has played more than 46 minutes per game.

Wilt Chamberlain Wilton Norman Chamberlain (; August 21, 1936 – October 12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center. Standing at tall, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 years and is widely reg ...

has the seven highest leading totals, while Nate "Tiny" Archibald is the only other single-season leader to average over 46 minutes per game. In one season, Chamberlain averaged over 48 minutes per game (meaning that he rested fewer minutes during the season than he played in

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

during the season). To qualify as minutes leader, the player must appear in at least 58 games (out of 82). However, a player who appears in fewer than 58 games may qualify as annual minutes leader if his minute total would have given him the greatest average, had he appeared in 58 games. This has been the requirement since the 2013–14 season. Chamberlain led the league in minutes played per game nine times, followed by

Allen Iverson Allen Ezail Iverson (; born June 7, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "the Answer", he played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) at both the shooting guard and point guard positions. Iv ...

(7) and

Michael Finley Michael Howard Finley (born March 6, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player who is the Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 15 seasons in the ...

(3) times. Twelve other players have led the league in minutes per game twice, eight of them in consecutive years. Chamberlain holds the record for consecutive titles with five, followed by Iverson with three (two times). Fifteen times a member of the San Francisco/Philadelphia/

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

has led the league in average minutes. Nine full seasons and parts of another the average leader played for the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...

. Seventeen seasons and parts of another the leader played for either the Philadelphia Warriors or the Philadelphia 76ers. In 16 of the 61 seasons since the statistic has been kept, the minutes per game leader was not the total minutes played leader.

Larry Bird Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend", Bird is widely regarded a ...

and Iverson are the only multiple leaders in average who were surpassed in total minutes multiple times. Five of Iverson's seven times and both of Bird's times as the average leader they were surpassed in total minutes.

Kevin Durant Kevin Wayne Durant ( ; born September 29, 1988), also known by his initials KD, is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one season of college basketball f ...

is the only player to lead the league in total minutes without finishing in the top three in average minutes during the same season. He is also the only player to never lead in average minutes, but lead in total minutes multiple times. The first four times and five of the first seven times that the leader in average did not lead in total minutes, he finished second in total minutes. However, the last six times that the average leader did not lead the league in total minutes, he was outside of the top 10 and the last nine times, he was outside of the top 5.

Key

Annual leaders

Multiple-time leaders

Notes

References

;General * * ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Minutes Leaders By Season National Basketball Association lists National Basketball Association statistical leaders