Hardest-Working Players in NBA History

The path to being great in the NBA does not always begin with hard work. Many players have natural talent they cultivate after gaining a better understanding of where hard work will get them.

But the path to being great in the NBA always ends with hard work.

Over the years, players have carved out careers with a bedrock of work ethic and hard work — super-sizing their talents along the way. Stories about laser focus on improving their craft and the insane lengths they went to chase perfection go hand-in-hand with final stat lines.

These are the hardest-working players in NBA history.

College: UConn

NBA career: 18 seasons (1989-2007)

Teams: Portland Trail Blazers (1989-97), Phoenix Suns (1997-2001), Detroit Pistons (2001-03), Golden State Warriors (2003-05), New Jersey Nets (2005-07)

Stats: 1,380 G, 14.2 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 2.2 APG, 43.8 FG%

NBA titles: None

Bottom line: The word on Cliff Robinson heading into the 1989 NBA draft after a stellar career at UConn was he didn’t work hard enough. And word got around quickly. Robinson plummeted from a top 10 pick to Portland in the second round (36th overall).

Robinson played like a man on fire once in the league. He was named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 1993 and an All-Star in 1994.

Robinson’s success was spread out evenly over his career. In 2000, he became the oldest player in NBA history to score 50 points at 33 years old, the same year he made the first of two All-Defensive teams.

College: Eastern Michigan

NBA career: 12 seasons (1999-2008, 2009-12)

Teams: New Jersey Nets (1999), Cleveland Cavaliers (1999, 2000), Orlando Magic (1999), Los Angeles Clippers (2000-02), Golden State Warriors (2002-03), Denver Nuggets (2003-07), Milwaukee Bucks (2007-08, 2010-11), Charlotte Bobcats (2008), Washington Wizards (2009-10), Houston Rockets (2012)

Stats: 652 G, 8.9 PPG, 1.3 RPG, 3.2 APG, 41.7 FG%

NBA titles: None

Bottom line: The son of a Cleveland police officer who loved to play pickup basketball, Earl Boykins grew up with the simple goal of being able to beat his father one-on-one.

His dad must have been pretty good. Boykins, only 5-foot-5, told the Los Angeles Times in 2000 that “work ethic” was the main reason he was able to make it to the NBA.

That part never let up, as Boykins played in the NBA for 12 seasons. The only season he went missing from the league was when he went overseas to play for Italian pro club Virtus Bologna on a one-year, $3.5 million contract.

College: Michigan State

NBA career: 21 seasons (1984-2005, 2007)

Teams: Atlanta Hawks (1984-94, 2004-05), Miami Heat (1994-96), Golden State Warriors (1996), Houston Rockets (1996-98, 2001-02), Toronto Raptors (1998-2001), Denver Nuggets (2001), San Antonio Spurs (2002-04), Dallas Mavericks (2007)

Stats: 1,424 G, 12.1 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 0.9 APG, 48.7 FG%

NBA titles: 1 (2003)

Bottom line: In 2007, Kevin Willis became the oldest person in NBA history to play more than one game in a season when he took the floor five times for the Dallas Mavericks at 44 years old.

Willis’ dedication to taking meticulous care of his body may have some root in his lucrative career outside of basketball as a fashion mogul for the Willis & Walker clothing line for big-and-tall men. “I wanted to stay swole,” Willis joked.

Whatever his motivation, Willis shares the record for most NBA seasons played with Robert Parish, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki and Vince Carter, who announced in 2019 he would retire after the 2019-20 season.

College: Providence

NBA career: 17 seasons (1984-2001)

Teams: Kansas City/Sacramento Kings (1984-88), Houston Rockets (1988-95), Portland Trail Blazers (1995), Detroit Pistons (1995-97), Vancouver Grizzlies (1997-98), Sacramento Kings (1998), Washington Wizards (1999), Miami Heat (1999-2000), Charlote Hornets (2000-01)

Stats: 1,257 G, 14.0 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 2.2 APG, 54,6 FG%

NBA titles: 1 (1994)

Bottom line: Otis Thorpe combined elite size — 6-foot-10 and 250 pounds — with being the hardest-working player on almost every team he played on.

At the peak of his career, he formed a 1-2 punch with Houston Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon that was almost unstoppable and was part of the team’s 1994 NBA championship team.

Thorpe’s problem, as laid out in a 1997 Sports Illustrated article, was that he wasn’t just one of the hardest-working players in the league. He also was one of the most thin-skinned.

A history of holding grudges over perceived slights from teammates and coaches loomed large over his career and saw him traded on several occasions.