LeBron James’ beard has quite a bit of gray in it these days. Chris Paul has been hearing questions for years about how much longer he wants to play. Kyle Lowry already has his retirement job lined up, for whenever that day comes.Meet the NBA’s current 20-year club. It’s bigger than ever before.There are no players currently in the league — and very few in the league’s 80-season history — with more seniority than the trio of James, Paul and Lowry. For the first time, the NBA has three players simultaneously entering their 20th seasons; James, when he makes his 2025-26 debut, will be the first 23-year player in league history, while Paul is going into his 21st season and Lowry is entering his 20th.“The love of the game is still high. The love of the process is even higher,” James said. “So, that’s what continues to push me to play this game. I mean, it is really that simple.”There’s nothing simple about it. To still be contributing at this level, at this point in their careers, is practically unheard of.All three invest plenty of their own money (they’ve made a combined $1.2 billion in NBA salaries) in their own individualized programs that have helped them survive the rigors of NBA life for this long.James’ workout regimen is legendary, yet still not invincible — he’ll miss the start of this season while dealing with sciatica and there’s no firm timetable for when he’ll actually take the floor with the Los Angeles Lakers to start Year 23.Lowry, at least since the NBA began tracking such stats, is the NBA’s all-time lead …
