With the playoff bracket set and two straight months of postseason hoops ahead of us, two big elephants in the room these days in NBA circles are the tanking epidemic and player rest.
Every night, fans buy tickets and flock to arenas to cheer on their favorite hoopers. But too often, those fans find out their favorite player is taking the night off. It’s a big problem in the NBA, and one they’ve tried to address by implementing rest policies and the much-discussed 65-game requirement to qualify for awards.
We could go on and on about how best to address these issues—and we have—but that’s not the point of this article. The point of this piece is to celebrate those who zigged when others zagged (or, uh, rested) during the 2025–26 season. The list of gritty, hard-working, dependable, bring-their-lunch-pails-to-work type of guys who were on the floor every single night.
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to give a toast to this year’s crop of Iron Men, the players who suited up for all 82 games. Entering Sunday’s full slate of games, 18 players had logged 81 games played this season, and all 18 suited up on Sunday to earn the treasured title of Iron Man. Let’s get to it:
The official list of 2025-26 NBA ‘Iron Men’
Eighteen players suited up for all of their team’s 82 games this season, most notably Mikal Bridges, who still hasn’t missed a single contest since he was selected with the No. 10 pick in the 2018 NBA draft. He’s on a run of playing in 638 straight games, the eighth-longest streak in NBA history. Bridges still would have to keep his streak alive for another six-plus seasons to surpass the record-holder in A.C. Green, who played 1,192 straight games in the late 1980s into the ‘90s.
Bridges was among three players who actually suited up for 83 games this year, appearing in the NBA Cup championship game that doesn’t count toward regular-season stats or his 638-game streak. Bridges, Keldon Johnson and Julian Champagnie all laced up the sneakers 83 times this season and deserve a bit of extra praise.
Without further ado, here’s the list of the NBA’s 2025-26 Iron Men, ranked in order of how many times they’ve played every game in an 82-game season (note: the shortened 2019–20 and ’20–21 seasons do not count here):
- Mikal Bridges, F, Knicks (6)
- Bub Carrington, G, Wizards (2)
- Julian Champagne, F, Spurs (2)
- Desmond Bane, G, Magic (1)
- Bruce Brown, G, Nuggets (1)
- Toumani Camara, F, Trail Blazers (1)
- Donte DiVincenzo, G, Timberwolves (1)
- Kris Dunn, G, Clippers (1)
- Jeremiah Fears, G, Pelicans (1)
- Javonte Green, F, Pistons (1)
- Jay Huff, C, Pacers (1)
- Oso Ighodaro, F, Suns (1)
- Sion James, G, Hornets (1)
- Keldon Johnson, F, Spurs (1)
- Jake LaRavia, F, Lakers (1)
- Brandin Podziemski, G, Warriors (1)
- Jamal Shead, G, Raptors (1)
- Reed Sheppard, G, Rockets (1)
Of these 18 players, 10 are former first-round picks, five are former second-round picks and three were once undrafted free agents. Two are rookies—Fears, the Pelicans’ No. 7 pick, and James, the Hornets’ second-round selection at No. 33.
Four players started all 82 games for their teams: Bane (Magic), Bridges (Knicks), Camara (Trail Blazers) and DiVincenzo (Timberwolves). Only one of this year’s crop of Iron Men didn’t start a single game—Johnson, who averaged 13.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game and is one of the favorites to win NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year.
The Spurs are the only team to employ multiple Iron Men this year, while 13 NBA teams do not have a single Iron Man in their locker room.
Also, it’s not surprising to see this list without a single All-Star. There hasn’t been a player to play all 82 games and be named an All-Star in the same season since Bradley Beal and Kemba Walker both did it in 2018–19.
Among the 28 players to earn an All-Star nod, Raptors forward Scottie Barnes played the most games (80), followed by Kevin Durant (78), Brandon Ingram (77), Jamal Murray (75) and Karl-Anthony Towns (75).
So, so close: The Almost Iron Men group
A couple of rookies were the only two players in the NBA to suit up for exactly 81 games this season—finishing one game shy of an official “Iron Man” nod.
- Kon Knueppel, F, Hornets
- Derik Queen, C, Pelicans
Knueppel missed one game on Dec. 29 due to a right ankle sprain he suffered three days prior. Queen missed the Pelicans’ 122–109 loss to the Trail Blazers on Jan. 2 due to a left quad contusion.
RELATED: Kon Knueppel’s Immediate Rise Into One of the NBA’s Best Shooters Was No Accident
Better luck next time, rooks.
How does the number of 2025–26 Iron Men compare to other NBA seasons?
The 18 Iron Men this season actually is the most we’ve seen in a single 82-game NBA season since 2018–19.
As expected, the number of Iron Men has dropped off significantly since the turn of the century. In 1976–77, the first year of the NBA/ABA merger, 48 players suited up every possible night. That number increased to 57 in 1980–81 but has been trending down ever since—50 in 1990–91, 45 in 2000–01 and 32 by 2010–11.
There hasn’t been a single year with over 30 Iron Men since the NBA lockout in 2011, and there hasn’t been a year with over 20 Iron Men since the COVID-19 pandemic.
| YEAR | Iron Men |
|---|---|
| 2025-26 season | 18 |
| 2024-25 season | 11 |
| 2023-24 season | 17 |
| 2022-23 season | 10 |
| 2021-22 season | 5 |
| 2020-21 season | 0 (shortened due to COVID-19) |
| 2019-20 season | 0 (shortened due to COVID-19) |
| 2018-19 season | 21 |
| 2017-18 season | 26 |
| 2016-17 season | 17 |
| 2015-16 season | 18 |
| 2014-15 season | 28 |
| 2013-14 season | 29 |
| 2012-13 season | 28 |
| 2011-12 season | 0 (shortened due to lockout) |
| 2010-11 season | 32 |
| --- | --- |
| 2000-01 season | 45 |
| --- | --- |
| 1990-91 season | 50 |
| --- | --- |
| 1980-81 season | 57 |
| --- | --- |
| 1976-77 season | 48 |
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Here Are the NBA’s 2025–26 Iron Men. How Do They Compare to Years Past?.
