List of NCAA Division I men's basketball career games played leaders explained

In the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the statistic for total games played in Division I men's basketball helps opposing coaches to monitor the extent that a particular player is used on a team. By definition, a player has "played in a game" when he enters the contest via substitution or by starting the contest. All that is required is that he is one of the five players for a team on the court for a minimal time of one second according to the game clock.

Through the 2023–24 season, the all-time leader in games played is Jordan Bohannon, who played six seasons at Iowa and appeared in 179 games.^[1] Bohannon benefited from two special provisions of NCAA rules that allowed him to play in more than the standard four seasons.

Normally, the only way for a player to play in more than four NCAA seasons is to qualify for a "medical redshirt", officially known by the NCAA as a "hardship waiver". To be eligible, a player must have participated in fewer than one third of his team's scheduled games in that season, and cannot have participated in any games in the second half of the season.^[2] Bohannon received a medical redshirt in 2019–20, a season in which he played 10 games. Several other players on the career leaders list benefited from this rule. Bohannon also benefited from a special NCAA eligibility waiver for the 2020–21 season, which was so heavily disrupted by COVID-19 that the NCAA announced it would not count that season against any player's period of eligibility.^[3] He chose to play a final season in 2021–22.^[4]

Key

Pos.	G	F	C	Ref.
				References

Team (X)	Denotes the number of times a player from that school appears on the list
^	Player still active in NCAA Division I

Top 25 games played leaders

Includes ties for 25th.

Player	Pos.	Team(s)	Games played	Career start	Career end	Medical redshirt?	COVID waiver?	Ref.
	G	Iowa	179	2016	2022			align=center
	G	Lipscomb / Morehead State / Indiana State	173	2018	2024			align=center	^[5]
	G	Illinois / DePaul / Iowa State / Kansas	172	2015	2022			align=center	^[6]
	F	Charleston / Wofford / USC	172	2016	2022			align=center	^[7]
	G	George Mason / Georgia / Arizona	170	2016	2022			align=center	^[8]
	C/F	North Carolina	169	2019	2024			align=center	^[9]
	F	Syracuse / Oregon / Illinois (2)	169	2019	2024			align=center	^[10]
	F	Samford / Ole Miss / North Texas	168	2018	2024			align=center	^[11]
	G	Liberty	168	2018	2023			align=center	^[12]
	F	North Carolina (2) / Mississippi State	167	2017	2022			align=center	^[13]
	F	Arkansas / Houston	167	2018	2023			align=center	^[14]
	F	Kansas (2)	167	2016	2022			align=center	^[15]
	G	Drake	167	2018	2023			align=center	^[16]
	G	Iowa (2)	166	2017	2023			align=center	^[17]
	G	Iowa (3) / West Virginia / Texas Tech	166	2019	2024			align=center	^[18]
	F	UNC Greensboro / Eastern Washington	165	2018	2023			align=center	^[19]
	G	UNC Greensboro / Eastern Washington	165	2018	2024			align=center	^[20]
	F	Ole Miss (2) / UAB	165	2018	2023			align=center	^[21]
	F/C	Tennessee / Winthrop / NC State	165	2018	2024			align=center	^[22]
	F	Alabama / Mississippi State (2) / UAB	165	2018	2024			align=center	^[23]
	F	Tennessee (2)	165	2016	2022			align=center	^[24]
	G	Pittsburgh / Minnesota / Texas	164	2017	2023			align=center	^[25]
	G	Southern Illinois / Gonzaga / Georgia (2)	164	2016	2022			align=center	^[26]
	G	Boise State / Toledo / Baylor	164	2019	2024			align=center	^[27]
	G	UAB (2)	164	2018	2023			align=center	^[28]
	G	Rice / USC (2)	164	2018	2023			align=center	^[29]
	G	North Carolina (3) / Siena	164	2017	2023			align=center	^[30]
	G	UCLA	164	2018	2023			align=center	^[31]

Leaders without COVID-19 waiver

The overall top 25 is completely occupied by players who were active in the 2020–21 season and benefited from the COVID-19 waiver. The last players eligible to take advantage of this waiver will not complete their college eligibility until 2024–25, not counting any potential medical redshirt season in 2021–22 or later. For this reason, a separate list consisting solely of players who did not benefit from the waiver is being maintained.

Includes ties for 25th.

Player	Pos.	Team(s)	Games played	Career start	Career end	Medical redshirt?	Ref.
	G/F	Ohio State	157	2006	2011		align=center	^[32]
	F	Mercer	154	2008	2014	(×2)	^[33]
	F/C	BYU	153	2011	2016		^[34]
	G	Gonzaga	153	2014	2019		align=center	^[35]
	C	Gonzaga (2)	152	2012	2017		align=center	^[36]
	G/F	Kentucky	152	2008	2012		align=center	^[37]
	F	North Carolina	152	2006	2010		align=center	^[38]
	G	North Carolina (2)	151	2013	2017		^[39]
	F	North Carolina (3)	151	2013	2017		^[40]
	G	Florida	151	2005	2009		^[41]
	G	Kentucky (2)	151	1995	1999		^[42]
	F	Memphis	150	2005	2009		align=center	^[43]
	F	Wisconsin (2)	150	2013	2017		^[44]
	F	Duke	150	2012	2017		^[45]
	C/F	Florida (2)	150	2010	2014		align=center	^[46]
	C	Memphis (2)	149	2004	2008		align=center	^[47]
	G/F	Pittsburgh	149	2009	2014		align=center	^[48]
	F	Creighton	149	2009	2014		align=center	^[49]
	F/C	UC Irvine	148	2011	2016		^[50]
	G	Villanova	148	2014	2019		align=center	^[51]
	G	Ohio State (2)	148	2010	2014		^[52]
	F	Memphis (3)	148	2005	2009		^[53]
	G	Wisconsin (2)	148	2010	2015		^[54]
	F	North Carolina (4)	148	2012	2016		^[55]
	G	Wisconsin (3)	148	2013	2017		^[56]
	F/C	Duke (2)	148	1988	1992		^[57]
	F	Duke (3)	148	2007	2011		^[58]

References

General

• Web site: 2022–23 NCAA Men's Basketball Records . . 2022 . PDF . December 4, 2022.
• Web site: Games Career Leaders and Records . Sports-Reference CBB . Sports Reference LLC . February 1, 2022.

Specific

Notes and References

1. Web site: Jordan Bohannon . Sports-Reference CBB . Sports Reference LLC . March 18, 2022.
2. Web site: Bylaw 12.8.4: Hardship Waiver . 2021–22 NCAA Division I Manual . 89–90 . August 1, 2021 . January 4, 2022.
3. DI Council extends eligibility for winter sport student-athletes . NCAA . October 14, 2020 . November 24, 2020.
4. News: Guard Jordan Bohannon cashes in extra eligibility, will stay with Iowa men's basketball for sixth season . Associated Press . ESPN.com . April 27, 2021 . April 27, 2021.
5. Web site: Jake Wolfe . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . May 1, 2024.
6. Web site: Jaden Coleman-Lands . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . February 15, 2022.
7. Web site: Chevez Goodwin . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . March 18, 2022.
8. Web site: Justin Kier . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . February 15, 2022.
9. Web site: Armando Bacot . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . May 1, 2024.
10. Web site: Quincy Guerrier . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . May 1, 2024.
11. Web site: Robert Allen . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . May 1, 2024.
12. Web site: Darius McGhee . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . March 28, 2023.
13. Web site: Garrison Brooks . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . March 18, 2022.
14. Web site: Reggie Chaney . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . March 28, 2023.
15. Web site: Mitch Lightfoot . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . April 3, 2022.
16. Web site: Garrett Sturtz . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . March 28, 2023.
17. Web site: Connor McCaffery . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . March 28, 2023.
18. Web site: Connor McCaffery . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . March 28, 2023.
19. Web site: Angelo Allegri . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . March 28, 2023.
20. Web site: Darius Brown II . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . May 1, 2024.
21. Web site: KJ Buffen . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . March 28, 2023.
22. Web site: D.J. Burns . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . May 1, 2024.
23. Web site: Javian Davis . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . May 1, 2024.
24. Web site: John Fulkerson . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . March 18, 2022.
25. Web site: Marcus Carr . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . March 28, 2023.
26. Web site: Aaron Cook . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . February 15, 2022.
27. Web site: RayJ Dennis . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . May 1, 2024.
28. Web site: Tavin Lovan . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . March 28, 2023.
29. Web site: Drew Peterson . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . March 28, 2023.
30. Web site: Andrew Platek . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . March 28, 2023.
31. Web site: David Singleton . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . March 28, 2023.
32. Web site: David Lighty . ESPN Internet Ventures . ESPN.com . February 14, 2011.
33. Web site: Jake Gollon . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . March 24, 2014.
34. Web site: Nate Austin . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . May 22, 2016.
35. Web site: Josh Perkins . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . March 31, 2019.
36. Web site: Przemek Karnowski . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . April 4, 2017.
37. Web site: Monday marks Darius Miller's 152nd (wow!) career game . NBCsports.com . 2012 . April 2, 2012.
38. Web site: Deon Thompson stats . . 2010 . May 25, 2010.
39. Web site: Nate Britt . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . April 4, 2017.
40. Web site: Isaiah Hicks . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . April 4, 2017.
41. Web site: Walter Hodge stats . . 2010. May 25, 2010.
42. Web site: Wayne Turner . Sports Reference LLC . basketball-reference.com . May 25, 2010.
43. Web site: Antonio Anderson stats . . 2010 . May 25, 2010.
44. Web site: Nigel Hayes . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . March 25, 2017.
45. Web site: Amile Jefferson . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . March 21, 2017.
46. Web site: Patric Young . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . April 6, 2014.
47. Web site: Joey Dorsey stats . . 2010 . May 25, 2010.
48. Web site: Lamar Patterson . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . March 24, 2014.
49. Web site: Ethan Wragge . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . March 23, 2014.
50. Web site: Mike Best . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . May 22, 2016.
51. Web site: Phil Booth . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . March 24, 2019.
52. Web site: Aaron Craft . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . March 17, 2014.
53. Web site: Robert Dozier stats . . 2010 . May 25, 2010.
54. Web site: Josh Gasser . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . May 22, 2016.
55. Web site: Brice Johnson . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . May 22, 2016.
56. Web site: Bronson Koenig . Sports Reference LLC . sports-reference.com . March 25, 2017.
57. Web site: Christian Laettner . Sports Reference LLC . basketball-reference.com . May 25, 2010.
58. Web site: Kyle Singler stats . ESPN Internet Ventures . ESPN.com . March 16, 2011.