NBA Teams With Most, Least Roster Continuity

As usual, the 2017 NBA offseason featured a ton of player movement, with new rookies entering the league, free agents changing teams, and a total of 40 trades being completed between the end of the 2016/17 season and 2017/18’s opening night.

Some teams were more involved in that summer carousel than others. The Celtics, for instance, will enter the season carrying only four players – Al Horford, Terry Rozier, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart – who finished last season with the team. The Clippers are another team whose roster underwent significant turnover this offseason, with only five players returning from last year’s squad.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, teams like the Warriors, Bucks, and Trail Blazers made minimal changes, bringing back 12 players from last year’s rosters. That was especially impressive in Golden State’s case, since the club entered the summer with players like Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, David West, Andre Iguodala, Zaza Pachulia, Shaun Livingston, and JaVale McGee eligible for free agency — all of those players re-signed with the Dubs.

As a point of comparison, the Clippers took on more new players in their Chris Paul trade alone than clubs like the Warriors, Bucks, and Blazers added all summer.

After taking a closer look earlier today at the NBA’s youngest and oldest opening night rosters, we’ll turn our attention to the clubs with the most and least roster continuity to open the season. Listed below are the number of returning players for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, from most to fewest. Two-way players aren’t included in this list.

Bringing back a significant number of players doesn’t necessarily lead to regular season success, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a few of the teams near the top of this list enjoy fast starts due to their players’ familiarity with each other, while teams near the bottom of the list may take some time to get used to their changes.

Here’s the returning-player count for each team:

  1. Golden State Warriors: 12
  2. Milwaukee Bucks: 12
  3. Portland Trail Blazers: 12
  4. Denver Nuggets: 12
  5. Dallas Mavericks: 11
  6. Miami Heat: 11
  7. Philadelphia 76ers: 11
  8. Phoenix Suns: 11
  9. San Antonio Spurs: 11
  10. Toronto Raptors: 11
  11. Washington Wizards: 11
  12. Memphis Grizzlies: 10
  13. New Orleans Pelicans: 10
  14. Brooklyn Nets: 9
  15. Charlotte Hornets: 9
  16. Detroit Pistons: 9
  17. Houston Rockets: 9
  18. Chicago Bulls: 8
  19. Los Angeles Lakers: 8
  20. New York Knicks: 8
    • Note: The Knicks are the only team carrying 16 players to open the season.
  21. Oklahoma City Thunder: 8
  22. Orlando Magic: 8
  23. Utah Jazz: 8
  24. Atlanta Hawks: 7
  25. Cleveland Cavaliers: 7
  26. Minnesota Timberwolves: 7
  27. Sacramento Kings: 7
  28. Indiana Pacers: 6
  29. Los Angeles Clippers: 5
  30. Boston Celtics: 4
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