The NBA Players Who Played ZERO Minutes in a Season
These guys played so briefly their time didn’t even register.
A few months ago, I took a look at the NBA players who played the fewest minutes per game in their seasons and careers. However, because the lowest minimum requirement for games played used was 10, I cut out the players who truly had the shortest seasons and careers. In fact, there have been three times in NBA history where a player recorded zero minutes in a season. And for two of those players, that zero minute total represents their entire careers.
Now, you might be thinking, “Connor, what are you talking about? How can someone be considered a player if they never got into a game? I haven’t played in an NBA game this season, but I don’t count!” And as long as you aren’t one of the 529 people who actually have appeared in an NBA game this season, that’s true.
But here’s the deal. There really have been three people who have played in an NBA regular-season game but finished that same season with zero minutes played. Let me explain.
When calculating a player’s total minutes played, the NBA rounds to the nearest minute. So, if someone plays 19 minutes and 43 seconds in a game, that’s 20 minutes. If they play 20 minutes and 26 seconds, that’s also 20 minutes. This means that if a player appears in at least one game during a season but records a total of fewer than 30 seconds played, they officially played zero minutes in the season.
Before we examine each of these three “zero-minute” seasons, it’s worth noting that the concept of a zero-minute season only dates back to 1996–97, the first season the NBA recorded playing time for each player in a game down to the second. It’s possible someone accomplished the feat beforehand as 10 players are officially down as having played one minute in a season prior to 1996, with that minute accounting for the entire careers of five of them (Forest Able, Norm Grekin, Cedric Hunter, Dave Scholz, and Barry Sumpter), but it’s impossible to know for sure.
And lastly, a shout out to Andy Panko, who just barely misses the cut by playing 33 seconds in his only career game, which came with the Hawks in 2001.
Alright. Let’s get down to business. We’ll be working our way down to the shortest of the zero-minute seasons, and that means we start with the only one of the three players to have appeared in multiple games in their season and to have spent more than one year in the league, Damion James.
Damion James (23.4 Seconds, 2012–13)
A fellow graduate of the University of Texas (Hook ’em Horns!), James was part of a spectacular 2006 recruiting class which also included Kevin Durant, D.J. Augustin, and Dexter Pittman, all of whom would make the NBA.
After four years of college ball, James was selected with the 24th pick of the 2010 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks, who immediately traded his rights to the then-named New Jersey Nets.
As a rookie, James played in 25 games, starting nine of them, and averaged 4.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per contest. Unfortunately, he missed a good portion of the season due to a broken right foot, and after starting the first seven games of the lockout-shortened 2011–12 season, James underwent season-ending surgery to replace a screw in that foot.
That would mark a temporary end to James’ Nets career as he became an unrestricted free agent the following offseason. James was signed by the Hawks, who had originally drafted him, but was cut days before the start of the regular season. After starting the year with the NBA D-League’s Bakersfield Jam, he signed a 10-day contract in January with the relocated Brooklyn Nets.
During that time, James played in two NBA games before heading back to the Jam. The first came on January 15, 2013, when the Nets hosted the Toronto Raptors. James played the final 3.2 seconds of the first half and then the last 13.7 seconds of the game, by which point the Nets were closing out a seven-point victory. On the final play of the game, James rebounded a Terrence Ross miss, recording what would be his only stat of the season.
James’ second appearance came six days later on January 21, with the Nets making the six-mile journey to take on the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. With the Nets up three with 8.3 seconds left, James entered the game for Brook Lopez.
The Nets fouled up three, with just eight-tenths of a second coming off the clock. With Brooklyn set to regain possession fouling the free throws, James was taken out of the game, only to enter for the final 5.7 seconds after the Knicks fouled to stay in the game. The Nets held on for an 88–85 win, and James finished the game having played just 6.5 seconds.
And that was it for the season. Two games, 23.4 seconds, one rebound. James would play in his final five NBA games in April 2014 for the San Antonio Spurs after joining the team on a 10-day deal and then being signed for the remainder of the season.
The Spurs went on to win the NBA Championship, though James never appeared during the playoff run. Damion James may have recorded a zero-minute season, but he also has more rings than Charles Barkley, so who can say who the better player really was?
Alex Scales (9.2 Seconds, 2005–06)
If you enjoyed the tale of Damion James but kept thinking to yourself, “He got to play 23.4 seconds that year? That’s so much time!”, boy do I have something for you.
After attending high school in Wisconsin, Alex Scales first went to San Jacinto College before transferring to Oregon. Scales averaged over 15 points per game in two seasons with the Ducks but went undrafted in 2000 and began his career in the Serie A2, the second tier of Italian basketball.
Over the next few years, Scales played in China, Argentina, the now-defunct USA-based Continental Basketball Association, the D-League, and South Korea before signing with the Spurs in November 2005 after averaging 5.6 points per game in the preseason with the Seattle SuperSonics but failing to make the team.
Scales was a Spur for just 12 days before being released, but he did manage to see action (albeit very briefly) on November 19, when San Antonio hosted the Phoenix Suns. With just 9.2 seconds left and the Spurs leading by six points, Scales came in to replace Robert Horry.
The game ended with a missed three by Suns forward Jim Jackson and a rebound by Tim Duncan, meaning Scales never as much as attempted a shot in his NBA career before heading to the D-League’s Austin Toros and then back overseas. But for a short moment in time, the Spurs’ on-court lineup was as follows: Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Bruce Bowen, Tim Duncan, and Alex Scales. That’s pretty cool.
Scales’ journey was far from over. He was playing professionally in India as recently as 2017 and even reached the championship of The Basketball Tournament in 2015 with Team 23. With a pro career spanning more than 15 years, very few players have enjoyed a career as long as Scales’.
In the latter stages of his career, Scales additionally became something of a trick-shot artist on his Instagram, leading to a 2016 write-up for ESPN. And just last month, Scales played in The 5 Tournament in Las Vegas featuring a host of former NBA players. Still hooping at 42, Scales is a certified baller.
But he only has the second-shortest zero-minute season and career in NBA history…
JamesOn Curry (3.9 Seconds, 2009–10)
JamesOn Curry’s name sounds like a line of commentary from a recent NBA Finals. He didn’t quite play for a title himself, but still managed to see the court for almost as long as it takes John Ross to run the 40-yard dash.
Curry finished his high school career as North Carolina’s all-time leading scorer (a mark since passed by Coby White) before attending Oklahoma State for three seasons. In the 2007 NBA Draft, Curry was taken 51st by the Chicago Bulls, but he spent most of his rookie season in the D-League and never appeared in an NBA game.
In July of 2008, Curry was waived by the Bulls. After a quick stint in Europe, he headed back to the D-League, eventually playing well enough with the Springfield Armor to be signed by the Los Angeles Clippers on January 22, 2010.
Three days later, the Clippers were on the road taking on the Boston Celtics. Curry was subbed into the game with 3.9 seconds left in the third quarter and briefly guarded Rajon Rondo until the horn sounded. And that was it for Jameson Curry’s time in the league. The Celtics won the game, and Curry was released the very next day. No one has ever had a shorter NBA career.
Curry continued playing professionally through 2014 when he suffered a season-ending injury while playing in the D-League for the Bakersfield Jam, where he was a teammate of one Damion James. It’s a small world.
So there you have it. Three NBA players that each finished a season with less than 30 seconds, or, officially, zero minutes played. They didn’t quite get their 15 minutes of fame at the time, but because of just how funny enough, because of how minuscule an impact they made in those seasons, we’re still talking about them today.
Connor Groel is a writer with a Bachelor’s degree in sport management from the University of Texas at Austin. He also serves as editor of the Top Level Sports publication on Medium. His book, “Sports, Technology, and Madness,” is available now. You can follow Connor on Medium, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, and view his archives at toplevelsports.net.
