<Tr> <Td> Pos </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Position </Td> <Td> Guard </Td> <Td> Forward </Td> <Td> Center </Td> </Tr> <P> The oldest player ever to play in the NBA was Nat Hickey who played one game in the 1947--48 season when he was 45 years and 363 days old . Hickey, who was coaching the Providence Steamrollers at the time, decided to activate himself and played in a game for the Steamrollers . In his first and only game as a player for the Steamrollers, he missed all six of his shot attempts and only scored two points from three free throw attempts . The second oldest player is Kevin Willis . Willis, who had played 20 seasons (excluding the 1988--89 season he missed due to injury) in the league before he sat out the 2005--06 season and earned a contract with the Dallas Mavericks on April 2, 2007 . He then played 5 games for the Mavericks at the age of 44 . The third oldest player is Hall of Famer Robert Parish . Parish, who starred with the Boston Celtics in the 1980s, played his last season with the Chicago Bulls at the age of 43 . He played in 1,611 regular season games during his 21 - year career, more than any other player in NBA history . When the Bulls won the 1997 Finals, Parish became the oldest player ever to win the NBA championship . There are currently 27 players who played in the NBA after they turned 40 . </P> <P> The oldest active player is Vince Carter, who is now 40 years old . Carter played his first game in 1999 and is playing his 20th season . Carter along with Manu Ginóbili, Jason Terry, and Dirk Nowitzki are the only players who were born in 1979 or earlier and are still active and under contract with an NBA team . Eleven players total, however, are born in 1980 or earlier and still play in the NBA . </P>

Who is the oldest nba player in history