A word of warning before we get into it- this isn't perfect. The HTML does not include the 2015 season, due to whatever issue happened to the file that year. So this data does not yet reflect who players played for in that season. At a later time, I may take a deep dive into that season and add to the list, but now is not that time.
Also there are a few times where I've observed a team name not showing up in the HTML when a player is traded midseason, only showing the last team he played for that year, there's really not much I can do about that one.
So let's get into it:
Patrick Beverley is the CSL's ultimate journeyman. Out of 1043 players that have ever played in the CSL, he is the only one who can say he has played for half the league.
In 11 years, Beverley has worn 15 different jerseys since the league's inception, alone at the top of the mountain of journeymen. After being traded from Houston 19 games into his first CSL season, he's spent time with Sacramento, Denver, New Orleans, Phoenix (2015 only, so not included in the HTML), New Orleans, New York, Boston, Chicago, Memphis, Miami, Indiana, Minnesota, Charlotte, Brooklyn, and Golden State. The 35-year-old vet is currently a free agent and looking for Team #16.
He comes out two ahead of a 9 way tie of players that have played for 13 teams - Isaiah Thomas, Roy Hibbert, Dario Saric, Nicolas Batum, Thomas Robinson, Andrew Bynum, Cliff Alexander, Ramon Sessions, and Tyreke Evans are all part of the 13 club. Cliff Alexander is a shocking inclusion on this list, as he is just 26 years of age, and is probably not even halfway through his career yet.
I will link the full excel file for those who want to check out the complete lists, or just post the lists here if I'm able.
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The other half of this post of mostly useless information, is the reverse- which teams have burned through the most and fewest players?
The team that has had the most players is the Clippers, who at the time of the engine switch, can claim they have had 197 different players don their uniforms. 18.9% of all players in CSL history, have at one point played for the Clippers. The Clippers have always had trade-happy GMs (looking at you blackice and Dylan), and it is no surprise that they have a significant lead over everyone else. Rounding out the top 3 are New York (179) and Houston (177).
The teams that have seen the least turnover over the years are very unsurprising- the 76ers, who have had a very hands-off GM for the majority of the league's history, have had just 57 different players over the years, a very tiny number. The next two, Sacramento and Phoenix (at 77 and 83 respectively) valued continuity over the years and have largely been happy with their cores that have won each of them a pair of championship rings.
Full list:
Los Angeles (C) 197
New York 179
Houston 177
Washington 169
Oklahoma City 158
Indiana 155
Denver 152
New Orleans 151
Miami 143
Dallas 139
Chicago 137
San Antonio 134
Charlotte 132
Minnesota 132
Atlanta 130
Boston 130
Los Angeles (L) 129
Milwaukee 129
Utah 128
Brooklyn 123
Memphis 123
Orlando 121
Detroit 115
Golden State 114
Toronto 110
Cleveland 100
Portland 97
Phoenix 83
Sacramento 77
Philadelphia 57
2020, 2023, 2027
