G · 14 seasons · 1978-79 – 1996-97
Two lenses, two verdicts. John Long ranks 1111th by career totals and 961st per game. 1987-88 was the high-water mark, worth +3.3, 58th that season and 4955th of 24,555 player-seasons on record. Career value accumulated in free-throw percentage (+13.0), points (+5.6) and steals (+4.0), and drained away in field-goal percentage (-7.6), blocks (-6.0) and rebounds (-5.2). He rates 150 places better per game than on totals, and that gap is the durability story in one number.
| Season ↑ | Tm | GP | Z | Szn | All-Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978-79 | DET | 82 | 1.00 | #89 | #8,530 |
| 1979-80 | DET | 69 | 3.17 | #61 | #5,151 |
| 1980-81 | DET | 59 | 0.18 | #126 | #10,050 |
| 1981-82 | DET | 69 | 2.69 | #65 | #5,805 |
| 1982-83 | DET | 70 | -2.47 | #207 | #15,613 |
| 1983-84 | DET | 82 | 2.68 | #71 | #5,812 |
| 1984-85 | DET | 66 | 0.75 | #110 | #9,005 |
| 1985-86 | DET | 62 | -1.04 | #171 | #12,405 |
| 1986-87 | IND | 80 | 1.05 | #110 | #8,443 |
| 1987-88★ | IND | 81 | 3.32 | #58 | #4,955 |
| 1988-89 | DET | 68 | -2.73 | #229 | #16,262 |
| 1989-90 | ATL | 48 | -2.11 | #222 | #14,786 |
| 1990-91 | DET | 25 | -3.53 | #294 | #18,750 |
| 1996-97 | TOR | 32 | -3.52 | #322 | #18,721 |
★ Best season by Z (season totals)