Listing the Top 5 franchises to have won the most NBA championships since the league's inception [Including LA Lakers and Boston Celtics]
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The NBA celebrated its 75th year anniversary last season. The Golden State Warriors emerged as champions last campaign and added their name to the history books. Some of the best teams in the league have all lifted the Larry O’Brien trophy. The NBA has seen teams lift multiple trophies as well and dominate for decades in the sport. In today’s article, we list 5 teams to win the most NBA championships.
The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most historic franchises in the NBA. They have featured in 32 NBA Finals out of which they have won 17, which is the joint most for any team in the league. The team originally started in the league as the Minneapolis Lakers, but in 1960 moved to Los Angeles. From thereon they started their historic run of bagging titles. After having won 5 of the possible 6 championships between 1949-1954, the team faced a string of defeats in the NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics.
Post that the Kareem Abdul – Jabbar and Magic Johnson era started in LA and that helped them to dominate the league in the 1980s’. After facing a lot of disappointments in the mid and late 90s’, the team once again came to prominence as Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant led the Purple and Gold to a three-peat by winning championships in 2000, 2001 and 2002. They made the Finals the following year but bowed down to the brilliance of the Detroit Pistons. The team was unable to make a deep playoff run after Shaquille O’Neal left, but in 2008, Kobe once again helped the franchise to the Finals.
Although the Purple and Gold lost there the first time, they bounced back strongly by winning two continuous NBA championships in 2009 and 2010. Following those triumphs was a tough decade for the Lakers. They fell out of the playoffs 6 out of the 9 years between 2010-2019. However, LeBron James came to the side in 2018 and lifted them to glory by helping them win a championship in 2020.
The Boston Celtics are right alongside the Lakers with the most NBA championship. They had a chance to take a lead in that race during the 2022 NBA Finals, but the Golden State Warriors proved to be too good for them. The Celtics won their first championship in 1957. From thereon started the sheer dominance of the team from Boston.
Led by a charismatic Bill Russell, the team went on to win 8 consecutive NBA championships between 1959-1966. The iconic center helped them get to 11 championships before retiring from the game in 1969. Post that the Celtics renewed their rivalry with the Lakers in the 80s’, where Larry Bird helped the team win 3 championships.
After that was a period of a disappointment for the Celtics. It was only in 2008 that the team then made the biggest stage again. They were up against their arch-rivals, the Lakers, who they defeated 4-2 to lift their 17th championship.
The Golden State Warriors made a move up the list only after their triumph last season. It was their fourth championship in the last eight years. Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala have all been a part of these teams. Prior to these dynasty years, the Warriors also had three other championship runs which came during the 1947,1956 and 1975 seasons.
The Chicago Bulls were a team that came into the league in 1966. However, it took them 25 years to find silverware after Michael Jordan led them to an NBA championship in 1991. After a series of losses to the Detroit Pistons in the Conference Finals, the Bulls finally managed to get over the line that season and what followed was one of the most iconic runs for any team in the league.
MJ led the franchise to 6 championships, which included two three-peats. The team’s last championship came in 19998, where they defeated the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Spurs are a side that was one of the most consistent sides in the NBA. From 1998, the team went on a 22-season streak where they made the playoffs every season. It is one of the toughest records to hold, but with players like Tim Duncan, Many Ginobili and Tony Parker at the helm for a while, the Spurs made it possible.
The team a championship in 1999 and stuck around while the Lakers dominated the West only for them to take over by winning a championship in 2003. They continued their brilliance and went on to win titles in 2005,2007 and 2014 as well.
