How Many NBA Teams Have Won a Championship?

We take a look at how many NBA teams have won a championship, and whether or not winning one is essential to success in the league.

NBA Championships by Team

The NBA championship is the pinnacle of success for any team in the league. A championship team is remembered forever and the players and coaches go down in history. Winning a championship is the goal of every team, but it is not easy to do. Only a few teams have been able to win an NBA championship.

Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics have the most NBA championships with 17, as of 2020. The team is also tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most NBA Finals appearances, with 31. The Celtics have played in the NBA Finals 22 times, winning nine times.

Los Angeles Lakers

As of 2020, the Lakers have won the NBA championship a total of 17 times. This puts them in first place for the most championships won, tied with the Boston Celtics. The Lakers have won the championship in the following years: 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1972, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010.

Golden State Warriors

The Golden State Warriors are a professional basketball team based in Oakland, California. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Western Conference Pacific Division. The Warriors have won three NBA championships, four Western Conference championships, and one NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award.

NBA Championships by Year

There have been a total of 73 NBA teams that have won a championship. The first team to win a championship was the Boston Celtics, who won in the year 1947. The most recent team to win a championships is the Toronto Raptors, who won in the year 2019.

2019

The Golden State Warriors won the 2019 NBA Championship, defeating the Toronto Raptors in six games. It was the Warriors’ third consecutive championship, and fourth in five seasons.

2018

The 2018 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA)’s 2017–18 season and conclusion of the season’s playoffs. In this best-of-seven playoff, the defending NBA champions and Western Conference champions Golden State Warriors swept the Eastern Conference champions Cleveland Cavaliers 4–0. This Finals was the first time in NBA history two teams had faced each other for a fourth consecutive year. The Warriors won their second consecutive title, their third in four seasons, and their fourth overall.

2017

The 2017 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA)’s 2016–17 season and concluded the season’s playoffs. The Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors defeated the defending NBA champion and Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers 4–1 in a best-of-seven series. This was the third consecutive meeting of the two teams in the Finals, after playing each other in 2015 and 2016. Kevin Durant was named the Finals MVP with his first championship, averaging 34.2 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists per game.

NBA Championships by Player

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, with six championships, Robert Horry and Scottie Pippen, with seven each, have won the most NBA championships as players. Abdul-Jabbar won five championships with the Milwaukee Bucks and one with the Los Angeles Lakers, while Horry won two championships with the Houston Rockets, three with the Lakers and two with the San Antonio Spurs. Pippen won six championships with the Chicago Bulls and one with the Spurs.

LeBron James

LeBron James has played on 3 NBA championship teams: the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013 and the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016.

Michael Jordan

Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American former professional basketball player who is the principal owner and chairman of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 15 seasons in the NBA, winning six championships with the Chicago Bulls. His biography on the official NBA website states: “By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time.” Jordan was one of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation and was considered instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s.

Jordan played three seasons for coach Dean Smith at the University of North Carolina. As a freshman, he was a member of the Tar Heels’ national championship team in 1982. Jordan joined the Bulls in 1984 as the third overall draft pick. He quickly emerged as a league star and entertained crowds with his prolific scoring. His leaping ability, demonstrated by performing slam dunks from the free throw line in Slam Dunk Contests, earned him nicknames such as “Air Jordan” and “His Airness”. He also gained a reputation for being one of the best defensive players in basketball. In 1991, he won his first NBA championship with the Bulls, and followed that achievement with titles in 1992 and 1993, securing a “three-peat”. Although Jordan temporarily retired from basketball before the beginning of the 1993–94 NBA season to pursue a career baseball as an outfielder for Minor League Baseball affiliate Birmingham Barons, he returned to play for Chicago midway through that season. He helped lead Chicago to an additional championship three-peat in 1996, winning 5th title overall.

Jordan’s individual accolades and accomplishments include six NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) Awards, ten scoring titles (both all-time records), thirty-six All-Star Game selections (an NBA record), an All-Star Game MVP Award, ten All-NBA First Team designations, nine All-Defensive First Team honors (also an NBA record), fourteen NBA All-Star Game appearances (an all-time record), three All-Star MVP Awards,[2] ten regular season MVP Awards (an NBA record), five Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Awards (an NBA record), an Olympic gold medal,[3] and various other awards. In 1999 he was named by Sports Illustrated as one of “”the 50 Greatest Athletes of All Time””,[4] and named one by ESPN as one “”of 25 most dominant athletes over last 25 years””.

Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bean Bryant is an American former professional basketball player. He played his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He won five NBA championships.