Has Any Team Ever 3-Peat in the NBA?
Contents
- 1.The Three-Peat: What is it?
- 2.The last team to 3-peat: The Los Angeles Lakers
- 3.The teams with the best chance to 3-peat
- 4.What does it take to 3-peat?
- 5.The teams that have come close to a 3-peat
- 6.The teams with the most NBA Championships
- 7.What do the experts say about the chances of a 3-peat?
- 8.The players who have won 3 NBA Championships in a row
- 9.The dynasties of the NBA
- 10.The teams that have a chance to start a dynasty
The Los Angeles Lakers have won the NBA Finals three times in a row. They are the first team to do so since the Boston Celtics did it from 2008 to 2010.
1.The Three-Peat: What is it?
In basketball, a three-peat is the winning of three consecutive championships. The feat has been accomplished six times, by four different NBA teams It is considered one of the most difficult feats in all of sports.
The Boston Celtics were the first team to achieve a three-peat, winning championships in 1959, 1960, and 1961. The Los Angeles Lakers accomplished the feat twice, winning titles from 2000 to 2002 and from 2009 to 2010. The Chicago Bulls also won three consecutive championships twice, from 1991 to 1993 and from 1996 to 1998. The most recent team to achieve a three-peat were the Golden State Warriors who won titles in 2015, 2016, and 2017.
2.The last team to 3-peat: The Los Angeles Lakers
The most dominant team of the early 2000s, the Shaq and Kobe-led Lakers won three straight titles from 2000 to 2002. After losing in the NBA Finals in 2004, they won back-to-back championships again in 2009 and 2010.
3.The teams with the best chance to 3-peat
In the history of the NBA, only two teams have managed to 3-peat: The Boston Celtics did it twice, from 1959 to 1966 and then again from 1981 to 1987, while the Los Angeles Lakers did it from 2000 to 2002.
The most recent team to come close was the Lebron James led Miami Heat who went back-to-back-to-back from 2010 to 2014 but lost in the NBA Finals in 2014 to the Spurs.
The Golden State Warriors are currently in a position to 3-peat, having won the past two NBA titles They are also favorites to win the 2019 title according to Las Vegas oddsmakers.
4.What does it take to 3-peat?
It takes more than Great players and a bit of luck. It also requires staying relatively healthy and maintaining hunger and desire deep into the post-season. Three-peating is so rare because it’s very difficult to maintain such a high level of play for that long. In the last 35 years, only two teams have even come close to winning three straight titles: The Los Angeles Lakers from 2000-2002 and, more recently, the Miami Heat from 2012-2014.
5.The teams that have come close to a 3-peat
The teams that have come close to a 3-peat are the Los Angeles Lakers who lost in the 1971 NBA Finals the Boston Celtics who lost in the 1969 NBA Finals and the Chicago Bulls who lost in the 1997 NBA Finals All three of those teams won back-to-back-to-back championships.
6.The teams with the most NBA Championships
The Boston Celtics have the most NBA championships with 17. The Los Angeles Lakers have the second most, with 16. The Chicago Bulls have the third most, with 6.
7.What do the experts say about the chances of a 3-peat?
According to most experts, the chances of a team three-peating in the NBA are quite slim. In fact, it’s only happened twice in the history of the league. The first team to do it was the Minneapolis Lakers who won three straight championships from 1952 to 1954. The second team was the Boston Celtics who won eight straight titles from 1959 to 1966.
8.The players who have won 3 NBA Championships in a row
There have been eight player who have won 3 NBA championships in a row. Michael Jordan did it twice with the Chicago Bulls and Lebron James has done it twice with the Miami Heat Other players to achieve this feat are George Mikan Bill Russell Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Magic Johnson and Scottie Pippen
9.The dynasties of the NBA
Since the NBA was established in 1946, there have been a number of dominant teams that have won multiple championships in a row. In fact, since the league expanded to include more than just eight teams in 1950, there have been 16 different teams that have won at least two championships in a row. Of those 16 teams, nine have gone on to win three or more championships in a row, which is commonly referred to as a “three-peat.”
The most recent team to accomplish this feat was the Los Angeles Lakers who won three consecutive championships from 2000-2002. Prior to that, the Chicago Bulls won three straight titles on two separate occasions (1991-1993 and 1996-1998), while the Boston Celtics also accomplished the feat twice (1959-1966 and 1984-1986).
Other teams that have won three or more consecutive titles include the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers (1949-1954), the New York Knicks (1970-1973), the Detroit Pistons (1989-1990) and the Houston Rockets (1994-1995).
Interestingly, no team has ever won four straight NBA championships though there have been a number of teams that have come close. The Lakers came close on several occasions, most recently falling short in 2004 after winning three straight titles. The Bulls also came close on two separate occasions, but were unable to win more than three championships in a row.
10.The teams that have a chance to start a dynasty
The Boston Celtics Los Angeles Lakers Miami Heat and Golden State Warriors are the only teams to have won 3 or more consecutive NBA Championships since the NBA was founded in 1949. The Warriors are currently in the process of trying to 3-peat, having won the championship in 2017 and 2018. The Celtics were the first team to 3-peat, winning championships in 1959, 1960, and 1961.