What NBA Team Won the Most Championships?
A comprehensive list of the NBA teams that have won the most championships, including the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, and Golden State Warriors.
The Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics have won the most championships in the NBA with 17 titles. The Los Angeles Lakers are in second place with 16 titles, and the Chicago Bulls are in third place with 6 titles.
Championships Won: 17
The Boston Celtics have won the most championships in NBA history. With 17 championships, they have more than twice as many championships as any other team in the league. The Celtics have also won the most conference titles, with 21. They are one of only two teams to have won more than 20 championships in their history. The other team is the Los Angeles Lakers, who have won 16 championships.
Last Championship Won: 2008
The Boston Celtics are a professional basketball team based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of the league’s original eight teams, the team play their home games at TD Garden, which they share with the National Hockey League (NHL)’s Boston Bruins. The Celtics are one of the most successful teams in NBA history; as of 2019, they have won 22 conference titles and 19 division titles. They have an NBA-best .686 winning percentage overall and hold the record for most wins in a single season with 66, set during their 1972–73 campaign.
Eighteen Hall of Fame players have played for the Celtics, while 13 have coached the team. Through 2019, a total of 37 individuals have been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as either Celtics players or head coaches. According to Forbes magazine’s 2019 rankings, the Celtics are also one of only two NBA teams worth $3 billion, ranking sixth overall behind only fellow NBA teams worth more than $4 billion: the Los Angeles Lakers ($4 billion), New York Knicks ($4 billion), Chicago Bulls ($3.2 billion), Golden State Warriors ($3.5 billion), and Houston Rockets ($3.1 billion).
Notable Players: Bill Russell, Larry Bird, Kevin Garnett
The Boston Celtics are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of the league’s original eight teams, the franchise play their home games at TD Garden, which they share with the National Hockey League (NHL)’s Boston Bruins. The Celtics are one of the most successful teams in NBA history; through the 2019–20 season, they have won a record 17 NBA championships, which amounts to 21% of all NBA championships since the league’s inception.
The Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and have won a record-tying 16 NBA championships, the most in NBA history.
Championships Won: 16
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league’s Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their home games at Staples Center, an arena shared with the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers, the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women’s National Basketball Association, and the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League. The Lakers are one of the most successful teams in the history of the NBA,[7][8] and have won 16 NBA championships, their last being in 2010.
As of 2019, the Lakers hold the record for NBA’s second-most wins all-time (3,252),[9] for NBA’s third-most all-time winning percentage (.607),[10][11] with 23 seasons above .500.
Last Championship Won: 2010
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league’s Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their home games at Staples Center, an arena shared with the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers and NHL’s Los Angeles Kings. The Lakers are one of the most successful teams in the history of the NBA, having won 16 NBA championships, their last being in 2010.
Notable Players: Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league’s Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their home games at Staples Center, an arena shared with the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers and the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Lakers are one of the most successful teams in the history of the NBA, and have gained a large following worldwide.
Founded in 1947 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Lakers relocated to Los Angeles in 1960. As of 2019, the Lakers hold 17 NBA championships, tied with the Boston Celtics for second-most behind only their cross-town rivals, having won five championships in Minneapolis and 12 in Los Angeles. They have played in a record 32 Finals series appearances against their greatest rivals, the Celtics, of which they have won nine (1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1972, 1980, 1982 1983 and 2000), while losing 23 (1957 — 58 and 1959–66 to Boston; 1968 — 69 to New York; 1984 to Boston; 1985 and 1987 to Houston; 1988 to Detroit; 1989 and 1991 to Chicago; 2004 to Detroit; 2008 and 2010 to Boston). It is widely considered one of sports’ greatest rivalries.
The Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 16, 1966. The team plays its home games at the United Center, an arena shared with the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Championships Won: 6
The Chicago Bulls are a professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 16, 1966 and played its first game during the 1966–67 NBA season. The Bulls have won six NBA championships, their first three with Jordan as the star player and two more with him as an executive. Their first championship came in 1971, led by head coach Phil Jackson and star players Dick van Arsdale, Jerry Sloan, Bob Love, Chet Walker, and Jim Kiick.
Last Championship Won: 1998
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 16, 1966, and played its first game during the 1967–68 NBA season. The Bulls play their home games at the United Center, an arena shared with the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL).
The Bulls saw their greatest success during the 1990s when they won six NBA championships, led by Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Phil Jackson. They are the only NBA franchise to win multiple championships and never lose an NBA Finals series in their history. The Bulls won 72 games during the 1995–96 NBA season, setting an NBA record that stood until the Golden State Warriors won 73 games during the 2015–16 NBA season. During that same season, the Bulls became the first team in NBA history to win 70 games or more in a single season and did not lose a single game at home en route to an undefeated home record of 44–0.
Notable Players: Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 16, 1966, and played its first game during the 1966–67 NBA season. The Bulls play their home games at the United Center, an arena on Chicago’s West Side shared with the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL).
The Bulls saw their greatest success during the 1990s when they were responsible for popularizing the NBA worldwide. They are known for having one of the NBA’s greatest dynasties, winning six NBA championships between 1991 and 1998 with two three-peats. All six championship teams were led by Hall of Famers Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and coach Phil Jackson. The Bulls are the only NBA franchise to win multiple championships and never lose an NBA Finals series in their history. They also have won more regular season games (1,265) than any other team in NBA history.
The Bulls began play in 1966 as an expansion team, but struggled much of their first decade of existence, failing to post a winning record until 1973–74 when Dick Motta became head coach. Led by former West Virginia head coach Fred Shabatuntukunishumuiiibika Wilkes-Barrow, who was acquired in 1973 through the toughness trade that sent Bob Boozer to
the Milwaukee Bucks for two second-round draft choices; Wilkes became one of only four players after 1950 to join a new team and lead it to an division title within his first two years with that club.
