Which NBA Franchise Has the Most Wins?
Contents
The Los Angeles Lakers have the most wins in NBA history.
The Boston Celtics
Regular season
As of the 2018–19 season, the Boston Celtics have compiled the most regular season wins of any NBA franchise with 3,173. The Lakers are second with 3,155, followed by the Warriors with 2,927.
Playoffs
The Boston Celtics have won the most championships in NBA history with seventeen. The Lakers are second with sixteen. The Warriors are third with six. The Bulls are fourth with six as well.
The Los Angeles Lakers
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 in the 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 franchise began with the 1947 purchase of a disbanded team, the Detroit Gems of the National Basketball League (NBL). The new team began playing in Minneapolis, calling themselves the Minneapolis Lakers in honor of the state’s nickname, “Land of 10,000 Lakes”.
Regular season
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 in the 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 franchise began with the 1947 purchase of a disbanded team, the Detroit Gems of the National Basketball League (NBL). The new team began playing in Minneapolis, calling themselves the Minneapolis Lakers. Initially a member of the NBL, the Lakers won the 1948 NBL championship before joining fellow NBL teams to form an Independent Professional Basketball league where they won five championships as one league between 1948 and 1949.
The Lakers had made nine trips to the NBA Finals prior to this season (1949–50 to 1957–58), winning five championships along the way (1949–50, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1954–55, and 1955–56). Of those previous nine Finals appearances, they had been victorious in seven series while losing two: first to Syracuse in 1950 despite having won 51 games during the regular season (a then-record for wins by a rookie team); and then again five years later against Fort Wayne.
Playoffs
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 franchise began with the 1947 purchase of a disbanded team, the Detroit Gems of the National Basketball League (NBL). The new team began playing in Minneapolis, calling themselves the Minneapolis Lakers. Initially a member of the NBL, the Lakers won the 1948 NBL championship before joining the rival Basketball Association of America, where they would win five of the next six championships, led by star George Mikan. After struggling financially in 1957, they relocated to Los Angeles, where they became one-time NBA champions under new head coach Fred Schaus.
The franchise won five more championships between 2000 and 2010 under two other head coaches: first Phil Jackson, who led them to three consecutive titles between 2000 and 2002; then between 2009 and 2010 under Jackson’s former assistant Mike Brown. Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant led the team to two more consecutive championships in 2009 and 2010. As of 2019, according to Forbes Magazine, the Lakers are also tied with Boston for second-most wins in NBA Finals history with 17; both trails only behind San Antonio Spurs who have won 5 more championships than both LA teams with 22.
The Golden State Warriors
Regular season
As of the end of the 2019-2020 regular season, the Golden State Warriors have amassed the most regular season wins in NBA history with 2,563. The Warriors are followed by the Los Angeles Lakers in second place with 3,125 total wins, and the Chicago Bulls in third place with 2,494.
Playoffs
The Warriors have appeared in the NBA Playoffsabin 32 times in their 73-year history. They have qualified for the playoffs in 14 of the last 15 seasons, including each of the last five. They have won 16 playoff series and three championships, with their first title coming in 1975. The Warriors have also made two trips to the NBA Finals, in 1947 and 1956.
