Who Has Won the Most NBA Finals?
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Although the Lakers have won the most NBA Finals in history, the Warriors have won the most Finals in the past five years.
Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan is widely considered to be the greatest basketball player of all time. He was a dominant force on the court during his time with the Chicago Bulls, winning six NBA Finals titles. Jordan also won two Olympic gold medals and was named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player five times. Let’s take a closer look at Michael Jordan’s impressive career.
6x NBA Finals Champion
Michael Jordan is a six-time NBA Finals champion, winning six championships with the Chicago Bulls. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest basketball players of all time.
6x NBA Finals MVP
Michael Jordan is widely considered to be the greatest basketball player of all time. He was a 6-time NBA Finals MVP, 10-time NBA scoring champion, 14-time NBA All-Star, and 3-time NBA All-Star Game MVP. Jordan won six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls and was a member of the “Dream Team” that won gold at the 1992 Olympic Games.
Magic Johnson
When it comes to basketball greatness, there are few players who can compare to Magic Johnson. A five-time NBA champion, Johnson was named Finals MVP three times and is widely considered one of the best point guards of all time. He also won an Olympic gold medal in 1992.
5x NBA Finals Champion
From his rookie season with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1979 to his final season with the team in 1991, Magic Johnson was one of the most influential and successful players in NBA history. He was a five-time NBA Finals champion, three-time NBA Most Valuable Player, and 12-time NBA All-Star.
After his playing career, Johnson became a successful business entrepreneur, founding or co-founding several companies in a variety of industries. He also became an active philanthropist, donating his time and money to various charitable causes. In 2012, he was appointed chairman and CEO of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.
3x NBA Finals MVP
In his first season with the Lakers, Johnson led the team to a then-record 62nd win in the 1980–81 season. The team lost only one more game than they had in their championship season of 1971–72. During the playoffs, they won 12 games in a row en route to defeating the Houston Rockets in five games in the Western Conference Finals, before losing to the Philadelphia 76ers in six games in the NBA Finals. Johnson averaged 21.5 points, 11.2 assists, and 8 rebounds per game for the series, and was named NBA Finals MVP for his play.
LeBron James
LeBron James has been to the NBA Finals nine times in his career, winning three championships. He’s been to the Finals with three different teams: the Miami Heat, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Los Angeles Lakers. He’s also been named the NBA Finals MVP three times. LeBron is the only player in NBA history to average a triple-double in the Finals.
3x NBA Finals Champion
LeBron James is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely considered one of the greatest NBA players in history, James is frequently compared to Michael Jordan in debates over the greatest basketball player of all time. He has won four NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Awards, four NBA Finals MVP Awards, and two Olympic gold medals. James has also been selected to 15 NBA All-Star teams, 17 All-NBA teams, and six All-Defensive teams, and is the all-time NBA playoffs scoring leader.
3x NBA Finals MVP
LeBron James is a 3x NBA Finals MVP, winning the award in 2012, 2013, and 2016. He is also a 4x NBA MVP, winning the award in 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2013. In his career, James has played in 10 NBA Finals.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is an American retired professional basketball player who played 20 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers. During his career as a center, Abdul-Jabbar was a record six-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), a record 19-time NBA All-Star, a 15-time All-NBA selection, and an 11-time NBA All-Defensive Team member. A member of six NBA championship teams as a player and two more as an assistant coach, Abdul-Jabbar twice was voted NBA Finals MVP.
6x NBA Finals Champion
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a retired American professional basketball player who is currently the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. During his 20-year career with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers, he won six NBA championships, five MVP awards, and was a 19-time All-Star. Abdul-Jabbar was also a member of the 1992 United States men’s Olympic gold medal basketball team known as the “Dream Team”.
In 1996, he was honored as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. NCAA named him one of its 100 Greatest Players of all time in 2007. He is one of only four players to receive this honor. Also in 2007, Kareem was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. His biography on the NBA website states that he “is considered one of the greatest basketball players ever”. On April 16, 2008, ESPN voted him the greatest center of all time.
2x NBA Finals MVP
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a retired American professional basketball player who played 20 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers. During his career as a center, Abdul-Jabbar was a record six-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), a record 19-time NBA All-Star, a 15-time All-NBA selection, and an 11-time NBA All-Defensive Team member. A member of six NBA championship teams as a player and two more as an assistant coach, Abdul-Jabbar twice was voted NBA Finals MVP. In 1996, he was honored as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. NBA coach Pat Riley and players LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neal have called him the greatest basketball player of all time.
After winning 71 consecutive basketball games on his high school team in New York City, Abdul-Jabbar accepted a scholarship to play for John Wooden and the UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team. He played for Wooden, earning three consecutive College Player of the Year Awards, before being selected by the Bucks in 1969 with the first overall pick in the NBA draft. He won Rookie of the Year honors playing for Milwaukee under head coach Larry Costello. After seven seasons with the Bucks, during which he averaged more than 24 points per game each year, he was traded to Los Angeles in 1975 in exchange for Elmore Smith, Junior Bridgeman, and Brian Winters.
Bill Russell
Bill Russell has the most NBA Championships of any player in history, winning 11 championships in his 13-year career. He is also a five-time NBA MVP and a 12-time NBA All-Star. Russell was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1974.
11x NBA Finals Champion
Bill Russell is an American basketball player who played center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. A five-time NBA Most Valuable Player and a twelve-time All-Star, he was the centerpiece of the Celtics dynasty that won eleven NBA championships during his thirteen-year career. Russell and Henri Richard of the Montreal Canadiens are tied for the record of the most championships won by an athlete in a North American professional sports league with eleven. Russell led Boston to victory in seven of his eleven NBA Finals appearances, winning an unprecedented eight consecutive championships from 1959 to 1966; this streak is considered one of the greatest achievements in sports. He is widely considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time.
5x NBA Finals MVP
Russell averaged a double-double for his career with 15.1 points per game and
10.3 rebounds per game. He is widely considered to be one of the best defensive players in NBA history. In his 21 seasons, Russell led the Boston Celtics to 11 NBA Championships, including eight (8) in a row from 1959 to 1966. He also won five MVP awards in those Finals, which is the most all time.