NBA Teams with the Most Championships

The NBA teams with the most championships tower over the other teams in the league. And they're all rivals!

Just like other leagues, the NBA has its own biggest winners. Want to learn which NBA teams boast the most championships? Read all about them in our post today.

NBA teams with the most championships

Some of the teams on the list will surprise you. Not all of them are super famous!

1. Boston Celtics: NBA teams

The green, white and black bearing team is the NBA team with the most championships to date. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, the Celtics have 17 championships and are a part of the Eastern Conference Atlantic Division.

As a clear nod to the Irish, which explains the green, the Boston Celtics formed in 1946. Their golden years followed some time after their formation from 1957 to 1969. During that period they won 11 championships, eight of which consecutively.

They brought their victory count up to 17 by winning twice in the seventies and three more times in the eighties. After a 22-year-long dry spell, they finally won again in 2008 against the LA Lakers.

We also want to mention star center Bill Russell who has 11 rings–nine as a player and two as a player-coach. Russell is the player with the most awards in NBA history.

2. LA Lakers

The Lakers are one of the most famous NBA teams in the world and boast 16 championships. The purple and gold team belong to the Western Conference Pacific Division. One of their biggest rivals is–no surprise here–the Celtics.

The Lakers call the Staples Center home. They won their first championship in 1949. They later claimed five more championships in the fifties, one in the seventies, another five in the eighties and the rest in the new millennium.

The Lakers also boast the record of most consecutive wins (33 games) and 17 Lakers players have entered the Basketball Hall of Fame such as Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kareen Abdul-Jabbar.

3. Chicago Bulls: NBA teams

There’s a lot of animosity between the Celtic and the Lakers…and the rest of the biggest NBA teams as well. The Bulls claim six championships, all from the nineties thanks to the amazing team and of course, Michael Jordan.

The Bulls don red, black and white, are based in Chicago, Illinois and were founded in 1966. They’ve been playing in United Center since 1994, which accommodates nearly 22,000 fans.

4. Golden State Warriors

The Warriors are one of the hottest winners in recent times. The team has changed its name three times– Philadelphia Warriors, San Francisco Warriors and finally, the Golden State Warriors–and claim six NBA championships.

The Warriors proudly wear royal blue and golden yellow along with the image of the Golden Gate Bridge. They’re part of the Western Conference Pacific Division. Their wins were in the years 1947, 1956, 1975, 2015 and 2018.

5. San Antonio Spurs

The Texan team is next on the list of NBA teams with the most championships. They boast five victories, all of which were won with Tim Duncan on the team.

The San Antonio Spurs first came to be in 1967 but donned a different name at the time: the Dallas Chaparrals. In 1970, they switched to the Texas Chaparrals and in 1973, they changed their name again to the San Antonio Spurs.

The Spurs, who are in the Western Conference Southwest Division, have won their titles in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2013 and 2014. Aside from Duncan, other important players included Tony Parker, Emanuel Ginóbili, David Robinson and George Gervin, all of whom have retired since.

Top off our list of NBA teams with the most championships, we also want to highlight the Detroit Pistons, Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers who have all won three championships each. And lastly, the Houston Rockets and the New York Knicks also deserve an honorable mention with two titles each.