Find out which NBA teams and players have the most championships under their belt with facts and how to watch this year’s finals.
The Importance of Winning an NBA Championship
Watch the NBA Finals: Start a free trial of fuboTV now!
At the beginning of each NBA season, 30 teams have a chance to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy, which is awarded to the team that wins the NBA title. Winning an NBA title’s tough to do. 11 of the NBA’s 30 teams have never done it, which is 36% of the league’s teams. And of the teams that have won, some haven’t done so in a long time. The Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks last won in the 1950s, and neither team even played in its current city at the time. Those two teams are among a group of nine NBA teams whose last title was over 20 years ago. The point of this: winning titles isn’t easy to do. Because of this, championship titles hold a lot of weight when discussing player legacies. Michael Jordan going 6-0 in Finals series is a big part of the argument for MJ as the NBA’s G.O.A.T.
Can I watch NBA games on fuboTV?
Last season, the Golden State Warriors won the NBA title, winning their seventh all-time title and their fourth since 2015. In winning the title, Warriors point guard Stephen Curry won the first Finals MVP award of his career.
Five Teams With The Most NBA Titles
Five NBA franchises have won at least five NBA titles. Two of those are tied for the most titles in NBA history (Lakers & Celtics).
The Los Angeles Lakers have won 17 titles and are 17-15 all-time in the NBA Finals. The team’s first five titles came when the franchise played in Minnesota. In that era—which was headlined by the play of George Mikan—the Lakers went 5-1 in the Finals. The Lakers are 12-14 in Finals in L.A., which includes the 2020 Finals, when LeBron James led the team to a title.
The Boston Celtics also have 17 NBA rings, which include eight consecutive titles from 1959 to 1966. The team is 17-5 all-time in the Finals. The Celtics last won it in 2008, and last appeared in the Finals in 2022.
The Warriors have won seven NBA titles, going 7-5 in Finals series. They last won in 2022.
The Chicago Bulls, led by Michael Jordan, have appeared in six Finals, winning all of them. The Bulls are the only active NBA franchise to go undefeated in the Finals while making more than one appearance.
The San Antonio Spurs round out the top five with five Finals wins. The Spurs are 5-1 in the NBA Finals, last winning in 2014. Gregg Popovich was the head coach for all five wins.
The NBA champions have earned the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy since 1977. With its iconic slanted design, the Larry O’Brien has become synonymous with success in the NBA. It’s named after Larry O’Brien, who was the commissioner of the NBA from 1975 to 1984.
During the Larry O’Brien era, the Lakers have hoisted the trophy 11 times, the most of any team.
The trophy was named the Walter A. Brown Trophy until 1984. That was also the name of the NBA’s original championship trophy, which was awarded from 1949-1977.
Most NBA Championships For Players
Due to their run in the 1950s and 60s, the Celtics dominate the list of players with the most NBA championships.
Bill Russell has the most titles, winning 11 of them, while Sam Jones has 10. They’re the only NBA players with double-digit titles.
Tom Heinsohn, K.C. Jones, Satch Sanders and John Havlicek have all won eight titles. Jim Loscutoff, Frank Ramsey and Robert Horry have seven apiece. Horry has the most championships of any player who didn’t play for the Boston Celtics, and won with three different franchises, taking home titles with the Rockets, Lakers and Spurs.
Bob Cousy, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen have all won six NBA titles. Cousy’s titles came with those aforementioned Boston Celtics teams, while Jordan and Pippen were teammates with the Bulls for all six of their titles.
In 1969, the NBA began awarding the Finals MVP award to the player who ostensibly had the best Finals performance. Michael Jordan has the most Finals MVPs with six, followed by LeBron James with four. Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal and Tim Duncan have won three MVPs each, while Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Hakeem Olajuwon, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard have all won Finals MVP twice.
Watch the NBA Finals: Start a free trial of fuboTV now!
Only once, in the inaugural season of awarding the trophy, did it go to a player on the losing team, as Jerry West won his only Finals MVP award that season. Stephen Curry is the defending Finals MVP, with Giannis Anteokounmpo winning it the year before.
NBA Teams With Fewer Championships or No Championships Titles
The following teams have not won an NBA championship:
- Brooklyn Nets
- Charlotte Hornets
- Denver Nuggets
- Indiana Pacers
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- New Orleans Pelicans
- Phoenix Suns
- Orlando Magic
- Utah Jazz
Of those 11 teams, the Suns have the most Finals losses, appearing three times. The Nets, Magic and Jazz are all 0-2 in the Finals.
Eight active teams have won the title once. They are:
- Atlanta Hawks
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Dallas Mavericks
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Sacramento Kings
- Toronto Raptors
- Washington Wizards
Where to Watch The NBA Playoffs
The 2022-23 NBA regular season ends on April 6.
The NBA Playoffs begin with the Play-In Tournament from April 11 through 14. The NBA Conference Semifinals are set to start May 1 or 2, with the Conference Finals on May 16 or 16. The NBA Finals begin June 1, with Game 7, if needed, scheduled for June 18.
Watch NBA Live at the Finals Pregame
The NBA Finals air on ABC and can be watched with a subscription to fuboTV. Games on NBA TV, ESPN and various regional sports networks are also available with a fuboTV subscription.
Watch the NBA Finals: Start a free trial of fuboTV now!
fuboTV is the leading sports-first live TV streaming platform, offering 100+ live TV channels and regional sports networks. The service includes a DVR as well as on-demand content and focuses on sports programming. Fubo is the only live TV streaming platform with every Nielsen-rated sports channel. Leveraging Fubo’s proprietary data and technology platform optimized for live TV and sports viewership, subscribers can engage with the content they are watching through interactive product features like FanView, an in-video experience showcasing live game, team and player stats and scores in real-time. Fubo was also the first virtual MVPD to enable simultaneous viewing on up to four screens (Multiview on Apple TV) and the first to stream in 4K HDR. The service was ranked #1 in Customer Satisfaction among Live TV Streaming Providers by J.D. Power (2022).
Regional restrictions may apply.
