NBA
Which team has won the most NBA titles?
Over the long 80-year history of the NBA, just two teams account for more than a third of all the league’s titles between them. We break it down for you.
As the 2023 NBA Finals moves to Miami all tied up, we are witnessing history in one form or another, with Denver in their first Finals ever and Miami only the second eighth-seed to make it. No eight seed has ever won, so whichever way it comes down, the NBA will have a first for the record books.
But who is on the other end of that spectrum? Which NBA team has won the most titles in NBA history?
There are eight teams who never won an NBA title, including two now-defunct franchises, the Chicago Stags and the Washington Capitols. The extant teams without a win include the Phoenix Suns, Brooklyn Nets, Orlando Magic, Utah Jazz, Indiana Pacers, and of course the Denver Nuggets.
On the other end, at the top of the heap are two teams which will come as no surprise: the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Each of those two franchises has 17 titles to their name, including five won by the Lakers in their original incarnation in Minneapolis. Between these two clubs are 34 NBA titles, or 43% of all NBA titles in history. When it comes to appearances, the numbers are even more telling, with 54 NBA Finals featuring at least one of these two titans, or 68% of all the finals ever played.
Coming in third place, and a long way back is the Golden State Warriors, who have seven titles, including two won when they were in Philadelphia.
The Chicago Bulls are one behind them with six total wins by way of two separate three-peats in the 90s, giving Chicago the distinction of being the only team to have multiple Finals appearances and no losses.
This year will see a new entry in the record books, with either Denver losing their duck or Miami becoming the first eight-seed to win it all. Either way, it is an NBA Finals to stay glued to.