When the 2023-24 NBA season began, the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics were tied atop the NBA’s all-time championship leaderboard at 17 titles apiece. If we’re being absolutely technical, the Lakers actually hung banner No. 18 before the Celtics did. The problem? It was for the new, In-Season Tournament championship, not a traditional end-of-season title.
Well, if there was any doubt about who sits atop the all-time championships throne, it is about to be erased. The Celtics enter Game 5 of the 2024 NBA Finals on Monday just one win away from championship No. 18. No team in NBA history has ever blown a 3-0 series lead in the postseason, so barring something historic, it is only a matter of time until the Celtics earn their first title since the 2007-08 season. If that happens, it would put them atop the league’s leaderboard, with the Lakers close behind at 17. Who’s in pursuit of the top two? Here’s the entire board:
| Team | Number of championships |
|---|---|
|
Boston Celtics |
17 (1957, 1959-66, 1968-69, 1974, 1976, 1981, 1984, 1986, 2008) |
|
Los Angeles Lakers |
17 (1949, 1950, 1952-54, 1972, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987-88, 2000-02, 2009-10, 2020) |
|
7 (1947, 1956, 1975, 2015, 2017-18, 2022) |
|
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6 (1991-93, 1996-98) |
|
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5 (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014) |
|
|
3 (2006, 2012, 2013) |
|
|
3 (1989, 1990, 2004) |
|
|
3 (1955, 1967, 1983) |
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2 (1971, 2021) |
|
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2 (1994, 1995) |
|
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2 (1970, 1973) |
|
|
1 (2023) |
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|
1 (2019) |
|
|
1 (2016) |
|
|
1 (2011) |
|
|
1 (1979) |
|
|
1 (1978) |
|
|
1 (1977) |
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1 (1958) |
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1 (1951) |
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|
Baltimore Bullets |
1 (1948) |
The Phoenix Suns, Orlando Magic, Brooklyn Nets, Indiana Pacers, Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Charlotte Hornets, Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Pelicans have not won a single title. The Baltimore Bullets, who won in 1948, are now defunct. Several of the teams that have won titles did so either in different cities (such as the Oklahoma City Thunder, who won as the Seattle Supersonics in 1979 and the Sacramento Kings, who won as the Rochester Royals in 1951) or with different team names (such as the Washington Wizards, who won as the Bullets in 1977). The titles above correspond to who is considered the official NBA champion of that season.
The Lakers and Celtics alone have combined to win 35 of the total 78 championships awarded in league history or a bit less than 45%. They have a 10-title lead on every other team in the NBA, with the Warriors in third place with seven. In other words, it’s unlikely that any team is going to catch the Celtics any time soon unless the Lakers can do so. Everybody else, for the time being, is fighting for third place.
