The NBA is one of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada, with 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). Each team plays 82 games during the NBA regular season, which runs from October through April. The postseason competition for the league lasts through June. NBA players will be the highest paid athletes in the world by 2020, based on the average annual income per player. After the National Football League (NFL) and Major League Baseball (MLB), the NBA is the third wealthiest professional sports league in North America, with revenue ranking among the top four in the world.
The Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy is awarded to the NBA club that wins the championship series. Players on the winning side are frequently presented with championship rings by the team as a token of appreciation for their efforts, with "rings" being a shorthand for championships. The NBA has a long history of legendary players who have made significant contributions to the sport by achieving unachievable goals and gaining global recognition. The ultimate goal for each of the NBA's 30 clubs is to lift the Larry O'Brien trophy at the end of the season.
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In this article, we'll look at the six players who have won the most NBA championships.
6. John Havlicek - 8 NBA Championships
Havlicek was a professional basketball player in the United States who spent his entire career with the Boston Celtics, earning eight NBA titles, four of which came in his first four seasons with the franchise. Havlicek is also one of only three NBA players to have a perfect 8–0 record in NBA Finals series. Havlicek is widely regarded as one of the best basketball players of all time, and he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1984. Havlicek concluded his career as the Celtics' all-time greatest scorer when he retired following the 1977–78 NBA season, a distinction he still maintained at the time of his death in 2019.
5. Satch Sanders - 8 NBA Championships
Sanders was a power forward for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association for his entire professional career (NBA). Sanders' eight NBA championships are tied for third-most in NBA history, and he is one of only three players in NBA history to have an unblemished 8–0 record in NBA Finals series results. Sanders was named a contributor to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011. Sanders went on to teach basketball at Harvard University after his playing career, a position he maintained until 1977. Sanders took over as head coach of the Boston Celtics in 1978, succeeding former teammate Tommy Heinsohn.
4. K.C. Jones - 8 NBA Championships
K.C. Jones is most remembered for his NBA championships with the Boston Celtics, with whom he won 11 of his 12 titles, eight as a player, one as an assistant coach, and two as a head coach. He is one of three NBA players with an 8–0 record in NBA Finals series, and he is tied for the third-most NBA titles in a career. In 1989, Jones was named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Jones is one of just eight basketball players in history to win an NCAA title, an NBA title, and an Olympic gold medal. He had 13 tenures as a coach in basketball.
3. Tom Heinsohn - 8 NBA Championships
Heinsohn was selected as the Boston Celtics' 'territorial' draught pick in 1956. Heinsohn was selected NBA Rookie of the Year over teammate Bill Russell in his rookie season after appearing in the NBA All-Star Game. He won his first championship ring in his rookie season, scoring 37 points and snagging 23 rebounds in the NBA Finals' double-overtime 7th game. He spent six decades as a player, coach, and announcer for the Boston Celtics. He was a member of the Celtics from 1956 to 1965, as well as a coach from 1969 to 1978. He worked as a colour commentator for the Celtics' local broadcasts for almost 30 years. As a result of this, he was dubbed "Mr Celtic."
2. Sam Jones - 10 NBA Championships
Even though Celtics coach Auerbach had never seen Jones play, Boston selected Jones two picks later. Jones was drafted by the Minneapolis Lakers, but after serving in the military, he returned to college to finish his degree, which violated NBA rules. With over 15,000 points in his career, he was recognised as a clutch scorer. He was a five-time All-Star and is widely considered one of the best shooting guards of his generation. Jones was chosen to the NBA Second Team three years in a row (1965–67), and he was a member of ten championship teams (1959–66 and 1968–69). He is a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee.
1. Bill Russell - 11 NBA Championships
Russell was the nucleus of the Celtics dynasty that won eleven NBA titles during his 13-year career. He was a five-time NBA Most Valuable Player and a 12-time All-Star. The National Hockey League's Russell and Henri Richard are tied for the most championships won by an athlete in a North American sports league. At the 1956 Summer Olympics, he captained the gold-medal-winning United States national basketball team. He also worked as a player-coach for the Celtics for three seasons (1966–69), becoming the first black coach in North American professional sports and the first to win a title. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame both inducted him.
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