This is a list of individuals with the most combined NBA championships. The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a major professional basketball league in North America. It was founded in 1946 as the Basketball Association of America (BAA). [1] The league adopted its current name at the start of the 1949–50 season when it merged with the National Basketball League (NBL). [2] The NBA Finals is the championship series for the NBA and the conclusion of the sport's postseason. The winning team's players, coaches, and members of the executive front office usually receive championship rings from the team honoring their contribution, with "rings" becoming shorthand for championships. [3] However, in some rare occasion, the teams opted to give other commemorative items, such as wrist watches, instead of rings. [4] [5] An NBA team can choose who in their organization is awarded a ring; in addition to the players, coaches, and the front office, rings can and are awarded to trainers, medical staff, scouts, and occasionally cheerleaders, equipment managers, mascots and other arena staff. This list is limited to individuals who won a ring as at least one of the following:
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The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The Lakers play their home games at Crypto.com Arena, an arena shared with the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers, the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association, and the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League. The Lakers are one of the most successful teams in the history of the NBA, with 17 NBA championships, tied with the Boston Celtics for the most in NBA history. The Lakers were the champions of the NBA's inaugural In-Season Tournament in 2023.
Thomas William Heinsohn was an American professional basketball player, coach, and broadcaster. He was associated with the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) for six decades as a player, coach and broadcaster. He played for the Celtics from 1956 to 1965, and also coached the team from 1969 to 1978. He spent over 30 years as the color commentator for the Celtics' local broadcasts alongside play-by-play commentator Mike Gorman. He is regarded as one of the most iconic Celtics figures in the franchise's history, known during his lifetime for his charisma and loyalty to the team and its traditions. From this, he earned the nickname "Mr. Celtic".
The triangle offense is an offensive strategy used in basketball. Its basic ideas were initially established by Hall of Fame coach Sam Barry at the University of Southern California. His system was further developed by former Houston Rockets and Kansas State University basketball head coach Tex Winter, who played for Barry in the late 1940s. Winter later served as an assistant coach for the Chicago Bulls in the 1980s and 1990s and for the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2000s, mostly under head coach Phil Jackson.
Philip Douglas Jackson is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive. A power forward, Jackson played 12 seasons in the NBA, winning NBA championships with the New York Knicks in 1970 and 1973. Regarded as one of the greatest coaches of all time, Jackson was the head coach of the Chicago Bulls from 1989 to 1998, leading them to six NBA championships. He then coached the Los Angeles Lakers from 1999 to 2004 and again from 2005 to 2011; the team won five league titles under his leadership. Jackson's 11 NBA titles as a coach surpassed the previous record of nine set by Red Auerbach. He holds numerous other records as a coach, such as most postseason wins (229), and most NBA Conference titles (13).
Thomas Ernest "Satch" Sanders is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played his entire professional career as a power forward for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Sanders won eight NBA championships and is tied for third for the most NBA championships. He is also one of three NBA players with an unsurpassed 8–0 record in NBA Finals series. After his playing retirement, he served as a head coach for the Harvard Crimson men's basketball team and the Boston Celtics. Sanders was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor in 2011.
Mitchell Kupchak is an American professional basketball executive and retired player. He is the former president of basketball operations and general manager of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a college player, Kupchak was an All-American at the University of North Carolina and a member of the gold medal-winning 1976 United States Olympic team. As a professional player, he won three NBA titles – one as a member of the Washington Bullets and two with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Craig Anthony Hodges is an American former professional basketball player and former head coach of the Westchester Knicks of the NBA Development League. He played in the NBA for 10 seasons and led the league in 3-point shooting percentage three times. He won two NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls and, along with Larry Bird, is one of only two players to win three consecutive Three Point Contests at the National Basketball Association All-Star Weekend, winning the competition in 1990, 1991, and 1992. Hodges also holds the Three Point Contest records for the most consecutive shots made with 19, set in 1991, and the most points scored in a single round at 25, set in 1986. He was later a head coach at Chicago State University, an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers and head coach of the Halifax Rainmen of the National Basketball League of Canada.
Morice Fredrick "Tex" Winter was an American basketball coach and innovator of the triangle offense. He was a head coach in college basketball for 30 years before becoming an assistant coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was an assistant to Phil Jackson on nine NBA championship teams with the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers. Winter was inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011.
The 1974 NBA draft was the 28th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 28, 1974, before the 1974–75 season. In this draft, 18 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The first two picks in the draft belonged to the teams that finished last in each conference, with the order determined by a coin flip. The Portland Trail Blazers won the coin flip and were awarded the first overall pick, while the Philadelphia 76ers were awarded the second pick. The remaining first-round picks and the subsequent rounds were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. Prior to the draft, the Capital Bullets were renamed the Washington Bullets. An expansion franchise, the New Orleans Jazz, took part in the NBA Draft for the first time and were assigned the tenth pick in each round. A player who had finished his four-year college eligibility was eligible for selection. If a player left college early, he would not be eligible for selection until his college class graduated. Before the draft, 20 college underclassmen were declared eligible for selection under the "hardship" rule. These players had applied and gave evidence of financial hardship to the league, which granted them the right to start earning their living by starting their professional careers earlier. The draft consisted of 10 rounds comprising the selection of 178 players.
The 1980 NBA expansion draft was the seventh expansion draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 28, 1980, so that the newly founded Dallas Mavericks could acquire players for the upcoming 1980–81 season. Dallas had been awarded the expansion team on February 3, 1980. In an NBA expansion draft, new NBA teams are allowed to acquire players from the previously established teams in the league. Not all players on a given team are available during an expansion draft, since each team can protect a certain number of players from being selected. In this draft, each of the twenty-two other NBA teams had protected eight players from their roster and the Mavericks selected twenty-two unprotected players, one from each team.
The 1996–97 NBA season was the Mavericks' 17th season in the National Basketball Association. The Mavericks had the ninth overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft, and selected Samaki Walker from the University of Louisville. In the off-season, the team signed free agents Chris Gatling, Oliver Miller, and former Mavs guard Derek Harper, and acquired Eric Montross from the Boston Celtics, and signed undrafted rookie guard Erick Strickland. Under new head coach Jim Cleamons, the Mavericks struggles continued with a 4–10 start in November. With the team not showing any improvement, they traded All-Star guard Jason Kidd to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for second-year star Michael Finley, Sam Cassell and A.C. Green in late December. The Mavericks continued to struggle as they held a 16–28 record at the All-Star break.
James Hatten Buss is a part-owner and former executive vice president of basketball operations of the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is the son of former Lakers owner Jerry Buss. Buss was president of the Los Angeles Lazers professional indoor soccer team from 1985–1989. He later trained thoroughbred race horses for nine years before joining the Lakers in 1998 as an assistant general manager. He was promoted to vice president of basketball operations in 2005. After his father Jerry died in 2013, his controlling ownership of the Lakers passed to his children via a family trust, with each child receiving an equal interest.
Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award is an annual award given by the National Basketball Coaches Association (NBCA) to a longtime NBA coach's life in basketball and his "standard of integrity, competitive excellence and tireless promotion" of the game. The inaugural award winner was Tom Heinsohn. The award is named after former NBA head coach Chuck Daly.