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The NBA Championship is one of the most sought-after accolades in the sport of basketball. A long and arduous journey, featuring an 82 game season and four grueling seven-game series’ against the teams with the best records to finally earn the right to be called champions.
Players enter the league with title hopes. Teams are tailored to be strong enough to make a run for a victory. The Boston Celtics, in their fledgling days in the NBA, absolutely dominated the league, winning 11 titles served by stars like Bob Cousy and Bill Russell.
The NBA Championship is an elusive dream to chase. Many players have come along and ended their careers having never won a ring. Hall of Famers such as Elgin Baylor, Charles Barkley, Reggie Miller and the duo of John Stockton and Karl Malone are just some of the names on a long list of players who came up short in their run at the ring.
The NBA Playoffs are where legends are born and the NBA Championship is where legacies are put down in stone. Here are five players whose legacies were impacted the most by winning a championship.
#1 Kevin Garnett
Kevin Garnett was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 1996 NBA Draft. Known as “The Big Ticket,” Garnett would help take the Timberwolves to eight consecutive NBA Playoffs immediately after being drafted.
However, due to early postseason exits against dominant teams of that era, Garnett would only make the Western Conference Finals once in the 2003-04 season. The Timberwolves came up short against the LA Lakers in six games.
Kevin Garnett missed the playoffs for the next three seasons and would finally be traded to the Boston Celtics. Joining Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo, the Celtics immediately made a successful title run.
The ring helped in solidifying Garnett’s legacy as one of the best big men in the game. An aggressive player with a knack for psychological warfare, Garnett has an NBA Playoff career average of 18.2 points and 10.7 rebounds.
#2 Dirk Nowitzki
Dirk Nowitzki was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks in the 1998 NBA Draft. Playing at power forward, Dirk was one of the first European players to bring in the concept of the “stretch 4’ into the game.
Having made it as far as the NBA Finals, where he lost to the Miami Heat in 2006, Dirk’s consistent appearances in the playoffs hadn’t amounted to much.
It was only in the 2010-11 season that the Mavericks would finally win their first title as a franchise after beating the Miami Heat in six games. Dirk Nowitzki’s championship is still one of the most impressive title runs in the history of the NBA.
Dirk has a playoff average of 25.3 points per game and 10 rebounds. He is also ranked sixth in the NBA’s All-Time Points Leaders with 31,560 points.
#3 Oscar Robertson
Oscar Robertson, also known as “Big O,” was one of the most influential players of his generation. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Royals in the 1960 NBA Draft. He would lead the Royals to consecutive NBA Playoff appearances between 1962 to 1967. His 1961-62 season was the first time a player averaged a triple-double in a whole season.
Oscar Robertson came up short in his time with the Royals. Only making it as far as the Eastern Conference Finals twice, the Royals would lose to the Celtics each time. After losing to the Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals with Robertson averaging 31.8 points for that series in 1966, the Royals would fall short in the following season against the Sixers.
It was before the 1970-71 season that Robertson was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks. What was suspected to be a disintegrating relationship between franchise and player, Oscar would join the Bucks, playing alongside their star, Kareem Abdul Jabbar (then, Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr.).
The Bucks would go on to have a 66-16 record for the 1970-71 season with a dominating postseason. The Bucks would sweep the Baltimore Bullets (now Washington Wizards) and bring the franchise its first ring, and Oscar Robertson would solidify his legacy amongst the greatest to play the game.
Oscar Robertson had an NBA playoff average of 22.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 8.9 assists for his career.
#4 Moses Malone
Drafted by the Utah Stars of the ABA fresh out of high school, Moses Malone would go on to join the Houston Rockets after the ABA-NBA merger. He would lead the Rockets to the Eastern Conference Finals immediately upon joining where they would come up short against Julius Erving and the Sixers in 1977.
As the Rockets moved to the Western Conference in the 1980-81 season, Malone would lead the Rockets to the NBA Finals against Boston. Having lost that series and an early playoff exit the following season, Moses Malone joined the Sixers in the 1982-83 NBA season. Alongside Julius Erving, Darryl Dawkins and Maurice Cheeks, the Sixers swept LA in the 1983 Finals.
Malone helped bring a title to Philadelphia and Erving. He solidified his legacy as one of the greatest centers of all time. Malone was known as the “Chairman of the Boards” because of his rebounding prowess. He had an NBA Playoff average of 22.1 points and 13.8 rebounds.
#5 Jerry West
Jerry West was drafted by the LA Lakers in the 1960 NBA Draft. West was an explosive scorer, able to get to his spot and pull up for his shot in a flash. However, his greatest asset was his ability to perform in closing situations, earning him his nickname, “Mr. Clutch.”
West, alongside Elgin Baylor, was the All-Star duo of the Lakers. However, their title runs would always come up short. Stunted by the Boston Celtics in the 1962 NBA Finals, the loss would issue a rivalry that would last ages, but it would also begin a decade of disappointment for LA.
With a finals loss to Boston the following year in the 1962-63 season and four more losses over the course of the next six seasons, West’s hopes at winning a title were dwindling. Elgin Baylor also announced retirement midway through the 1970-71 season.
It was finally in the 1971-72 season where the Lakers would finally win. Having set an NBA record of a 33 game winning streak, Jerry West, alongside Wilt Chamberlain, would finally win an NBA title after beating the Knicks in five games.
Averaging 37.9 points per game in the 1969 Finals, Jerry West was the first NBA Finals MVP from the losing side. His career averages for the NBA Playoffs were 29.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 6.3 assists.
Jerry West’s unyielding tenacity and his late-game heroics also made him the silhouette behind the NBA logo.
