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#4 Chicago Bulls
Championships: 6 - NBA Finals appearances: 6
The Chicago Bulls won their six NBA championships during Michael Jordan's era of glory in the NBA.
Jordan guided the Bulls to become the first team since the 1960s Boston Celtics to win at least three straight titles. They won in 1991, 1992, and 1993 with Jordan as Finals MVP each year.
Jordan left the league in 1993 and returned in 1995. The Bulls went on another stellar run and won three consecutive championships from 1996 to 1998.
Those six were the Bull's only appearances in the NBA Finals. They have been in the league since 1966.
#3 Golden State Warriors
Championships: 6 - NBA Finals appearances: 11
The Warriors have been in the league since the BAA days. Known as the Philadelphia Warriors, they won the first BAA/NBA championship in history.
Still in Philadelphia, they won again in 1956. The Warriors moved to San Francisco in 1962 and eventually became the Golden State Warriors in 1971. They lost two NBA Finals as the San Francisco Warriors in the 1960s.
Golden State won the NBA championship in 1975 with Rick Barry taking Finals MVP honors.
Then, the franchise found little success in the following three decades. A core with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green won the NBA title in 2015 and then played four more NBA Finals. The team won two more titles in 2017 and 2018 after Kevin Durant joined them in 2016.
#2 Boston Celtics
Championships: 17 - NBA Finals appearances: 21
The Boston Celtics were alone at the top of this ranking before the LA Lakers dominated the 2020 NBA Playoffs.
The Celtics built their legacy between the late 1950s and the late 1960s when they won 11 titles in 13 seasons. Bill Russell and coach Red Auerbach were the leaders of the greatest dynasty in NBA history.
Then, Boston won a couple of championships in the 1970s, and three in the iconic 1980s, with Larry Bird leading the team.
After 22 years without seeing the Larry O'Brien trophy, the Celtics returned to championship form. They won the championship in 2008, in the first year of a new 'Big Three' era with Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen.
The Celtics have played 21 NBA Finals in their history.
The only decades in which they did not play in the NBA Finals were the 1940s and the 1990s. The Celtics are second on this list, but they played against the team in the first place (LA Lakers) in 12 NBA Finals and beat them nine times.
#1 Los Angeles Lakers
Championships: 17 - NBA Finals appearances: 32
Their 2020 championship put the LA Lakers at the top of these standings. They are tied with the Boston Celtics in NBA championships, however the Lakers have played a record 32 NBA Finals, which puts them in the first place.
The Lakers' first five championships came when the team was known as the Minneapolis Lakers. George Mikan commanded five championships in six seasons, between 1949 and 1954. Those six seasons were the team's first in the BAA/NBA.
They then lost eight NBA Finals in a 12-year span after their first five titles and returned to championship form in 1972. Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, and Gail Goodrich were the leaders of that historic team.
Then, the Lakers drafted Magic Johnson, and their history changed completely. Johnson, alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, won five NBA titles with the LA Lakers. He even won the title and Finals MVP in his rookie season.
With Johnson, the Lakers played nine NBA Finals between 1980 and 1991.
After some years without greatness, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant arrived in LA in 1996. The duo went on to win three straight titles from 2000 to 2002, with Phil Jackson coaching them.
Then, Bryant led back-to-back championships for the Lakers in 2009 and 2010 (beating the Celtics in 2010).
A decade after their 16th NBA championship, LeBron James and Anthony Davis put the Lakers on the NBA throne again.
