Sports are all about championships, but the NBA is a bit more ring-focused than other organizations. That’s because, unlike leagues like the MLB and NFL, winning one ring isn’t enough to cement a player’s legacy. Stars usually need three or more.
Though there are some exceptions to that rule, the all-time greats tend to have at least four or more rings. Continued and sustained dominance is one of the most important aspects of any basketball legend, especially those who played during the earlier decades.
While it’s incredibly unlikely that anyone will ever catch Bill Russell’s 11-ring mark, there are a few modern athletes who won rings at an unprecedented rate. The NBA is marked by dynasties, and those dynasties are almost always led by one truly special player.
There are a range of great athletes who set incredible records, but few of them did anything as impressive as what Bill Russell achieved throughout the 1950’s and 1960’s. The towering center dominated the NBA during that span, bringing the Boston Celtics 11 titles in 12 years.
That’s a mark that’s never been hit since, and in all likelihood it’s one nobody will ever come close to again. It’s such an amazing feat that the only other players who are even in the same realm as Russell were other players on his team.
The center had a knack for the game, an extremely high basketball IQ, and knew how to make his teammates better. That combination allowed him to take over contests when the NBA was still in its infancy, putting together an elite squad that nobody could keep up with.
Though there were a few other greats during that time, they didn’t have the support or drive that Russell did. Winning a ring or two is hard enough, but winning almost every ring for an entire decade puts Russell into a league of his own.
Bill Russell was the heart and the soul of the early Celtics dynasty, but he did have help. Most of it came in the form of Sam Jones. Jones was Russell’s right hand man, a quick guard who put up strong stats and led the team from the outside.
The combination of Russell and Jones proved to be almost unstoppable during the Celtics’ reign. While Jones started out slow, he quickly grew into an all-star, and his incredible scoring ability created a dual-threat that allowed the Celtics to win so much for so long.
He is one of only six Celtics to ever score 50-points in a game, was the franchise leading scorer when he retired, and also put up an impressive 22 point/5 rebound game in the Game 7 of the 1966 Finals to give Boston their eighth straight championship.
He ended up winning ten rings with Bill Russell, a mark that gives him the second most championships in NBA history.
Rounding out the early Boston Celtics are the four players of Tom Heinsohn, K.C. Jones, Satch Sanders, and John Havlicek. All of them have 8 championships, showing that they were the core of the team that took Boston to incredible new heights.
While they didn’t have the direct impact or fanfare of Jones and Russell, the Celtics would not have won without their support. All four of them were strong role players who spaced the floor, played hard, and put up strong stats during each and every championship season.
Their tough play earned all of them spots in the basketball Hall of Fame. Heinsohn made it as a player and coach, Jones and Havlicek made it as players, while Sanders earned his spot as a contributor due to how much he did for the game of basketball.
Two other players with an exuberant number of rings are Jim Loscutoff and Frank Ramsey. They both have seven, each earned with the early Celtics dynasty, and also served as strong backups to the above athletes.
Ramsey is in the hall of fame because of his strong passing and prolific scoring abilities. He never put the team on his back, but his role in winning so many championships for the franchise did cause the Celtics to retire his number.
In contrast, Loscutoff is not a hall of famer. Even so, he was a pure defensive player who hustled, raised the team’s pace, and shut down many opposing scorers. That alone is worth mentioning as a key piece of the Celtics’ many rings.
The only other player with seven rings, Robert Horry, is different in that he played during the modern era. Rather than being a superstar, Horry was a strong role player and deep three shooter who happened to find himself in the right place at the right time.
The 6’10 scorer started his career by winning two rings with Hakeem Olajuwan’s Rockets in 1994 and 1995. A few years later, he found himself as a swing player on the Kobe Bryant/Shaquille O’Neal Lakers during the late 90’s and early 2000’s.
After being a part of Los Angeles’ three-peat, Horry went to the Spurs where he would win two more rings in 2005 and 2007. During those championships, he hit plenty of critical shots and consistently showed up in high-stakes moments.
Such heroics gave him the nickname “Big Shot Bob,” and proved that he wasn’t just someone riding on others’ coattails. He’s one of the most clutch players of all time.
Looking at the top NBA players with the most championships, most played during the league’s early years. That’s because competition has only gone up over time, making it harder to win. Still, there are a few who managed to ascend to another level even when the going got tough.
The biggest of those names is Michael Jordan. Still considered the best ever, Jordan led the Chicago Bulls alongside Scottie Pippin to six wins during the 1990’s. That dominance of going 6-0 in the Finals is still one of the best runs in sports history.
Kareem Adbul-Jabbar is the other more modern player who finished his illustrious career with six championships. The big man is one of the most dominant players of all time, scoring, rebounding, and defending with ease.
That sustained level of play gave him the all-time scoring title when he retired, and he still has the 10th most rings in NBA history. He won his first with the Bucks in 1971, then earned his other five during the 80’s as a key piece to the dominant Lakers franchise.
While rings are much harder to come by in the modern era than they have been in the past, today’s NBA is still marked by dynasties. The most recent one was the Golden State Warriors, who dominated the 2010’s with their sharpshooting and high-powered offense.
Led by the trifecta of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, the franchise put together four championships with the help of other excellent players like Shaun Livingston, Andrew Bogut, David Lee, and Kevin Durant.
Those threats brought the Warrior’s four rings, putting them as the most prolific and successful modern dynasty. There are many good teams in the current NBA, but no one in the last decade has been able to replicate what the Warriors did.
Though not a dynasty, it’s also worth mentioning LeBron James. The superstar has won four rings in the modern era, and he did it across three different teams. He earned his first two with the Heat, took home one with the Cavaliers, and got his most recent with the Lakers.
It took him a decade to put together those four rings, and he teamed up with many different superstars to make it happen. That many wins across such a long time is incredibly impressive, and why he gets a special mention
Basketball is a sport marked by championships. Winning one legitimizes a players’ career, but getting multiple is how someone goes from good to an all-time great. Each of the above players are on their own level, and they made it that way due to bringing home ring after ring.
While dynasties still exist, sustained winning gets more and more difficult with each passing year. Though some players might win two, three, or four rings in the future, getting to five or more is a mark that may now be unreachable for most.
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