NBA Players With the Most Championships: Boston Celtics Legend Bill Russell Leads the List With 11 Titles
- Bill Russell holds the record for most championships won by an NBA player
- Sam Jones is the only other player besides Russell to have double-digit NBA titles
- The Boston Celtics have plenty of players on the list due to their dominance
Winning an NBA championship is not easy.
Just ask Karl Malone, John Stockton, and Charles Barkley, who built Hall of Fame careers but failed to win that elusive title.
There are a select few NBA legends, however, who made winning championships seem like it was nothing.
Source: Getty Images
Sports Brief rounds up the players who have won the most NBA championships.
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Bill Russell (11 titles)
Who is the GOAT? That question has been asked many times recently by NBA fans, with most either picking LeBron James or Michael Jordan. If championships were the primary consideration, then Bill Russell is undoubtedly the greatest NBA player ever.
His greatness is unparalleled in this regard, winning 11 championships while playing for the Boston Celtics. It is incredible to think that he has more rings than fingers to wear them. Adding to Russell’s legend is the fact that he won two of those 11 titles as a player-coach for the Celtics.
Sam Jones (10 titles)
Jones’ Hall of Fame induction in 1984 was a no-brainer. “The Shooter” had a magnificent career with the Celtics, winning ten championships in the 12 seasons he played for Boston.
Commissioner Adam Silver paid tribute to Jones when he died in 2021, saying the Celtics great “will be remembered as one of the most prolific champions in all professional sports.”
John Havlicek (8 titles)
Like Russell and Jones, Havlicek spent his entire career with the Celtics. He won eight championships, beginning with his first four seasons with Boston. He is one of three NBA players with an unsurpassed 8-0 slate in the NBA Finals.
Tom Heinsohn (8 titles)
Heinsohn is a beloved figure in the Boston community because of his loyalty to the Celtics organization. He was associated with the Celtics for six decades as a player, coach, and broadcaster.
Heinsohn earned the nickname “Mr. Celtic” while playing with Boston, helping the franchise win eight titles.
K.C. Jones (8 titles)
There is no questioning the fact that K.C. Jones is a legend of the sport. The Basketball Hall of Famer won 11 titles with the Celtics, eight of which came when he was a player.
Those eight championships occurred from 1959 to 1966 during the Bill Russell era. Jones made his mark on those winning teams with his hard-nosed defense.
Tom Sanders (8 titles)
Sanders is another player who had a stellar career with the Boston Celtics. “Satch” won eight championships during the 13 seasons he played for the Celtics.
He played an integral part in the defense that won those NBA titles. Sanders was part of the 1968-69 All-Defense team. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011.
Jim Loscutoff (7 titles)
Loscutoff played nine seasons with Boston and was part of the Celtics’ seven NBA championships. He averaged 6.2 points and 5.6 rebounds over that period, per USA Today. His bruising defense made Loscutoff such an essential part of those championship teams.
Frank Ramsey (7 titles)
Ramsey is best known for pioneering pro basketball’s “sixth man” role. He played that role perfectly during his time with the Celtics, providing Boston with savvy defense and superb shooting while coming off the bench. Ramsey won a whopping seven titles with Boston.
Robert Horry (7 titles)
No player in the modern era has won more NBA rings than Horry. The legend of "Big Shot Rob" started in Houston when he won back-to-back titles with the Rockets in 1994 and 1995.
He then joined forces with Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, helping the Los Angeles Lakers complete the fifth three-peat in the history of the NBA.
Horry wasn’t done collecting titles, as his move to San Antonio yielded two more championships. He won his sixth ring in 2005 when the Spurs defeated the Detroit Pistons in the Finals. He captured his final title in 2007 after San Antonio swept the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Longest winning streaks
Sports Brief recently reported on the NBA’s longest winning streaks.
The Los Angeles Lakers hold the record, winning 33 consecutive games in the 1971-72 campaign. They went on to win the title that same season.
The Golden State Warriors came close to breaking that mark, winning 28 straight games spanning the 2014-15 and 2015-16 regular seasons.
Source: SportsBrief.com