When discussions are in place about who are the greatest players in the NBA history, most of them arejudged by how many championships each of them has won. This is because this trait certainly changes a player’s legacy.The same can be said about a team’s perspective.Its a known fact that when you look up to a team, the history book is very important, as in the case of the newly crowned champion Golden State Warriors.
This mightdetermine which places any NBA team takes among the best NBA franchises in history. Therefore, winning a title in a season or repeating the feat multiple times increases the prestige of a franchise, leading to plenty of tangible benefits.In the end, history always remembers the winner and rarely, if ever, those who lost.
So, in total 19 NBA franchises have won at least once the NBA title. Lakers, Warriors and the 76ers have done it for different cities, while five teams have managed to win it more than 3 NBA titles. This includes, the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors. In fact, those teams represent nearly the 70% of all the NBA championships won.
Complete list by year of all NBA Championship games
It is important to note the fact that the Basketball Association of America was born first. But after only 3 seasons, the National Basketball Association unified to create the National Basketball Association we know today. The first champion registered was the Philadelphia Warriors, one of the founding members of the BAA. Currently, the Milwaukee Bucks are the NBA Champions.
In addition, if you were wondering if every NBA franchise haveever won the title, the answer is no. There are 11NBA franchises that haven’t been able to make their entry into the NBA Champions list yet. This includes Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hortnets, Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz.
With their recent win over the Boston Celtics, which clinched the NBA Finals 2022 in their favor 4-2, the Golden State Warriors became the third winningest team in league history, behind only the Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers, who are still far behind the Dubs with their 17 championships.
Basketball Association of America (BAA)
| Year | BAA Champions | Result | Runners-up |
| 1947 | Philadelphia Warriors | 4-1 | Chicago Stags |
| 1948 | Baltimore Bullets | 4-2 | Philadelphia Warriors |
| 1949 | Minneapolis Lakers | 4-2 | Washington Capitals |
National Basketball Association (NBA)
| Year | NBA Champions | Result | Runners-up |
| 1950 | Minneapolis Lakers | 4-2 | Syracuse Nationals |
| 1951 | Rochester Royals | 4-3 | New York Knicks |
| 1952 | Minneapolis Lakers | 4-3 | New York Knicks |
| 1953 | Minneapolis Lakers | 4-1 | New York Knicks |
| 1954 | Minneapolis Lakers | 4-3 | Syracuse Nationals |
| 1955 | Syracuse Nationals | 4-3 | Fort Wayne Pistons |
| 1956 | Philadelphia Warriors | 4-1 | Fort Wayne Pistons |
| 1957 | Boston Celtics | 4-3 | St. Louis Hawks |
| 1958 | St. Louis Hawks | 4-2 | Boston Celtics |
| 1959 | Boston Celtics | 4-0 | Minneapolis Lakers |
| 1960 | Boston Celtics | 4-3 | St. Louis Hawks |
| 1961 | Boston Celtics | 4-1 | St. Louis Hawks |
| 1962 | Boston Celtics | 4-3 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 1963 | Boston Celtics | 4-2 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 1964 | Boston Celtics | 4-1 | San Francisco Warriors |
| 1965 | Boston Celtics | 4-1 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 1966 | Boston Celtics | 4-3 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 1967 | Philadelphia 76ers | 4-2 | San Francisco Warriors |
| 1968 | Boston Celtics | 4-2 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 1969 | Boston Celtics | 4-3 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 1970 | New York Knicks | 4-3 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 1971 | Milwaukee Bucks | 4-0 | Baltimore Bullets |
| 1972 | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-1 | New York Knicks |
| 1973 | New York Knicks | 4-1 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 1974 | Boston Celtics | 4-3 | Milwaukee Bucks |
| 1975 | Golden State Warriors | 4-0 | Washington Bullets |
| 1976 | Boston Celtics | 4-2 | Phoenix Suns |
| 1977 | Portland Trail Blazers | 4-2 | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 1978 | Washington Bullets | 4-3 | Seattle SuperSonics |
| 1979 | Seattle SuperSonics | 4-1 | Washington Bullets |
| 1980 | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-2 | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 1981 | Boston Celtics | 4-2 | Houston Rockets |
| 1982 | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-2 | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 1983 | Philadelphia 76ers | 4-0 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 1984 | Boston Celtics | 4-3 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 1985 | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-2 | Boston Celtics |
| 1986 | Boston Celtics | 4-2 | Houston Rockets |
| 1987 | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-2 | Boston Celtics |
| 1988 | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-3 | Detroit Pistons |
| 1989 | Detroit Pistons | 4-0 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 1990 | Detroit Pistons | 4-1 | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 1991 | Chicago Bulls | 4-1 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 1992 | Chicago Bulls | 4-2 | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 1993 | Chicago Bulls | 4-2 | Phoenix Suns |
| 1994 | Houston Rockets | 4-3 | New York Knicks |
| 1995 | Houston Rockets | 4-0 | Orlando Magic |
| 1996 | Chicago Bulls | 4-2 | Seattle SuperSonics |
| 1997 | Chicago Bulls | 4-2 | Utah Jazz |
| 1998 | Chicago Bulls | 4-2 | Utah Jazz |
| 1999 | San Antonio Spurs | 4-1 | New York Knicks |
| 2000 | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-2 | Indiana Pacers |
| 2001 | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-1 | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 2002 | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-0 | New Jersey Nets |
| 2003 | San Antonio Spurs | 4-2 | New Jersey Nets |
| 2004 | Detroit Pistons | 4-1 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 2005 | San Antonio Spurs | 4-3 | Detroit Pistons |
| 2006 | Miami Heat | 4-2 | Dallas Mavericks |
| 2007 | San Antonio Spurs | 4-0 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 2008 | Boston Celtics | 4-2 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 2009 | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-1 | Orlando Magic |
| 2010 | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-3 | Boston Celtics |
| 2011 | Dallas Mavericks | 4-2 | Miami Heat |
| 2012 | Miami Heat | 4-1 | Oklahoma City Thunder |
| 2013 | Miami Heat | 4-3 | San Antonio Spurs |
| 2014 | San Antonio Spurs | 4-1 | Miami Heat |
| 2015 | Golden State Warriors | 4-2 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 2016 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 4-3 | Golden State Warriors |
| 2017 | Golden State Warriors | 4-1 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 2018 | Golden State Warriors | 4-0 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 2019 | Toronto Raptors | 4-2 | Golden State Warriors |
| 2020 | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-2 | Miami Heat |
| 2021 | Milwaukee Bucks | 4-2 | Phoenix Suns |
| 2022 | Golden State Warriors | 4-2 | Boston Celtics |
