At the moment, the Boston Celtics hold the record for most NBA titles (17), followed by the Los Angeles Lakers. Most of those championships were earned during the so called ‘Celtics Dynasty’, an era that lasted for more than 10 years. During those ten years, the Celtics won eight consecutive titles, therefore it probably isn’t a surprise that a lot of the players on this list were part of that dynasty, and have been able to collect several NBA Championship rings during their career. On top of that, only four players on this list haven’t won a championship with those Boston Celtics.
10. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 6 Championships
Abdul-Jabbar won one title with the Milwaukee Bucks and five titles with the Los Angeles Lakers. Furthermore, he was voted the Finals MVP twice, once in 1971 and in 1985.
Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan – 6
Pippen and Jordan won 6 Championships together between 1991-1993 and 1996-1998, with the Chicago Bulls. Jordan was named the Finals MVP in all of those Finals, as well as the regular season MVP in 1991, 1992, 1996 and 1998.
Bob Cousy – 6
Cousy is the first player on this list that was a part of the Celtics Dynasty. He started played for the Celtics in 1950, and played in the NBA for 14 seasons. After he won his sixth title with the Celtics in 1963, Cousy retired. He returned to the NBA 6 years later, when he became the coach of the Cincinnati Royals and even made a short, seven game, comeback in 1969 to boost the ticketsales.
7. Robert Horry – 7 Championships
Horry played for four different team in the NBA, the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns, and he won the title with three of those teams. The only team he didn’t win a championship with was the Suns. Furthermore, Horry appeared in 7 Finals, and won all of them.
Frank Ramsey – 7
Ramsey spend his entire nine-year career with the Boston Celtics during the Celtics Dynasty. He began his NBA career in 1954, but took a break in 1955, when he went into the military. Ramsey played a big role in the team, even though he came off the bench. He is probably the first ‘sixth man’ in the NBA.
Jim Loscutoff – 7
Loscutoff was also a member of the Celtics Dynasty. After he ended his career, the Celtics wanted to retire his number, 8, but he asked that they didn’t so another Celtics player could wear the number in the future.
3. John Havlicek – 8 Championships
Havlicek played for the Celtics for 16 seasons, appeared in eight Finals, and won all of them. Furthermore, he was named the Finals MVP in 1974, and he is still the all-time leader in points scored and games played for the Celtics.
Tom ‘Satch’ Sanders – 8
Sanders played for the Celtics from 1960-1973, and won his titles in 1961-1966 and in 1968-1969. His number 16 is retired by the Celtics.
K.C. Jones – 8
Jones won eight championships as a player of the Celtics (1959-1966), two as an assistant coach (1972, Lakers, 1981, Celtics) and two as the head coach of the Celtics (1984, 1986). Furthermore, he is one of the players that has an 8-0 record in the Finals. K.C. Jones was one of three players that was a part of the team for all eighth consecutive championships.
Tom Heinsohn – 8
Heinsohn ended his NBA career in 1966, so he wasn’t part of the team when the Celtics won their eighth consecutive title. He did win eighth championships, as he had already grabbed his first title in 1957. Furthermore, he became the Celtics’ head coach in 1969, four years after he retired as a player, and he won two titles as a coach as well.
2. Sam Jones – 10 Championships
Jones appeared in 11 Finals in his 12 year NBA career, and during that time he won 10 Championships. He was also one of the three players that was a part of the team during all of their eighth consecutive titles.
1. Bill Russell – 11 Championships
Russell played in 12 Finals with the Celtics and he won 11 of them. He is tied with Henri Richard, an NHL player, for the most championships won by a single player. Furthermore, he is one of the three players, the other being K.C. Jones and Sam Jones who were present for all eighth consecutive Celtics titles. Russell is also one of seven players that has won an NCAA and NBA Championship and an Olympic Gold Medal.