You think you know the history of the Larry O'Brien trophy. You probably picture Michael Jordan shrugging in '92 or LeBron James weeping on the floor in Cleveland in 2016. But honestly, the real story of nba champions by year is way weirder than the highlights suggest. It’s a messy, chaotic timeline of teams moving cities, leagues merging, and "dynasties" that actually felt like accidents at the time.
Basketball history isn't a straight line. It’s a jagged series of eras where one team usually holds the rest of the league hostage.
The Early Days and the Ghost of Baltimore
Before the NBA was even called the NBA, it was the BAA (Basketball Association of America). In 1947, the Philadelphia Warriors took the first-ever title.
People forget that the only defunct team to ever win an NBA championship was the 1948 Baltimore Bullets. No, not the Washington Wizards version—this was a team that literally stopped existing in 1954. They are the "ghost" of the champions list.
Then came George Mikan.
If you saw him today, he’d look like a guy who’s lost on his way to a library. But back then? He was a cheat code. His Minneapolis Lakers (yes, they used to be in Minnesota) won five titles in six years. They basically invented the idea of a "big man" dominating the sport.
When Boston Decided to Never Lose
If you look at nba champions by year between 1957 and 1969, it looks like a typo.
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Boston. Boston. Boston.
They won 11 out of 13 titles. Eleven.
Bill Russell was the common denominator. He didn't care about scoring 30 points; he just wanted to make sure nobody else could score at all. The 60s were basically a decade of the Celtics putting the league in a sleeper hold. The only teams to break the streak were the St. Louis Hawks (1958) and the Philadelphia 76ers (1967).
Everyone else was just a background character in Red Auerbach’s cigar-smoke-filled world.
The Parity of the 70s
Then the 70s hit, and everything went nuts. It was the "decade of parity." Eight different teams won titles in ten years.
- The Knicks got their only two rings (1970, 1973).
- The Bucks won with a young Kareem (then Lew Alcindor) in '71.
- Portland and Seattle even grabbed trophies.
It was a weird time for the league. Attendance was down. Tape delay was a thing. The NBA was kind of a mess until two guys named Magic and Larry showed up to save the day.
Showtime, Bird, and the Bad Boys
The 80s were essentially a private club. If your name wasn't the Lakers or the Celtics, you weren't invited. From 1980 to 1988, these two franchises combined for eight championships.
Magic Johnson brought "Showtime" to LA, turning basketball into Hollywood on hardwood. Meanwhile, Larry Bird was in Boston, diving for loose balls and hitting jumpers with a shooting form that looked like a catapult.
The Detroit Pistons finally crashed the party in 1989. They weren't flashy. They were mean. They called themselves the "Bad Boys," and they basically beat everyone up until they won back-to-back rings. It was a brutal way to play, but it worked.
The Jordan Tax
From 1991 to 1998, Michael Jordan collected what I like to call the "Jordan Tax." If you wanted to win a ring, you had to wait for him to retire or play baseball.
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He won two "three-peats."
- 1991-1993
- 1996-1998
The only reason Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets have two rings (1994, 1995) is because MJ was off trying to hit curveballs in Birmingham. When Jordan came back, the Chicago Bulls went 72-10 and dominated the list of nba champions by year like nobody since the 60s Celtics.
The Modern Era: From Spurs to OKC
The 2000s belonged to Kobe, Shaq, and Tim Duncan. The Lakers did another three-peat (2000-2002), and the San Antonio Spurs became the most boringly efficient dynasty in sports history, winning in '99, '03, '05, and '07.
Then things got global.
LeBron James moved to Miami, then back to Cleveland. The Golden State Warriors changed the math of basketball by shooting three-pointers from the parking lot.
But look at what’s happened lately.
The league has entered a new "Parity Era." Since 2019, we haven't seen a single team repeat as champions.
- 2019: Toronto Raptors (The Kawhi Leonard miracle)
- 2020: LA Lakers (The Bubble title)
- 2021: Milwaukee Bucks (Giannis arrives)
- 2022: Golden State Warriors (The last dance of the old guard)
- 2023: Denver Nuggets (Jokic dominance)
- 2024: Boston Celtics (Banner 18)
- 2025: Oklahoma City Thunder (The youth movement)
The 2025 Oklahoma City Thunder win was a huge deal. They are officially the new standard for "rebuilding the right way." Led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, they took down the Indiana Pacers in a seven-game thriller that reminded everyone why Game 7 is the best two words in sports.
What to Do With This Info
If you're trying to win a trivia night or just settle an argument at a bar, here is the actionable breakdown of the nba champions by year stats you actually need:
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The Heavy Hitters
Currently, the Boston Celtics hold the all-time lead with 18 championships after their 2024 run. The Los Angeles Lakers are breathing down their necks with 17. Nobody else is even close. The Warriors have 7, and the Bulls are stuck at 6.
Watch the New Guard
Don't bet on the old dynasties right now. The league is deeper than it’s ever been. We just had seven different champions in seven years—the longest such stretch in NBA history. If you're looking at future trends, focus on the "International MVP" era. The last few trophies have been hoisted by guys from Greece, Serbia, and Canada.
The "Asterisk" Debates
Don't get sucked into the "Bubble Ring" or "Shortened Season" debates. A ring is a ring. The 1999 Spurs won in a 50-game lockout season. The 2020 Lakers won in a Disney World resort. They still count in the record books.
Check the 2026 standings closely. We are in a window where a first-time champion (like the Thunder just were) is becoming the norm rather than the exception. The "superteam" era is dying, and the "balanced roster" era is officially here.
Next time you look at a list of champions, don't just see names and dates. See the shifts in how the game is played. From Mikan's post-ups to Curry's deep threes to SGA's midrange mastery, the winners define the evolution.