Honestly, if you'd told someone five years ago that the Oklahoma City Thunder would be the team to break the NBA's "parity curse" in 2025, they’d have probably laughed you out of the room. But here we are. It's January 2026, and looking at the NBA championships in order feels different now.
For a long time, the league was a game of dynasties. You had the Celtics in the '60s, the Lakers and Celtics in the '80s, and Jordan’s Bulls basically owning the '90s. Then, things got weird. Between 2019 and 2025, we saw seven different franchises lift the Larry O'Brien trophy in seven years.
That kind of volatility is basically unheard of in pro sports.
The Thunder’s seven-game victory over the Indiana Pacers in June 2025 didn't just give Shai Gilgeous-Alexander his first ring. It marked the first time the franchise won it all since 1979—back when they were still the Seattle SuperSonics. If you're trying to keep track of who won what and when, you've gotta look at how the power shifted from the old guard to this new, hyper-efficient era of "positionless" basketball.
The Modern Era: Seven Years of Chaos (2019–2025)
The streak began with the Toronto Raptors in 2019. Kawhi Leonard showed up, did his thing for one season, and left a whole country celebrating. After that? Total flux.
💡 You might also like: Chase Center: What Most People Get Wrong About the New Arena in San Francisco
- 2020: Los Angeles Lakers. The "Bubble" championship in Orlando. LeBron James and Anthony Davis dominated a mid-pandemic playoffs, beating the Miami Heat 4-2.
- 2021: Milwaukee Bucks. Giannis Antetokounmpo put up 50 points in a clincher against the Phoenix Suns. It was the first title for Milwaukee in half a century.
- 2022: Golden State Warriors. The "one last ride" for the Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green trio. They took down a young Boston Celtics team in six games.
- 2023: Denver Nuggets. Nikola Jokic proved that a pass-first center could be the best player on a title team. They handled Miami with ease.
- 2024: Boston Celtics. Finally, the Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown era resulted in banner number 18, surpassing the Lakers for the most all-time.
- 2025: Oklahoma City Thunder. The most recent entry. They survived a brutal Game 7 against Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers, winning 103-91.
Why the 2025 Finals mattered
Most people expected the Thunder to be good, but nobody expected the Pacers to make it a dogfight. Indiana set a postseason record with five 15-point comebacks. It was wild. But in Game 7, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dropped 29 points and 12 assists, cementing his status as the best guard in the world right now.
The Dynasty Decades: When One Team Ruled
Before this current era of "anyone can win," the NBA was a lot more predictable. Kinda boring? Maybe. But the level of play was insane.
In the 1990s, if Michael Jordan was playing a full season, the Chicago Bulls were probably winning. They went 6-0 in the Finals during that decade. The only break came in 1994 and 1995 when Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets took advantage of Jordan’s baseball hiatus.
Then the 2000s hit. It became the Shaq and Kobe show. The Los Angeles Lakers pulled off a three-peat from 2000 to 2002. If it wasn't the Lakers, it was the San Antonio Spurs. Tim Duncan and Gregg Popovich built a culture that stayed relevant for twenty years, winning titles in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, and eventually 2014.
📖 Related: Calendario de la H: Todo lo que debes saber sobre cuando juega honduras 2025 y el camino al Mundial
Nuance matters here. People forget how close the Detroit Pistons came to being a multi-year dynasty. Their 2004 win over the "superteam" Lakers (Shaq, Kobe, Malone, Payton) is still one of the biggest upsets in sports history. They nearly repeated in 2005 but lost a heartbreaking seven-game series to the Spurs.
The Most NBA Championships in Order (All-Time Leaders)
If you're looking at the history books today, two names still sit at the top, though the gap is widening.
- Boston Celtics (18 Titles): Their 2024 win broke the tie.
- Los Angeles Lakers (17 Titles): Still waiting for that 18th banner to match Boston.
- Golden State Warriors (7 Titles): Mostly thanks to the Curry era and the early Philly days.
- Chicago Bulls (6 Titles): Pure 90s dominance.
- San Antonio Spurs (5 Titles): The model of consistency.
The Philadelphia 76ers, Detroit Pistons, and Miami Heat all sit with three apiece. It's a very exclusive club. Honestly, it’s harder to win now than it was in the '60s when there were fewer teams and the Celtics could just hoard all the talent. Bill Russell won 11 rings in 13 years. That will literally never happen again.
What's Next? The 2026 Outlook
Right now, the Thunder are on pace to do something no one has done since the 2017-18 Warriors: repeat. They’re currently sitting with the best record in the league (34-7 as of mid-January). But the Detroit Pistons are surprisingly the top seed in the East. Imagine a Thunder vs. Pistons Finals.
👉 See also: Caitlin Clark GPA Iowa: The Truth About Her Tippie College Grades
The New York Knicks are also lurking. They haven't won a title since 1973, but after winning the NBA Cup in December 2025, the hype in MSG is at an all-time high.
Actionable Insights for NBA Fans:
- Watch the West: The talent gap between the #1 seed (Thunder) and the #8 seed (Warriors) is tiny. The playoffs are going to be a bloodbath.
- Track the Youth: Teams like the Magic and Rockets are finally seeing their rebuilds pay off. They might not win it all in 2026, but they’re the "spoiler" teams to watch.
- Keep an eye on the Trade Deadline: With the new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) rules, teams are terrified of the "second apron" tax. Expect more talent-shuffling than usual this February.
To stay ahead of the curve, focus on defensive rating over offensive highlights. The 2025 Thunder won because they had the #1 defense, not just because Shai can score. History shows that while stars win games, defensive rotations win rings.