The new NBA season begins this Tuesday, October 18, with 30 teams ready to battle it out to lift the Larry O’Brien trophy in June 2023. Today, an overview of the NBA records that make this league the legend. Will the Boston Celtics manage to win an 18th title in their story? Will Stephen Curry get a 5th career title? A look back at the NBA’s honors and records.
NBA awards: the Celtics soon ahead of the Lakers?
It is the greatest rivalry in American sport that exists between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics. With 17 NBA titles for the 2 franchises, these teams have gone through the ages to leave their mark on the history of the League. With emblematic players who made their teams legend (Bill Russel, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, KCJones, Shaquille O’Neal, John Havlicek or Kobe Bryant), these 2 franchises dominate far and wide this classification. On the last place of the podium, the Golden State Warriors, with 7 titles on the clock, have made a spectacular leap in recent years by winning no less than four trophies since 2015 in the wake of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. What now to get ahead of Chicago Bulls who, with their 6 titles acquired between 1991 and 1998, find themselves at the 4th square.
17 titles Los Angeles Lakers (1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1972, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010, 2020)
17 titles Boston Celtics (1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1974, 1976, 1981, 1984, 1986, 2008)
7 titles : Golden State Warriors (1947, 1956, 1975, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2022)
6 titles : Chicago Bulls (1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998)
5 titles : San Antonio Spurs (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014)
Number of career titles: Bill Russell and the Celtics of the 1960s at the top of the NBA charts
In the ranking of the most successful players, the generation of the Boston Celtics, who dominated the NBA like never before during the 1960s, monopolize the top of the NBA charts. Leading with 11 career titles, the late Bill Russell. Having left us during the summer, the Celtics legend has worked a lot on and off the basketball court. A defensive pivot, he was a deterrent like the NBA has rarely seen in its history. The clear domination of the Celtics during this period is summed up in this NBA list with 6 players at the top. We find there Sam Jones, Tom Heinsohn, KCJones, Tom Sanders and John Havlicek. The latter, however, won two other titles, again with Boston, in 1974 and 1976. To find traces of a player other than Massachusetts, one must turn to Robert Horrywhich, titled with 3 different teams (Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs), interferes in this ranking.
- Bill Russel- 11 titles
- Sam Jones- 10 titles
- Tom Heinsohn, KC Jones, Tom Sanders and John Havlicek – 8 titles
- Frank Ramsey and Robert Horry – 7 titles
- Bob Cousy, Jim Loscutoff, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen – 6 titles
Kareem Abdul Jabbar, 6-time MVP
The MVP (Most Valuable Player) trophy is the most coveted individual award in the NBA. Rewarding the best player of the regular season, its winner thus enters the legend by obtaining this distinction. It is therefore necessary to show regularity during the 6 months of competition, and in this game, Kareem Abdul Jabbar was a master at it. First at the Milwaukee Bucks and then at the Los Angeles Lakers, the pivot put all defenses at his mercy with his hook shot. Unstoppable, Lew Alcindor of his real name, was named MVP of the season 6 times and dominates this NBA charts. Behind, two other legends follow him very closely, Bill Russell and Michael Jordan. If the Celtics’ center was the leader of the Celtics of the 1960s, MJ for his part took basketball to another dimension. Sacred 5 times, they could well have obtained more! Finally, with 4 titles each, Wilt Chamberlain and lebron james are not far behind and have also marked the history of the NBA.
Kareem Abdul Jabbar – 6 MVP titles (1971, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1980)
Bill Russell- 5 MVP titles (1958, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1965)
Michael Jordan- 5 MVP titles (1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1998)
Wilt Chamberlain- 4 MVP titles (1960, 1966, 1967, 1968)
Lebron James- 4 MVP titles (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013)
Larry Bird- 3 MVP titles (1984, 1985, 1986)
Magic Johnson- 3 MVP titles (1987, 1989, 1990)
Moses Malone – 3 MVP titles (1979, 1982, 1983)
NBA Finals MVP, Michael Jordan and the rest
If a trophy can prove the dominance of a player in the most important moment of the season, that of MVP of the finals (Bill Russel trophy of his name) is the best image. Finding yourself in the final, with all the spotlights on it, can destabilize a lot of people, but not all. And Michael Jordan is simply the best example. With 6 NBA Finals in his career, 6 wins and 6 MVP titles, it’s hard to beat his majesty. MJ dominates this NBA list like no other. Behind, we find the King, lebron james, who with 4 trophies gleaned with 3 different teams (Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers) is in the wake of the GOAT. On the podium, 3 players share this place, namely Magic Johnson, Tim Duncan and Shaquille O’Neal.
Michael Jordan: 6 titles (1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998)
Lebron James: 4 titles (2012, 2013, 2016, 2020)
Magic Johnson: 3 titles (1980, 1982, 1987)
Tim Duncan: 3 titles (1999, 2003, 2005)
Shaquille O’Neal: 3 titles (2000, 2001, 2002)
NBA palms: single-game records
Individual performances in a match remain etched in the record books for many years or even decades! If some seem unattainable, others may well fall one day:
Single-game point records
- Wilt Chamberlain (Philadelphia) – 100 pointsMarch 2, 1962
Record rebounds in a game
- Wilt Chamberlain (Philadelphia) – 55 rbdsNovember 24, 1960
Most assists in a game
- Scott Skiles (Orlando) – 30 passesDecember 30, 1990
Most steals in a game
- Larry Kenon (Spurs) and Kendall Gill (Nets) – 11 ints
Records of blocks in a game
- Elmore Smith (Lakers) – 17 ctsOctober 28, 1973
Most 3-point shots in a game
- Klay Thompson (Warriors) – 14October 29, 2018
