There is no shortage of cool NBA records: Scoring, rebounding, nailing three pointers, to name a few.
But for ultimate proof that a player is a superstar and that a team is dynasty-worthy, nothing beats a collection of diamond-encrusted championship rings.
No doubt, the league’s most astonishing players would not mind having another finger or two to accommodate the classy hardware.
With that in mind, then, here are some of our favourite Lords of the NBA Ring, players as well as teams.
BOSTON CELTICS
When it comes to distributing rings to players, the Celtics rule the roost. Those who bet on them to take it all this past season, via 888sport.com, totally get that the current team has what it takes.
Less obvious, perhaps, is that it’s nothing new. Since 1957, the Celtics have a record-holding 18 NBA championships to their credit. That makes for at least 270 player rings that the team has handed out.
Factor in coaches, owners, various employees as well as hangers on, and the number goes even higher.
Somewhere, Red Auerbach – the great, acerbic, cigar-loving one-time coach of the Celtics – is smiling.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
Fittingly, the NBA team with the second highest number of championships, at 17, is the Lakers, arch enemies of the Boston Celtics.
During the 1980s, soon after avid poker player and brilliant sports-team manager Jerry Buss purchased the Lakers, they managed to snag five championships. Not to take anything away from Buss, but winning ways may have been in the team’s DNA.
Back when the Lakers were still operating out of Minneapolis, they won five championships and became the first NBA squad to take down three titles in a row, during 1952, ’53 and ’54.
In later years, of course, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant, among other round-ball greats, contributed to many of the team’s 12 additional NBA championships, the last of which came in 2020 (with LeBron James playing a key role).
BILL RUSSELL
Bill Russell has more NBA championship rings than anyone else in the game, with a total of 11 to his credit.
He played center for the relentless Boston Celtics between 1957 and 1969, during which time he won more rings than he can wear on all of his fingers.
You can argue that his NBA championship rings, attained over the course of 13 seasons, stem from him being on the right team at the right time.
But there also is something to be said for the fact that the Celtics would not have been the same without Russell, who made 12 All-Star teams and garnered MVP status on five occasions.
KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR
Another top-notch, sky-scraping center, Kareem Abdul Jabbar clearly benefited from being part of the Lakers dynasty, though he received his first of six NBA championship rings in 1971, when he played for the Milwaukee Bucks.
After getting fitted for that first band of gold, Jabbar – who famously frustrated opponents with his all-but-patented skyhook and scored 38,387 points in 1984 (a record that held until 2023) – endured a nine-year-long dry spell.
But the big man more than made up for it when he led the Lakers to five championships over a nine-year period, from 1980 until 1988.
MICHAEL JORDAN
The most emblematic player in basketball history, Michael Jordan also has six NBA championship rings on his fingers.
He spearheaded the Chicago Bulls run of the 1990s and helped turn Nike into the world’s most famous sneaker company.
Besides being the oldest player to score more than 40 points in a single game, he also showed himself to have the biggest heart in basketball.
In 2001, after coming out of retirement to play for the Washington Wizards, Jordan donated that year’s entire salary of $1 million to 9/11 relief. Any way you cut it, that move was a perfect swish.
*Credit for the main photo belongs to Alamy*
