The National Basketball Association, which was called the Basketball Association of America for its first three seasons, has crowned 73 champions. Nobody knows if any team will get the chance to seize the title this year.
But of all those champs, which teams rank as the 20 best?
And for fans of the purple and gold, how many Los Angeles Lakers teams are included in the all-time top 20?
The Los Angeles Lakers have won 16 titles, second only to the 17 garnered by the Celtics. Together they have captured 45% of the league’s championships. So it should surprise no one that they are the franchises best represented in the top 20.
Ranking teams across decades is a tricky task. Objective factors such as a team’s winning percentage in both the regular season and playoffs are major determinants.
But the rankings are also influenced by subjective matters such as how dominant the team was, how good its best players were, and what competition it faced should also be considered.
Teams that won multiple titles in a short period of time can make the list more than once only if they experienced significant roster changes.
On with the rankings:
Honorable Mention:
1949-54 Minneapolis Lakers:
It is difficult, if not impossible, to rank a franchise that was extraordinarily successful, winning five titles in six years, in an era that was so hugely different from the present day. That John Kundla-coached team was seen by very few people alive today. But some recognition should be given to the dominant player of his time, George Mikan, and to teammates like Jim Pollard, Vern Mikkelsen and Slater Martin.
Here is the Top 20.