Which US Professional Sports Team Has The Most Championships?

Last Updated on October 31, 2023 by Alex PT

The New York Yankees have won the most championships of any US professional sports team, with 27 World Series titles. The Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League are second, with 25 Stanley Cups.

• New York Yankees: 27 World Series titles
• Montreal Canadiens: 25 Stanley Cups

The Baseball

Having been established in 1901 with the name The Orioles in Baltimore, the Yankees plays in the American League East. They were later rebranded and renamed in New York. The New York Yankees are the most valuable professional sports team in Major League Baseball. In 2019, the team was valued with an estimate of 4.6 billion U.S. dollars, having surpassed the Los Angeles Dodgers with an estimated value of 3.3 billion U.S. dollars. The Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York City, is where the Yankees play their home games. This Yankee Stadium has a huge capacity to handle 47,000 spectators.

U.S. Baseball Professional Sports Teams	Total number of championships won
NYY – New York Yankees	27
SLC – St. Louis Cardinals	11
BRS – Boston Red Sox	9
NYG – New York Giants	5
PA – Philadelphia Athletics	5
PP – Pittsburgh Pirates	5
LAD – Los Angeles Dodgers	5
CR – Cincinnati Reds	5
DT – Detroit Tigers	4
OA – Oakland Athletics	4
BO – Baltimore Orioles	3
CWS – Chicago White Sox	3
SFG – San Francisco Giants

The Basketball

The Celtics, Larry Bird, And Bill Russell

In the United States of America NBA, there are two major great dynasties. Boston Celtics is the U.S. professional basketball team with the most NBA championship titles with 17 titles. They are closely pursued by the Los Angeles Lakers with 16 NBA championship titles as of 2020. 72 NBA championship games have been played since the establishment of the trophy, and the Boston Celtics and the Lakers have both won 33. The Boston Celtics have successfully achieved the NBA championship titles in the following years; 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1974, 1976, 1981, 1984, 1986, and 2008. This professional basketball team begun their dominance in 1957 when brought in Bill Russell won 11 NBA championship titles with the Celtics after he started his career as a center for the team in 1956. He still holds the unbeaten record to date, of that 11 NBA championships, with 2 of which he won as a player-coach. The only NBA player with the most Championship victories still remains Russell to date. Russell led his Celtics team to win 8 consecutive championship titles from 1959 to 1966 and they are the most successful and valuable team in the NBA history.

Who Is Celtic Bolton Larry Bird?

Furthermore, one of the most famous Boston Celtics NBA players is Larry Bird, having won 3 NBA championship with his team. The great and famous rivalry between the Lakers and the Celtics was made even more heated by Larry, particularly with Magic Johnson.  The Magic Johnson moment almost cemented the dominance of the legendary Celtic status in the NBA. This era was a key figure in the advent of the famous era in U.S. basketball pushing it into higher ratings, TV viewership, and propelling its status a major U.S. business and global sport.

The Los Angeles Lakers

If we are talking about the most successful NBA professional team of all time, the Los Angeles Lakers must have the second spot after the Boston Celtics. Certainly, they are the second most successful NBA basket team of all time with 16 NBA championship titles. After Los Angeles Lakers recruited Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson, their dominance immediately began, after winning five NBA championship titles (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, and 1988).

Who Is Magic Johnson?

When talking about the first superstar in the sport of basketball, we are talking about no other person than Magic Johnson. With an impressive 6 foot 9 inches tall, it was a stunning physical size mixed with great talents with the ball. Johnson’s dazzle and flash propelled Los Angeles Lakers and also the United States basketball to a whole different level. The Los Angeles Lakers were formerly known as the Minneapolis Lakers before 1980 and they have already won 5 NBA titles before moving to Los Angeles(1948-1954). After seeing how successful the Brooklyn Dodgers were after their move to Los Angeles, the Lakers owner chose to move the team to Los Angeles too.

The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers had the most famous rivalries in the history of the sport and arguably the most fierce in basketball history 

The Rise Of Michael Jordan And The Chicago Bulls

Even after winning fewer NBA championship titles than Lakers or Celtics, no one can ridicule the impact of the Chicago Bulls on U.S. basketball and sports history. In the ’90s, the Chicago Bulls alongside Michael Jordan dominated the sports culture, and popular culture and arguably gave the U.S. citizens the rise of a a basketball megastar. The Bulls team was purchased by Jerry Reinsdorf in 1985 for just 16.2 million dollars, but surprisingly, as of 2020, the team is valued by Forbes at $3.2 billion. Certainly, a lot of team-building occurred between those developing years and we can’t over-emphasize the impact of Jordan. Michael had a rare combination of love, work ethic, talent, charisma, confidence and passion for the game, and the ability to jump high.

Of course, we all know that no victory in sport is achieved by one person alone, and basketball is a team sport. The coach and team that worked with Michael Jordan were also phenomena. With the chief coach Phil Jackson and players like Steve Kerr, Dennis Rodman, and Scottie Pippen just to mention a few, the whole team was equipped to build a football dominance. Before 1998 the team had already won their 6th NBA championship title. This makes them one of the greatest basketball teams in the history of the sport.

The Golden State Warriors

We can’t talk about the dominance in the sport of basketball without mentioning the Golden State Warriors. They were formerly known as the Philadelphia Warriors between 1946 to 1962, after which they were rebranded as the San Francisco Warriors from 1962 to 1971. It was after 1971 that their name was changed from San Francisco Warriors to Golden State Warriors. They won remarkable 6 NBA championship titles from, 1947, 1956, 1975, 2015, and 2017 and their last win came in 2018. The Wilt “the Stilt” Chamberlain era was the most popular era of the Golden State Warriors from 1959 to 1962. On March 2, 1962, at the Basketball Stadium at Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Warriors beat the New York Knicks (169-147), where Chamberlain scored a whopping 100 points in that match. He set an unbeatable record of the only player to score up to 100 points in a single game.  

Here Is The List Of The Top U.S. Basketball Teams With The Most Championship Titles;

1.Boston Celtics – 17 NBA Championship Titles

1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1974, 1976, 1981, 1984, 1986, 2008

2. Los Angeles Lakers – 16 NBA Championship Titles

1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954 (formerly known as the Minneapolis Lakers), 1972, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010

3. Golden State Warriors – 6 NBA Championship Titles

1947, 1956 (formerly known as Philadelphia Warriors), 1975, 2015, 2017, 2018

4. Chicago Bulls – 6 NBA Championship Titles

1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998

5. San Antonio Spurs – 5 NBA Championship Titles

1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014

6. Philadelphia 76ers – 3 NBA Championship Titles

1955 (formerly known as  Syracuse Nationals), 1967, 1983

7. Detroit Pistons – 3 NBA Championship Titles

1989, 1990, 2004

8. Miami Heat – 3 NBA Championship Titles

2006, 2012, 2013

9. New York Knicks – 2 NBA Championship Titles

1970, 1973

10. Houston Rockets – 2 NBA Championship Titles

1994, 1995

11. Atlanta Hawks – 1 NBA Championship Title

1958 (formerly known as the St. Louis Hawks)

12. Washington Wizards – 1 NBA Championship Title

1978 (formerly known as the Baltimore Bullets)

13. Oklahoma City Thunder – 1 NBA Championship Title

1979 (formerly known as the Seattle SuperSonics)

14. Cleveland Cavaliers – 1 NBA Championship Title

2016

15. Portland Trail Blazers – 1 NBA Championship Title

1977

16. Milwaukee Bucks – 1 NBA Championship Title

1971

17. Dallas Mavericks – 1 NBA Championship Title

2011

18. Sacramento Kings – 1 NBA Championship Title

1951 (formerly known as the Rochester Royals)

These 12 NBA teams listed below have not win an NBA championship title before.

These 12 NBA Franchises Have Not Won An NBA Championship:

1. Brooklyn Nets

2. Denver Nuggets

3. Los Angeles Clippers

4. Charlotte Hornets

5. Memphis Grizzlies

6. Phoenix Suns

7. Utah Jazz

8. Minnesota Timberwolves

9. Toronto Raptors

10. Orlando Magic

11. New Orleans Pelicans

12. Indiana Pacers

References:

https://www.one37pm.com/sports/which-us-professional-sports-team-has-the-most-championships
https://champsorchumps.us/records/most-championships-by-city