NBA Players 4 Championship Rings: This time, as we carry on with our series ranking the greatest players who have ever won a particular amount of NBA titles, we are going into elite territory. We now go on to the NBA legends who have won precisely four NBA championships, after the finest players who have won one, two, and three titles.
Only 26 players have ever won more than four NBA titles in their careers, while only 18 players have ever won precisely four. Ranking players of this calibre based just on other statistics, awards, and accomplishments they have earned over their careers is like picking teeth when talking about NBA players who have won 4 NBA championship rings and permanently altered the landscape of basketball. The top ten are without a doubt the ones listed below.
List of NBA Players Who Have Won 4 Championship Rings
1. LeBron James
Of the players who have won four NBA championships in their career, only one has clearly distinguished himself from the rest of the field. No other player in NBA history has dominated the league for as long as LeBron James has—21 seasons to his name. In the process, he has broken almost every NBA record and established himself as one of the very select few who truly deserves to be referred to as the best of all time.
Throughout his career, James won four NBA titles with three different NBA teams. He led the Miami Heat to four consecutive NBA Finals from 2011 to 2014; he won Finals MVP in 2012 and 2013. He also won the first two titles of his career in those years. James played a key role in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ historic shock of the 73-9 Golden State Warriors in 2016, which led to the team’s first NBA championship.
James has been with the Los Angeles Lakers from 2018–19. In 2020, he won the Finals MVP award and won his fourth NBA title. James is the all-time leading scorer in the NBA and one of just two players to earn four or more MVP titles in the Finals. He is also one of only five players in NBA history to win at least four MVP honours.
2. Shaquille O’Neal
Ranking just above Shaquille O’Neal, another deserving contender for the top place, and trailing James by a narrow margin. Arguably the most dominant big player in NBA history, O’Neal treated every opposition defence like a bug he could easily swat away while he was playing his best with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1990s and 2000s.
Thanks to his domination on the court, O’Neal led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA titles from 2000 to 2002, when he also won his sole MVP award in his career. He also won all three Finals MVP trophies. He would score 60.2% of the points, grab 14.1 rebounds, and block 2.4 boards a game on average throughout this time, only in the Finals.
With the Miami Heat, O’Neal would win his fourth NBA title in 2006. Even though he was very different from the player who dominated the game a few seasons before, his contribution was crucial in bringing Miami its first title in its history.
You might also be interested in reading this: NBA Betting: Futures would be wild following these deals
3) Stephen Curry
Stephen Curry ranks third on our list of players with four championship rings. He went from being a player who controlled the game like no other in NBA history to a guy who altered how the game would be played forever. Curry has changed the course of basketball history since joining the Warriors for the 2009–10 season. He has performed at a level that has not been witnessed by fans worldwide, set new records, and most importantly, won.
Curry’s abilities became apparent in 2015 as he led the Warriors to their first NBA championship since 1975 and won his first MVP award. The next season, the Warriors set an NBA record with 73 victories, and Curry was voted the first and only unanimous MVP in NBA history. Curry would assist the Warriors in winning three NBA titles in four seasons from 2015 to 2018 when they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in back-to-back games in 2017 and 2018.
Curry would reserve his finest effort until 2022 when he would win his fourth NBA title. Curry was able to earn his first Finals MVP trophy in a six-game series victory over the Boston Celtics. Curry averaged 31.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game on 48/43/85 shooting splits.
4. Tony Parker
Even now, Tony Parker is one of the most underappreciated players in NBA history. He was the most decorated NBA player to have come out of France in addition to being a four-time NBA champion. From 2002 to 2018, he led one of the most successful dynasties in NBA history as the San Antonio Spurs’ point guard and floor general.
In 2003, as a second-year player, Parker experienced the thrill of winning his first title. Parker added 14.7 points and 3.5 rebounds per game in the playoffs as they easily defeated the New Jersey Nets, with Duncan setting the standard. Parker scored 13.9 points per game in a series victory against the Pistons in 2005, which helped the Spurs win another NBA championship.
Parker’s best-ever big-stage performance would come in the 2007 Finals. Parker would win Finals MVP with 24.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game on 56.8% shooting during a four-game rout of the Cleveland Cavaliers. 2014 saw Parker and the Spurs capture a second NBA championship. In the five-game series victory against the Heat, Parker scored 18.0 points and dishevelled 4.6 assists per game.
5. Klay Thompson
Klay Thompson, another player who contributed to the beginning of the three-point shooting era, rounds out the top five players who have won precisely four NBA titles. Thompson was a key member of the Splash Bros. as they were creating the team with Stephen Curry, and from 2015 to 2022, they won four NBA titles in eight seasons.
In the most important moments of the NBA playoffs, Thompson produced performances that will live in the memory and establish himself as one of the best three-point shooters in NBA history. Thompson has averaged 18.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game in 33 NBA Finals games during his career, shooting 43.5% from the field and 39.8% from three.
Over the years, Thompson’s outstanding two-way play and ability to step up in crunch time have been essential to Golden State’s success as a dynasty.
6. Manu Ginobili
Manu Ginobili was to the San Antonio Spurs in the 2000s and early 2010s what Klay Thompson was to the Warriors, sometimes even more so. Over the years, Ginobili has shown a constant willingness to go above and beyond to help the Spurs succeed. This has included performing admirably in a reserve position when he might have rebelled and produced some of the most crucial defensive plays in NBA playoff history.
From 2003 to 2014, Ginobili played both as a starter and a reserve with the Spurs, participating on every championship squad. Ginobili averaged 14.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.3 steals per game in 29 Finals appearances. He is a four-time NBA champion and Hall of Famer now in large part because of his willingness to take on the hardest defensive assignments in the league while travelling to and through the NBA Finals over the course of 16 seasons of play.
7. Draymond Green
Draymond Green is just as crucial to the Golden State Warriors’ success as anybody, as anyone who has followed them closely enough over the past ten years can attest. Although Green’s offensive output has frequently been the subject of ridicule, his role as a facilitator and defender for some really talented players has been a real game-changer for the team’s success and four NBA titles in total.
In addition to skillfully dismantling defences with his passing, playmaking, and defence, he also guides and mentors teammates to do the same. Throughout a whole Finals series, Green has been one of the rare players to successfully guard every position on the court and emerge on top.
If you need any more proof of Green’s brilliance and influence in the NBA, just consider how fast the Warriors have fallen apart when he has been sidelined for a prolonged period of time due to injury or suspension.
8. Robert Parish
Robert Parish’s career was permanently altered when he was traded to the Boston Celtics in one of the most lopsided deals in NBA history. Parish flourished to the extent of winning three NBA titles from 1981 to 1987 after being thrown into a role as the interior defensive anchor and enforcer for one of the finest teams of the 1980s right away.
Throughout the 1980s, Parish would assist the Boston Celtics in making it to five NBA Finals and winning NBA championships in 1981, 1984, and 1986. Parish averaged 15.4, 8.4, and 1.7 blocks per game in his 31 Finals appearances with the Celtics. At forty-three years old, Parish won his fourth NBA championship ring in 1997 with the Chicago Bulls without ever playing a minute in the playoffs against the Jazz.
9. Andre Iguodala
Long after his playing days are done, Andre Iguodala’s legendary exploits and clutch championship runs during his tenure with the Golden State Warriors will live on. Iguodala was a beloved player with the 76ers before joining the Warriors. In eight seasons there, he averaged 15.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.7 steals per game as an All-Star.
After arriving at Golden State, he welcomed and accepted a new position that highlighted his playmaking and defensive skills. Iguodala received recognition in 2015 for his play in the NBA Finals, particularly for his defence against LeBron James during crucial moments. Iguodala was named Finals MVP as a result of this. Iguodala would help the club win three more NBA titles in 2017, 2018, and 2022, but none will ever compare to what he accomplished in 2015.
10. Jamaal Wilkes
Jamaal Wilkes was bound for greatness from the minute he entered the NBA. Wilkes won Rookie of the Year in 1975 while playing for the Golden State Warriors, averaging 14.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per contest. Subsequently, he contributed 11.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game to assist the Warriors win an NBA title.
In 1977, Wilkes signed a free-agent contract with the Lakers. He would go on to guide the Lakers to reach four NBA Finals during his tenure there, adding three more rings to his collection. Throughout his career, Wilkes averaged 15.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.0 steals, and 45.3% shooting from the field in 23 Finals games with the Lakers. His contributions to the success of Los Angeles and Golden State are sometimes far too underappreciated.
List of NBA Players Who Have Won 4 Championship Rings. Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
