NBA Championship Top teams in last 10, 20 years

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With each new NBA Champion in the books, we look at how the all time rankings change. The Warriors have dominated the last 10 years and that earns them the #1 spot over both the last 10 years! But the exciting news in 2023 is the Nuggest first championship in their 47 year franchise history!


2023 update: The Nuggets crack the top list with a BIG tie for 5th place amongst 5 teams. The Lakers and Nuggets get the spots due to earning points this year. The Nuggets look poised to keep this going, will it happen?

2023 welcomed Denver as the champions with their franchise first championship! The top 6 of the last 10 years remained pretty similar. Five teams all have 6 points over the last 10 years tied for 5th place. But most recent points count the most! Want to see the breakdown of data? Visit the Year by Year NBA Championship List.


Last 10 years NBA Rankings:

  1. 1.

    Golden State Warriors. I'm sure the Kings didn't like seeing the Warriors in their round 1 matchup and sure enough the Warriors experience carried them... but not far enough in 2023. (26 points)

  2. 2.

    Cleveland Cavaliers. All of Cleveland's points are over the bottom 5 years of the last 10. They are solidly in 2nd this year, but are at major risk of falling out. (14)

  3. 3.

    Miami Heat. Miami has scored points in 4 of the last 10 years. Not bad. But... 0-3 in the Finals. The potential for this to be so much more was there. (10)

  4. 4.

    Boston Celtics. Far too many loses in the conference championships here. But frequently enough in the Playoffs to earn spot #4 in the last 10 years. (7)

  5. 5.

    Denver Nuggets. It's a five way tie for #5 in the last 10 years. Who gets it? Nuggets baby! Way to end that 47 year drought. (6)

  6. 6.

    LA Lakers. Can LeBron get this team back to the Finals? Pretty close this year, knocking out the Warriors to get to the conference finals. The 2020 Championship keeps em' here on the list. (6)

Last 20 years NBA Rankings:

  1. 1.

    Miami Heat. Miami takes back the #1 spot with their Finals appearance this year. They have championships in 2006, 2012, 2013 along with the lost championships in 2020, 2023. (29 points)

  2. 2.

    Golden State Warriors. Winning the 1st round doesn't earn you any points. But, all 4 championships are in the last 10 years, so they will remain on this last 20 list for awhile. (26)

  3. 3.

    Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers move up a spot with 1 points in 2023. They have 3 Championships and 2 lost championships over these last 20 years. (22)

  4. 4.

    San Antonio Spurs. Only 1 point in the last 9 years, but lots of points over the last 20 years. At risk of losing points with those 3 championships in the 2000s. (21)

  5. 5.

    Cleveland Cavaliers. Will Cleveland's young team start earning some Championship points? For now they are pretty solidly in the top 6 with 1 championship and 4 lost championships over the last 17 years. (18)

  6. 6.

    Boston Celtics. Boston stays in the #6 spot with 1 NBA championship, 2 lost championships and a stagering 6 lost eastern conference finals over 20 years. (16)



Past Champion NBA TopShot Showcases

2023 Stats are updated! Year to year NBA Finals history, all time standings and last 10/20 year rankings. To celebrate https://t.co/SmpYvENSkG being updated, here's an @nbatopshot showcase with 10 Bucks players: https://t.co/JkcW2jw34r#NBAChampions #NBAFinals

— Championship History (@ChampionsList) July 22, 2021



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