The most talented NBA players have appeared in the finals of many seasons to secure their place as icons of the sport. Before making it to the NBA, many of these star players first showcased their skills during the NCAA March Madness tournament, which is a single-elimination college basketball tournament held each spring. The tournament features 68 teams from Division-I schools competing for the national championship. In recent years, the use of NCAA basketball data has become increasingly important in college basketball, particularly during the NCAA tournament. Coaches and analysts use advanced statistics and data analysis to gain insights into player and team performance, which can help inform strategic decisions and game planning. Basketball stars have trained for dozens of hours every week to shoot hoops and dribble across the courts, both in college and in the professional leagues. Taking an NBA team all the way to the finals can be a special moment for NBA players in their professional careers, just as leading their college team to the Final Four or winning the NCAA championship can be a defining moment in their amateur careers.
The most talented NBA players have appeared in the finals of many seasons to secure their place as icons of the sport. Basketball stars have trained for dozens of hours every week to shoot hoops and dribble across the courts. Taking an NBA team all the way to the finals can be a special moment for NBA players in their professional careers.
Winners of the NBA finals are awarded with a Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy. Top teams in NBA including the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers have selected their roster carefully over the years in an attempt to land in the finals. The Eastern and Western Conference champions compete in the NBA Finals with a best of 7 game series every season to decide the winner of the tournament. Here’s a rundown of the basketball players with the most finals appearances in the NBA.
Bill Russell
Bill Russell has won 11 NBA championships and appeared in 12 NBA finals. He played the center position for the NBA team Boston Celtics for 13 years. Born in Monroe, Louisiana, Bill Russell is one of the greatest basketball stars to have played the sport. He had a height of 6 feet and 10 inches, crushing his opponents in matches. Known for his rebounds, Bill Russell would constantly take the ball away from his rivals. He could block shots with his massive arm span, preventing NBA players in the enemy team from scoring. Bill Russell accumulated thousands of points with his rebounds in each NBA season for the Boston Celtics.
He was named as the NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) for 5 seasons. The NBA Lifetime Achievement Award, WCC Player of the Year, and NBA All-Star Game MVP were a few of the accolades that Bill Russell had earned in the NBA. His career stats include 21,620 rebounds, 14,522 points, and 4,100 assists.
Bill Russell began playing professional basketball at the University of San Francisco. Phil Woolpert, the coach of San Francisco Dons, noticed that Bill Russell was exceptionally good at handling the ball. He praised Bill Russell for his ability to defend against key attackers on the basketball court. Boston Celtics drafted Bill Russell into their NBA team in the 1956-1957 season. He made his debut for the Boston Celtics against St. Louis Hawks. Over the course of his NBA career, Bill Russell played a total of 963 games. He was also part of the US national basketball team. As captain of the US national basketball team, Bill Russell led his them to a gold medal victory in the 1956 Summer Olympics. In 2013, a statue of Bill Russell was erected in Boston to honor his contributions to the NBA.
Sam Jones
Sam Jones has made a whopping 11 NBA Finals appearances. The shooting guard was a major aspect of Boston Celtics, helping his NBA team win up to 8 consecutive championship titles between 1959-1966. He was among the few Boston Celtics players to have scored over 50 points in an NBA match.
The jump shot was frequently used in NBA games by Sam Jones to score points. He was nicknamed “The Shooter” by sports reporters in the US. He would also bounce the basketball off of the backboard before scoring in his NBA matches for the Boston Celtics. He played 871 matches for Boston Celtics, scoring 17.7 points per game (ppg). Sam Jones was inducted into the NAIA Basketball Hall of Fame in 1962. He was also initiated into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1984. Sam Jones spent a few years as a basketball coach to help the younger generation learn the sport and acquire new skills.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played 20 seasons in the NBA. He appeared in 10 NBA Finals and won 6 NBA Championship titles. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was also the recipient of the NBA Finals MVP 2 times. ESPN recognized him as the greatest center of all-time in 2007.
Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers were the 2 teams that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was a part of in the NBA. He started playing for Milwaukee Bucks in 1969, winning his first champion title within a year in the next season. He was also named the NBA Rookie of the Year in his debut season for the Milwaukee Bucks.
He made over 450 appearances for Milwaukee Bucks and scored close to 30 ppg. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar joined the Los Angeles Lakers in 1975. He played 14 seasons with Los Angeles Lakers, appearing in hundreds of games for the NBA team. He has won the NBA MVP title a record 6 times. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has also had roles in Hollywood movies such as Fletch and Game of Death. He was seen in television series like Everybody Loves Raymond and Scrubs.
LeBron James
LeBron James has dribbled in 10 NBA Finals and won 4 NBA Championships. Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Los Angeles Lakers are a few of the NBA teams that LeBron James has played for. At a towering height of 6 feet and 9 inches, LeBron James has proved his worth to multiple NBA teams. He has earned over $1 billion from his performances on the basketball courts.