The only 2 all-time players who have won titles … over 3 decades!
Winning an NBA title is already a great accomplishment. So what about the players who have won a ring over 3 different decades? Rest assured, they are only two in history to have signed this feat. Explanations.
From Robert Horry to Steve Kerr via Ron Harper or Dennis Rodman, several players have managed to stack rings during their careers. By their talent, of course, but also by their ability to be in the right place at the right time. But if a significant number of players have surpassed the 5 NBA titles, they are only two in history to have been champions… over 3 different decades.
The first is obviously Tim Duncan. The legendary strong-winger was crowned for the first time in 1999, taking over from the “Last Dance” version of the Bulls who had just won 6 of the last 8 trophies. Timmy then reoffended in 2003, 2005 and 2007 … then in 2014, in the wake of Spurs who recited a real dream basketball that year.
Duncan’s NBA rings were therefore won over a 15-year interval, and spread over 3 decades and 2 millennia. A pretty crazy fun fact, of which John Salley can also boast, of extreme accuracy! An important player of Chuck Daly’s « Bad Boys », he was first champion with the Pistons in 1989 and 1990, before managing his end of career with a masterful hand.
In 1995-1996, first, the winger joined the Bulls to bring his experience in the locker room, despite a limited role on the floors. Bingo: a new title for Salley, who then flew to Greece the following season, before retiring. End of the adventure and peaceful end of life in the sun? Nay!
In 1999, a phone call from the Lakers brought the big man out of retirement for another season in Los Angeles. The latter was crowned with a ring in the spring of 2000, allowing Salley, like Tim Duncan, to be able to boast of having won three titles spread over 3 decades and 2 millennia. For the former Bad Boy, everything was concentrated in only 11 years.
John Salley and Tim Duncan don’t necessarily have much in common, but they do share access to this very exclusive club. Until when ?
