One of the most famous players ever to play in the NBA is Michael Jordan.
Through his efforts with the Chicago Bulls, he led them to NBA championships several times in his career.
While Jordan would go on to create one of the most popular shoe lines in athletic history, some of his most prized possessions are the NBA rings he earned.
Here’s what you need to know about Michael Jordan’s NBA rings and how many he owns.
How Many Rings Does Michael Jordan Have?
Michael Jordan has earned six rings in his NBA career.
All those rings he won while playing for the Chicago Bulls.
The years in which he won his rings are:
- 1991
- 1992
- 1993
- 1996
- 1997
- 1998
Does Michael Jordan Have The Most NBA Rings?
No, Michael Jordan does not have the most NBA rings.
The record for the most NBA rings is 11.
That belongs to Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics.
Along with Bill, several of his teammates also have several NBA rings.
They dominated the championships in the 1960s.
Once they retired, Michael Jordan and a few others ranked in the top 10 for the most NBA rings.
The other players who also have six rings are Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Bob Cousy.
Could Michael Jordan Have Won Eight Championship Rings?
Many speculate that Michael Jordan could have earned eight NBA championship rings had he continued to play in the middle of his career.
The first three rings he won were in 1991, 1992, and 1993.
His intention was to continue playing for the Chicago Bulls, but his father passed away unexpectedly.
Jordan returned home to take care of his family and deal with his own grief.
In an attempt to return to sports, he played baseball for a year and a half.
However, he didn’t find as much success there as he did on the basketball court.
In 1996, he returned to the Chicago Bulls and helped them win three more championships in 1996, 1997, and 1998.
After 1998, Jordan officially retired.
Since he clearly had no problem playing back on the court despite his absence, it’s clear that he still had the passion, form, and skill to help a team make it to the finals.
Had Jordan continued to play in 1994 and 1995, then there’s a good chance that he could have earned eight rings instead of six.
What Do Michael Jordan’s NBA Rings Look Like And Mean?
Every NBA ring is different from each other.
Each franchise chooses a designer to create the ring.
The designer looks at the entire season, the story of the team, the story of the final game, and then they make a ring out of it.
Because they’re personal to each player, many players find them priceless.
Here are the rings Jordan won with the Chicago Bulls and what each one means.
1. The 1990–1991 Chicago Bulls NBA Championship Ring
Jordan’s first ring came during a time when the Chicago Bulls were trying to prove themselves.
Until then, the Detroit Pistons had been a problem for them.
This season, they had their eyes on the prize.
No one wanted the championship more than Michael Jordan.
The Bulls started off strong.
They had a 61-21 regular season which was impressive in its own right.
Going into the finals, they easily won the first three games.
They’d only end up losing one game in the finals.
During the final match, they were up against the Los Angeles Lakers.
At this point, the LA Lakers were a strong team that had a history of NBA championships.
Some critics wondered if the Bulls had the chops to take them on.
In particular, they wondered if Michael Jordan could work as a team player.
He proved he could in the game.
Jordan came away with 11 assists and 32 points per game.
He was also awarded MVP.
They ended up beating the Lakers five times and earned themselves their first NBA championship ring.
It was also Jordan’s first.
To commemorate the event, Jostens was the jewelry company chosen to design and produce the ring.
They wanted to make the Bulls’ first ring extra special.
In so doing, they made their rings out of 10k gold.
The front of the ring allowed the team to take front and center attention.
It features a bull made out of gold that matches the logo of the Chicago Bulls.
Their name is carefully scrawled in gold between the bull’s horns.
White diamonds also dot around the ring.
The sides of the ring also tell an interesting story.
On one side, it reads World Champions and also shows the NBA logo.
Along with the logo is the Bulls’ score for their season at 15-2.
On the other side of the ring is the player’s name and jersey number.
The NBA trophy is in the middle with the season’s record around the trophy.
While this ring lacks diamonds, it made up for it in gold.
The simple gold and black design make it particularly unique among other championship rings.
2. The 1991–1992 Chicago Bulls NBA Championship Ring
The second win for the Bulls, and for Jordan, wouldn’t come easy.
They started the regular season strong, which put a big target on their backs for the championship season.
One of the hardest teams they had to contend with first was the Knicks.
They adopted some of the dirty play that the Pistons had used against Jordan previously.
In particular, they attempted to play tough and get ugly with their defense.
The Bulls pushed through.
They slowed Jordan a little bit, but he still managed to score an average of 31 points per game.
During the finals, they’d be up against the Portland Trailblazers.
The Trailblazers had their own star, Clyde Drexler.
Many wondered if he might be able to shut the Bulls down.
The Bulls came alive instead.
Jordan ended up scoring six three-pointers which was a remarkable accomplishment in basketball at that time.
Both the Bulls and Trailblazers had a tie for the trophy until the Bulls managed to win the last two games.
It earned the Bulls and Jordan their second NBA championship ring.
Jordan also earned his second MVP.
Jostens received an order from the franchise to make their second ring.
Instead of using the bull’s face on the front of the ring, this time they went with a bold inscription.
The name “Bulls” sits front and center on the ring.
It’s made out of 33 diamonds.
The front of the ring also has a slight taper to it to make the word stand out even more.
Around the ring are 28 baguette-cut diamonds which are larger in size.
The estimated total weight of the diamonds is 1.5 carats.
There’s a considerable amount of gold used in this ring as well.
It features 14k gold that weighs about 44.7 grams.
One side of the ring features Jordan’s name and his jersey number.
It also has the team record for the season on it at 67-15.
The entire side of it uses gold to create its inscriptions and designs.
It also features the NBA trophy.
On the other side of the ring, a significant amount of gold creates the face and inscriptions on it.
On this side is the NBA logo and the words “World Champions.”
It gives the year in which they won the ring as “91” and “92.”
Below the NBA logo are the words “BACK TO BACK” indicating the second win in a row or the Bulls.
3. The 1992–1993 Chicago Bulls NBA Championship Ring
After the previous season was over, Jordan didn’t catch a break.
He went on to play with the Dream Team in Barcelona for the Summer Olympics.
Exhausted, he still went into the NBA season with the hope of earning another NBA championship ring.
The Knicks wanted to put an end to the Bulls’ reign.
Considering them their rivals, the Knicks believed they had what it took to put an end to the Bulls.
They were mistaken, however.
They won two games against the Knicks and moved ahead in the season.
They went up against the Phoenix Suns next and beat them twice as well.
Jordan’s stats only became more impressive.
He averaged 41 points per game and had an overall shooting score of 51%.
Remarkably, the Bulls won the championship yet again.
It was their third in the row and earned the nickname “three-peat.”
The ring to commemorate this event was even more special.
Jostens created a unique shape for the ring.
Instead of the standard circle or square, they used a three-sided emblem shape.
On its face, they used a fire-red garnet that was carefully sculpted into the shape of a bull’s face.
The red symbolized the Bulls’ team colors.
The bull’s face was then surrounded by 50 diamonds.
On one side of the ring were Jordan’s name and jersey number.
It also held the Bulls’ playoff record at 15-4.
The trophy is also featured on this side.
On the other side of the ring is the NBA logo with the season’s year.
It also features the words “World Champions.”
Finally, to commemorate the fact that the Bulls had their third championship in a row, the words “3-Peat” appear on the ring.
The ring as a whole uses 14k gold.
4. The 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls Championship Ring
After Michael Jordan returned from tending to his personal affairs and trying his hand at a baseball career, the Bulls were ready to dominate once more.
Jordan was especially eager to get back on the court and prove that he was still a player who presented a challenge.
The 1996 season of the Bulls is one for the record books.
During the season, they became the first NBA team to win more than 70 games.
In total, they’d end up winning 72.
They’d eventually go up against the Seattle Supersonics.
They crushed them.
The Bulls would go on to win three games of the series.
They’d beat them in six games and earn themselves another NBA title and championship ring.
Once again, the franchise recruited Jostens to make the ring that would commemorate the record-breaking season.
They used 14k gold in the design of the ring.
The face of the ring showed off the Bulls’ triumphs right from the start.
It features four NBA trophies.
Each trophy has a large diamond that represents the ball.
They’re larger than normal.
The trophies rest against a smooth and black stone that allows them to pop with color and shine.
A total of 74 diamonds surround the trophies.
On one side of the ring is Jordan’s name.
Beneath his name is the name of the team, Bulls.
The name sits on top of an engraving of the Bulls’ logo.
Beneath the bull are the season’s years and Jordan’s jersey number.
On the other side of the ring, the words “World Champion” reside.
Below that is the NBA logo and a nod to how many wins the team earned.
On either side of the NBA logo appears “72 Wins”.
It doesn’t show their losses as it does on other rings.
Perhaps one of the most personal inscriptions is at the bottom of this side of the ring.
It reads “Greatest Team Ever.”
This demonstrates the remarkable achievement of the team having won more than 70 games in a single season.
5. The 1996–1997 Chicago Bulls Championship Ring
The 1997 season would bring a unique challenge for Jordan.
At this point, many people already expected that the Bulls would be in the finals.
Their question was who was going to play against them in the finals.
The Bulls had another great regular season with 69 wins.
They also breezed through most of the finals with hardly losing any games.
The team they ended up playing against was the Utah Jazz.
This team featured the latest MVP, Karl Malone.
It also featured John Stockton who would later be elected to the Hall of Fame for his incredible performance as a point guard.
At first, the Bulls won against them.
They had won two games.
Then the Jazz came back and won the next two.
The final game was upon them, but Jordan had become ill with the flu.
His doctors warned him against playing as it could make him seriously ill.
Jordan chose to play anyway and had a great game despite being very sick.
He scored 38 points in the game and helped the Bulls achieve their fifth NBA championship ring.
Jostens rolled out a new design for the 1997 ring.
The front of the ring features a bull’s face made entirely out of white diamonds.
The only part of the bull not made out of diamonds is its horns.
They’re made out of pure silver, as are
the various muscle tendons that make up the bull’s face.
The design of the ring also mimicked an emblem shape that went so well with the shape of the bull’s head.
On one side of the ring is Jordan’s name.
Below his name is five NBA trophies to indicate their five wins.
Below the trophies is his jersey number.
This side of the ring is entirely gold.
The other side of the ring also uses gold to present the words “World Champions.”
Below those words is the inscription “Team of the Decade.”
The NBA logo sits at the bottom of the ring with the United Center just behind it.
The season’s year is also on this side of the ring.
10k yellow gold makes up the entire ring.
6. The 1997–1998 Chicago Bulls NBA Championship Ring
The 1998 season carried with it a lot of sadness.
Many believed that the dynasty of the Chicago Bulls was finally over.
Phil Jackson was not returning as head coach.
It was a move made by the franchise that few players supported.
Jordan refused to play for any other coach, and so he decided that he’d be leaving after the 1998 season.
Despite this heavy news, the team played incredibly.
They’d sweep through most of the games aside from one of the Conference Finals against the Pacers.
During that match-up, the Bulls would win the first two, followed by the Pacers winning the next two.
They both won the next series of games.
It led them to a game seven in which only one could emerge the victor.
Jordan played his best.
He scored 28 points and had nine rebounds.
It allowed them to move ahead to the finals game against the Utah Jazz.
They were eager to upset the Bulls and get revenge on their previous loss.
They managed to win the first game, but the Bulls put them in their place in the following games.
They earned their sixth championship ring.
The 1998 championship ring crafted by Jostens is a work of beauty.
It contains intricate designs that are easy to miss.
The face of the ring features a large trophy with a 75-point high-quality diamond as the trophy’s basketball.
Yet there are another five, smaller, trophies made of diamonds within the larger one.
In total, 74 diamonds make up the ring’s face.
The rest of the ring uses 14k gold.
The top of the ring is made up of 18k gold.
One side of the ring features the words “World Champions” above the NBA logo.
The year of the season fits around the NBA logo.
Below the logo is a special engraving that reads “Repeat 3-Peat.”
It’s a nod to the incredible three repeated wins in the Bulls’ recent history.
On the other side of the ring is Jordan’s name.
It also features a bull based on the logo of the team etched entirely out of gold.
Below the bull’s face is Jordan’s jersey number.
Conclusion
Michael Jordan has one of the most inspiring and incredible stories in basketball.
His ability and skills on the court are clearly indicated by his six NBA championship rings.
To Jordan, his rings have always been priceless.
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