The NBA Players With The Most Playoff Wins Per Decade

As much as we scream and plead with everyone to understand that basketball is a team sport, there are, of course, the players who have won and are more successful than others. Not too long ago, we broke down the NBA players who won the most games during the regular season by decade. Now, it is only right that we do the same for the NBA playoffs to determine who the truly most successful players have been over the years.  

From the 1950s through the present day, we will take a look at the winningest players in NBA playoff history and see just how much more successful they were over others while also breaking down what kind of success these individuals led their teams to. Wins are nice as an individual, but what good is it if the team cannot also relish in that success as NBA champions? We will answer for you. That answer is no good.

Now, it is time to reveal the NBA players with the most playoff wins per decade in history.

1950s – Slater Martin – 63 Wins

If you remember from our coverage of the players with the most wins during the regular season by decade, Slater Martin led the 1950s with 418 wins. Things are no different for the playoffs for Martin with a record of 63-26 in 11 appearances with the Lakers and Hawks.

In his playoff career, Martin averaged 10.0 points and 3.8 assists per game in 92 games played. Martin would win four NBA championships with the Minneapolis Lakers in five seasons from 1950 through 1954 and another in 1958 with the St. Louis Hawks over the Boston Celtics.

In addition to his five championship rings, Slater Martin is a former seven-time NBA All-Star and five-time All-NBA Team selection.

1960s – Sam Jones And Bill Russell – 87 Wins

For the entirety of the 1960s, the Boston Celtics ran rampant over the rest of the NBA with nine NBA championships in 10 seasons from 1959-60 through 1968-69. Leading the way for the Celtics during this time were the duo of Sam Jones and Bill Russell, two of the winningest NBA players ever.

Jones, a 10-time NBA champion, and Russell, an 11-time NBA champion, played together for the entirety of their nine NBA title runs in the 1960s. Jones, the more offensively impactful player, averaged 20.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game on 45.0% shooting from 1960 through 1969. Russell, the more impactful rebounder and defender, averaged 16.5 points and 24.7 rebounds per game.

Jones and Russell only lost one NBA Finals in their careers, the 1958 NBA title to the St. Louis Hawks. During his 10 NBA championships, Sam Jones would earn five All-Star appearances and three All-NBA Team selections. For Russell, well, he was a five-time MVP and considered one of the greatest players in NBA history for the dominance he showed during the 1960s and beyond.

1970s – Paul Silas – 67 Wins

The player with the most wins during the NBA playoffs in the 1970s is an unexpected member of our list. Paul Silas played all 10 seasons of the decade from 1970 through 1979 with the Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets, and Seattle SuperSonics. During this time, Silas would be a part of three championship teams and make seven playoff appearances in total.

Silas was a member of both the 1974 and 1976 Boston Celtics teams that won NBA championships. In the playoffs at the time, Silas was heralded for his defense and rebounding, averaging 9.3 points and 12.1 rebounds per game. In 1979, Silas would add a third NBA title with the Seattle SuperSonics averaging just 4.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in 24.6 minutes per game.

Although his numbers don’t jump off the page, every member of those championship teams will tell you how important Silas’ leadership and toughness were to their success.

1980s – Michael Cooper And Magic Johnson – 111 Wins

In the 1980s, both Michael Cooper and Magic Johnson recorded one more win than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did during the 1980s. The former Showtime Lakers teammates went 111-48 together during the 1980s playoff runs while Kareem took home 110 wins. They are the only three players with over 100 wins during the decade.

Michael Cooper and Magic Johnson each played their entire careers with the Lakers, leading them to five NBA championships from 1980 through 1989. Cooper was a defensive savant whom Larry Bird once called his toughest defender ever. Magic Johnson was the star of the show and the engine that made the Lakers go with his fast-paced, dazzling style of play.

During the 1980s, Magic had success from the jump with an NBA title and Finals MVP during his 1980s rookie season. Over the next nine years, he would add four titles and two more Finals MVP awards to his trophy case, becoming widely regarded as the greatest point guard to ever play the game. Cooper was never going to light up a team offensively but his elite defensive play made him one of the most important parts of the Showtime Lakers’ success.

1990s – Scottie Pippen – 111 Wins

Before we even get started, I know the first question is, where is Michael Jordan? Thanks to Jordan’s seasons off in 1994 and 1995 and Scottie Pippen running the show in his absence, Pippen sits ahead of Jordan by four wins with 111 to Jordan’s 107. Pippen’s importance to the six NBA championships he and Jordan brought home for the Bulls during the 1990s is well-documented.

Pippen appeared in the NBA playoffs every season from 1990-1999 with the Bulls and the Houston Rockets for one season in 1999. During his nine playoff runs with the Bulls, Pippen averaged 19.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 2.1 steals per game on 44.7% shooting. Pippen would help lead the Bulls to two three-peats as NBA champions from 1991 through 1993 and 1996 through 1998.

Even after his time with the Bulls was done, Pippen joined the Rockets for four games in the NBA playoffs. He picked up one more playoff win for the decade with the Rockets before losing the series to the Lakers in four games. Thanks to leading the Bulls in 1994 and his one win in 1999 with Houston, Scottie Pippen is the player with the most playoff wins from the 1990s.

2000s – Robert Horry – 102 Wins

During the 2000s with the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs, many NBA fans will remember the clutch moments that Robert Horry came through for both teams en route to NBA championships. With the Lakers from 2000 through 2003, Horry averaged 7.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in the NBA playoffs. With multiple game-winning shots and clutch plays, Horry would help the Lakers win three NBA titles in a row from 2000 through 2002.

Horry’s success and clutch ability would follow him to San Antonio in 2003-04. In five playoff appearances with the team through 2008, he averaged 5.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game but once again came through in the clutch. San Antonio would win two NBA titles in 2005 and 2007 with Horry on the team, helping lead to his 102 wins and 47 losses during the playoffs in the 2000s.

2010s – LeBron James – 120 Wins

Since the days of Bill Russell and then Michael Jordan, we had never seen a player take over the NBA playoffs like LeBron James did in the 2010s. After a loss in the 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals, LeBron James would embark on a playoff run that may never be matched again in the history of the sport.

It started with four straight NBA Finals appearances with the Miami Heat from 2011 through 2014. James would lead Miami to two NBA titles in 2012 over the Thunder and in 2013 over the Spurs. He would also be named Finals MVP in both wins. In 2015, James headed back to the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he led them to four straight NBA Finals appearances through 2018 as well.

Even though the Cavaliers would go 1-3 in those four trips to the Finals, the one win they got was special. Down 3-1 in the series to a Warriors team who just won 73 games in the regular season, James sparked the greatest comeback in NBA history. The Cavaliers would win three games in a row to give them their first NBA title in franchise history. It was the greatest upset the sport had ever seen and at the center of it was James leading the charge. With his 120-59 playoff record, James’ playoff winning percentage was 67.0%.

2020s – P.J. Tucker – 39 Wins

The 2020s decade has crowned just four NBA champions from 2020 through 2023 as they have just kicked off the 2023-24 season. Surprisingly enough, P.J. Tucker is the leader so far this decade with 39 playoff wins over Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, who have been to two NBA Finals, with 37 wins.

In 2020, Tucker would pick up five playoff wins with the Rockets before being traded to the Bucks in 2021. In the 2021 playoffs, Tucker would help the Milwaukee Bucks win their first NBA title since 1971 over the Suns, which gave him 16 more wins and a total of 21. In the next two playoff appearances with the Heat and 76ers, Tucker would get 18 more wins combined to bring his total to 39 from 2020-2023. Now, with the Clippers in 2023-24, are we going to see that number grow this season?