Last year I discovered that nobody cares about how many rings pro basketball players have. Well, not exactly, but I discovered that no one cares enough to keep track and post the numbers on the Internet. I guess people don’t really respect NBA Champions the way they think they do. Even on monster statistical sites there is no page to go to listing NBA player champions year by year, or the number of rings won by player. Sure, you find short and usually incomplete lists of players who have won three or more rings drifting around, but forget about a complete list unless you get it here.
Quest for the Ring (QFTR) has provided the basketball world with the missing information and then some. Here for the second year we have the complete and correct listings for winners of the QFTR in multiple formats. Each year, scheduled for August, the following Reports are in this historical series:
1. Players and Teams Who Won the Quest for the Ring 1980-1994
2. Players and Teams Who Won the Quest for the Ring 1995-2010
3. Alphabetic Logs of all Players Who Have Won the Quest for the Ring 1980-2010
4. Players Ranked by Number of Championships and Rings Won Since 1980
5. Players Ranked by Minutes Played in Championship Years Since 1980
6. Most Recognized High Impact Players 1980-2010
7. Cities and Franchises That Won the Quest for the Ring 1950-2010
In 2010 these will be posted one each day beginning with #1 on August 21 and finishing with #7 on August 27.
After these look for the new and improved Real Coach Ratings and the second annual Report on player salaries, team payrolls, and team cap space.
Championships are by themselves crucial history, but they are also very important for the present, because players who have already won rings are, all other things equal, more valuable than players who have never won a ring. You might as well add about .050 to each such player's Real Player Rating. So a .700 becomes a.750, an .870 becomes a .920, and so forth.
PLAYERS AND TEAMS WHO WON THE QUEST FOR THE RING 1995-2010
Quest for the Ring presents the following complete list of NBA Champions by year and by team.
There are actually two listings or versions. The first one lists by year and by team all players who played for at least 300 minutes, which is only about 1/10 of the minutes played by the top stars. Anyone who played less than 300 minutes really didn't win a Championship if you know what I am saying, so they are not shown anywhere. The first list is called the inclusive version.
The second one is called the strict version and it lists all players who played for at least 1,200 minutes, which is a little bit less than a quarter per game. This many minutes is the dividing line between starters and very important off the bench players on the one hand and much less important players on the other hand. So this second listing is strictly limited to those players who were the most significant in winning the Quest.
There have been 31 Quest winners in the "modern era," the era since the 3-point shot went into effect in 1979-80. Three decades have come and gone since the NBA finally allowed 3 points to be counted for long range shots. (Where does the time go, George Karl?) We are posting the NBA Champions in two postings, the first one (posted yesterday) covering 1980-1994 and this one covering the most recent 16 years.
In two days, we will give you the total number of modern era rings won by players in a separate Report (#4 in the list above).
This Report shows you 1995-2010 Quest winners. Remember, there are two listings: the complete list of all Champions who played at least 300 minutes, and a separate list showing only the starters and heavy minutes non-starters (1,200 minutes or more).
The format in each list is player/age/minutes played. The sorting order within each team is minutes played. Remember that as the Real Player Rating User Guide makes clear, in some cases players who have played fewer minutes may have been better players than those who played more.
========== WINNERS OF THE QUEST FOR THE RING INCLUSIVE VERSION==========
1995-2010 By Year and By Team
Inclusive Version: all players who played at least 300 minutes are included
2010 LOS ANGELES LAKERS
Player Age Minutes
Kobe Bryant 31 2,835
Ron Artest 30 2,605
Lamar Odom 30 2,585
Pau Gasol 29 2,403
Derek Fisher 35 2,227
Andrew Bynum 22 1,977
Shannon Brown 24 1,700
Jordan Farmar 23 1,474
Josh Powell 27 581
Sasha Vujacic 25 575
D.J. Mbenga 19 355
2009 LOS ANGELES LAKERS
Player Age Minutes
Pau Gasol 28 2,999
Kobe Bryant 30 2,960
Derek Fisher 34 2,441
Lamar Odom 29 2,316
Trevor Ariza 23 1,998
Andrew Bynum 21 1,446
Sasha Vujacic 24 1,293
Jordan Farmar 22 1,192
Luke Walton 28 1,166
Vladimir Radmanovic 28 771
Josh Powell 26 703
2008 BOSTON CELTICS
Player Age Minutes
Paul Pierce 30 2,874
Ray Allen 32 2,624
Kevin Garnett 31 2,328
Rajon Rondo 21 2,306
Kendrick Perkins 23 1,912
James Posey 31 1,821
Eddie House 29 1,480
Tony Allen 26 1,373
Glen Davis 22 940
Leon Powe 24 809
Brian Scalabrine 29 512
2007 SAN ANTONIO SPURS
Player Age Minutes
Tim Duncan 30 2,725
Tony Parker 24 2,499
Bruce Bowen 35 2,464
Manu Ginobili 29 2,060
Michael Finley 33 1,823
Brent Barry 35 1,631
Fabricio Oberto 31 1,365
Francisco Elson 30 1,332
Robert Horry 36 1,124
Beno Udrih 24 948
Jacque Vaughn 31 760
Matt Bonner 26 654
2006 MIAMI HEAT
Player Age Minutes
Dwyane Wade 24 2,892
Udonis Haslem 25 2,491
Gary Payton 37 2,305
Antoine Walker 29 2,199
James Posey 29 1,914
Jason Williams 30 1,874
Shaquille O'Neal 33 1,806
Alonzo Mourning 35 1,302
Jason Kapono 24 665
Shandon Anderson 32 638
Derek Anderson 31 465
Wayne Simien 22 414
Michael Doleac 28 371
2005 SAN ANTONIO SPURS
Player Age Minutes
Tony Parker 22 2,735
Bruce Bowen 33 2,627
Tim Duncan 28 2,203
Manu Ginobili 27 2,193
Rasho Nesterovic 28 1,785
Brent Barry 33 1,742
Robert Horry 34 1,396
Devin Brown 26 1,238
Beno Udrih 22 1,149
Malik Rose 30 862
Tony Massenburg 37 699
Nazr Mohammed 27 414
2004 DETROIT PISTONS
Player Age Minutes
Ben Wallace 29 3,050
Richard Hamilton 25 2,772
Chauncey Billups 27 2,758
Tayshaun Prince 23 2,701
Mehmet Okur 24 1,580
Corliss Williamson 30 1,574
Elden Campbell 35 892
Chucky Atkins 29 751
Bob Sura 30 707
Rasheed Wallace 29 673
Lindsey Hunter 33 661
Mike James 28 512
Darvin Ham 30 484
2003 SAN ANTONIO SPURS
Player Age MP
Tim Duncan 26 3,181
Tony Parker 20 2,774
Bruce Bowen 31 2,566
Stephen Jackson 24 2,254
Malik Rose 28 1,933
David Robinson 37 1,676
Manu Ginobili 25 1,431
Steve Smith 33 1,032
Steve Kerr 37 952
Kevin Willis 40 840
Danny Ferry 36 601
Speedy Claxton 24 471
2002 LOS ANGELES LAKERS
Player Age Minutes
Kobe Bryant 23 3,063
Shaquille O'Neal 29 2,422
Rick Fox 32 2,289
Robert Horry 31 2,140
Derek Fisher 27 1,974
Devean George 24 1,759
Samaki Walker 25 1,655
Lindsey Hunter 31 1,616
Stanislav Medvedenko 22 729
Mitch Richmond 36 709
Mark Madsen 26 650
Brian Shaw 35 631
2001 LOS ANGELES LAKERS
Player Age MP
Shaquille O'Neal 28 2,924
Kobe Bryant 22 2,783
Horace Grant 35 2,390
Rick Fox 31 2,291
Brian Shaw 34 1,833
Robert Horry 30 1,587
Isaiah Rider 29 1,206
Ron Harper 37 1,139
Mike Penberthy 26 851
Derek Fisher 26 709
Mark Madsen 25 641
Devean George 23 593
Tyronn Lue 23 468
Greg Foster 32 451
2000 LOS ANGELES LAKERS
Player Age MP
Shaquille O'Neal 27 3,163
Glen Rice 32 2,530
Kobe Bryant 21 2,524
Ron Harper 36 2,042
A.C. Green 36 1,929
Derek Fisher 25 1,803
Robert Horry 29 1,685
Rick Fox 30 1,473
Brian Shaw 33 1,249
Travis Knight 25 410
Devean George 22 345
John Salley 35 303
1999 SAN ANTONIO SPURS
Player Age MP
Tim Duncan 22 1,963
Avery Johnson 33 1,672
David Robinson 33 1,554
Sean Elliott 30 1,509
Mario Elie 35 1,291
Jaren Jackson 31 861
Steve Kerr 33 734
Jerome Kersey 36 699
Antonio Daniels 23 614
Malik Rose 24 608
Will Perdue 33 445
1998 CHICAGO BULLS
Player Age MP
Michael Jordan 34 3,181
Dennis Rodman 36 2,856
Ron Harper 34 2,284
Toni Kukoc 29 2,235
Luc Longley 29 1,703
Scottie Pippen 32 1,652
Randy Brown 29 1,147
Steve Kerr 32 1,119
Scott Burrell 27 1,096
Jason Caffey 24 710
Jud Buechler 29 608
Bill Wennington 34 467
Joe Kleine 36 397
1997 CHICAGO BULLS
Player Age MP
Michael Jordan 33 3,106
Scottie Pippen 31 3,095
Dennis Rodman 35 1,947
Steve Kerr 31 1,861
Ron Harper 33 1,740
Toni Kukoc 28 1,610
Luc Longley 28 1,472
Jason Caffey 23 1,405
Randy Brown 28 1,057
Bill Wennington 33 783
Jud Buechler 28 703
Robert Parish 43 406
Dickey Simpkins 24 395
1996 CHICAGO BULLS
Player Age MP
Michael Jordan 32 3,090
Scottie Pippen 30 2,825
Toni Kukoc 27 2,103
Dennis Rodman 34 2,088
Steve Kerr 30 1,919
Ron Harper 32 1,886
Luc Longley 27 1,641
Bill Wennington 32 1,065
Jud Buechler 27 740
Dickey Simpkins 23 685
Randy Brown 27 671
Jason Caffey 22 545
1995 HOUSTON ROCKETS
Player Age MP
Hakeem Olajuwon 32 2,853
Robert Horry 24 2,074
Vernon Maxwell 29 2,038
Kenny Smith 29 2,030
Mario Elie 31 1,896
Sam Cassell 25 1,882
Pete Chilcutt 26 1,347
Carl Herrera 28 1,331
Clyde Drexler 32 1,300
Otis Thorpe 32 1,188
Chucky Brown 26 814
Tim Breaux 24 340
======== WINNERS OF THE QUEST FOR THE RING STRICT VERSION ========
1995-2000 By Year and By Team
Strict Version: All players who played at least 1,200 minutes are included
2010 LOS ANGELES LAKERS
Player Age Minutes
Kobe Bryant 31 2,835
Ron Artest 30 2,605
Lamar Odom 30 2,585
Pau Gasol 29 2,403
Derek Fisher 35 2,227
Andrew Bynum 22 1,977
Shannon Brown 24 1,700
Jordan Farmar 23 1,474
2009 LOS ANGELES LAKERS
Player Age Minutes
Pau Gasol 28 2,999
Kobe Bryant 30 2,960
Derek Fisher 34 2,441
Lamar Odom 29 2,316
Trevor Ariza 23 1,998
Andrew Bynum 21 1,446
Sasha Vujacic 24 1,293
2008 BOSTON CELTICS
Player Age Minutes
Paul Pierce 30 2,874
Ray Allen 32 2,624
Kevin Garnett 31 2,328
Rajon Rondo 21 2,306
Kendrick Perkins 23 1,912
James Posey 31 1,821
Eddie House 29 1,480
Tony Allen 26 1,373
2007 SAN ANTONIO SPURS
Player Age Minutes
Tim Duncan 30 2,725
Tony Parker 24 2,499
Bruce Bowen 35 2,464
Manu Ginobili 29 2,060
Michael Finley 33 1,823
Brent Barry 35 1,631
Fabricio Oberto 31 1,365
Francisco Elson 30 1,332
2006 MIAMI HEAT
Player Age Minutes
Dwyane Wade 24 2,892
Udonis Haslem 25 2,491
Gary Payton 37 2,305
Antoine Walker 29 2,199
James Posey 29 1,914
Jason Williams 30 1,874
Shaquille O'Neal 33 1,806
Alonzo Mourning 35 1,302
2005 SAN ANTONIO SPURS
Player Age Minutes
Tony Parker 22 2,735
Bruce Bowen 33 2,627
Tim Duncan 28 2,203
Manu Ginobili 27 2,193
Rasho Nesterovic 28 1,785
Brent Barry 33 1,742
Robert Horry 34 1,396
Devin Brown 26 1,238
2004 DETROIT PISTONS
Player Age Minutes
Ben Wallace 29 3,050
Richard Hamilton 25 2,772
Chauncey Billups 27 2,758
Tayshaun Prince 23 2,701
Mehmet Okur 24 1,580
Corliss Williamson 30 1,574
2003 SAN ANTONIO SPURS
Player Age Minutes
Tim Duncan 26 3,181
Tony Parker 20 2,774
Bruce Bowen 31 2,566
Stephen Jackson 24 2,254
Malik Rose 28 1,933
David Robinson 37 1,676
Manu Ginobili 25 1,431
2002 LOS ANGELES LAKERS
Player Age Minutes
Kobe Bryant 23 3,063
Shaquille O'Neal 29 2,422
Rick Fox 32 2,289
Robert Horry 31 2,140
Derek Fisher 27 1,974
Devean George 24 1,759
Samaki Walker 25 1,655
Lindsey Hunter 31 1,616
2001 LOS ANGELES LAKERS
Player Age Minutes
Shaquille O'Neal 28 2,924
Kobe Bryant 22 2,783
Horace Grant 35 2,390
Rick Fox 31 2,291
Brian Shaw 34 1,833
Robert Horry 30 1,587
Isaiah Rider 29 1,206
2000 LOS ANGELES LAKERS
Player Age Minutes
Shaquille O'Neal 27 3,163
Glen Rice 32 2,530
Kobe Bryant 21 2,524
Ron Harper 36 2,042
A.C. Green 36 1,929
Derek Fisher 25 1,803
Robert Horry 29 1,685
Rick Fox 30 1,473
Brian Shaw 33 1,249
1999 SAN ANTONIO SPURS
Player Age Minutes
Tim Duncan 22 1,963
Avery Johnson 33 1,672
David Robinson 33 1,554
Sean Elliott 30 1,509
Mario Elie 35 1,291
1998 CHICAGO BULLS
Player Age Minutes
Michael Jordan 34 3,181
Dennis Rodman 36 2,856
Ron Harper 34 2,284
Toni Kukoc 29 2,235
Luc Longley 29 1,703
Scottie Pippen 32 1,652
1997 CHICAGO BULLS
Player Age Minutes
Michael Jordan 33 3,106
Scottie Pippen 31 3,095
Dennis Rodman 35 1,947
Steve Kerr 31 1,861
Ron Harper 33 1,740
Toni Kukoc 28 1,610
Luc Longley 28 1,472
Jason Caffey 23 1,405
1996 CHICAGO BULLS
Player Age Minutes
Michael Jordan 32 3,090
Scottie Pippen 30 2,825
Toni Kukoc 27 2,103
Dennis Rodman 34 2,088
Steve Kerr 30 1,919
Ron Harper 32 1,886
Luc Longley 27 1,641
1995 HOUSTON ROCKETS
Player Age Minutes
Hakeem Olajuwon 32 2,853
Robert Horry 24 2,074
Vernon Maxwell 29 2,038
Kenny Smith 29 2,030
Mario Elie 31 1,896
Sam Cassell 25 1,882
Pete Chilcutt 26 1,347
Carl Herrera 28 1,331
Clyde Drexler 32 1,300
Post your response to anything on Quest HERE
GIVE US THE JUICE TO PRODUCE REPORTS MORE QUICKLY
Although there is a guaranteed minimum rate of Report production regardless of traffic, IT IS IN YOUR POWER to help double or triple the number of and frequency of Reports. Simply take two or three minutes as often as you can to recommend Quest and post links to Quest on your favorite sports and other sites. The resulting automatic increase of traffic will in turn increase the resources that go in to producing Quest, which in turn speeds up reporting. If you want, e-mail how you helped (include the url of where you posted a link to Quest) and we will throw some Internet love back to where you tell us on the Internet. Thank you.
Here are some quick links that you can use to find a place where you might post a link to Quest and/or to Quest content.
HOLD MOUSE HERE TO EXPAND THIS MENU OF PLACES ON WHICH YOU CAN POST A LINK TO QUEST:
BASKETBALL SITES THAT ARE OPEN FOR CONTENT FROM ANYONE
Note: Beware of "layered" sites. None of the following are layered sites, which are sites that allow contributions from the public only in hard to find, low traffic areas, while the main areas are off limits for public input and are only for a chosen few. All of the following have at least some notable traffic, and all of them allow relatively equal and open participation. The order is from most recommended to least recommended, based on about half a dozen factors.
Bleacher Report Open Posting Site
Inside Hoops NBA Forum
Real GM NBA and Team Forums
Pro Sports Daily NBA Forum
Basketball Forum NBA Forum
Sporting News NBA Forum
Hoops Hype NBA Forum
Armchair GM Open Posting Site
SportsTwo NBA Forum
NBA Dimensions NBA Forum
OTR Basketball Forums NBA Forum
NBA Boards NBA Forum
NBA Wire NBA Forum
KFFL NBA Forum
Note: there are other forums, but they are all very low traffic and activity compared to the ones above.
MESSAGE BOARDS AT HUGE COROPORATIONS
The Fox NBA board is very low traffic, and the MSNBC NBA board doesn't exist anymore. The CBS Sports NBA Message Board is a layered site; you can NOT post topics nor expect to be considered seriously there until you have spent a few years posting there. We do not recommend CBS Sports. So the only real, fully open NBA forum hosted by a big corporation is the ESPN message board. Be forewarned though that the ESPN board is dominated by very young fans who make very short comments. On the other hand, it is a high traffic site, so we won't stop you from posting a Quest link at ESPN if you want to.
ESPN NBA Message Board
GIVE US THE JUICE TO PRODUCE REPORTS MORE QUICKLY
Although there is a guaranteed minimum rate of Report production regardless of traffic, IT IS IN YOUR POWER to help double or triple the number of and frequency of Reports. Simply take two or three minutes as often as you can to recommend Quest and post links to Quest on your favorite sports and other sites. The resulting automatic increase of traffic will in turn increase the resources that go in to producing Quest, which in turn speeds up reporting. If you want, e-mail how you helped (include the url of where you posted a link to Quest) and we will throw some Internet love back to where you tell us on the Internet. Thank you.
Here are some quick links that you can use to find a place where you might post a link to Quest and/or to Quest content.
HOLD MOUSE HERE TO EXPAND THIS MENU OF PLACES ON WHICH YOU CAN POST A LINK TO QUEST:
BASKETBALL SITES THAT ARE OPEN FOR CONTENT FROM ANYONE
Note: Beware of "layered" sites. None of the following are layered sites, which are sites that allow contributions from the public only in hard to find, low traffic areas, while the main areas are off limits for public input and are only for a chosen few. All of the following have at least some notable traffic, and all of them allow relatively equal and open participation. The order is from most recommended to least recommended, based on about half a dozen factors.
Bleacher Report Open Posting Site
Inside Hoops NBA Forum
Real GM NBA and Team Forums
Pro Sports Daily NBA Forum
Basketball Forum NBA Forum
Sporting News NBA Forum
Hoops Hype NBA Forum
Armchair GM Open Posting Site
SportsTwo NBA Forum
NBA Dimensions NBA Forum
OTR Basketball Forums NBA Forum
NBA Boards NBA Forum
NBA Wire NBA Forum
KFFL NBA Forum
Note: there are other forums, but they are all very low traffic and activity compared to the ones above.
MESSAGE BOARDS AT HUGE COROPORATIONS
The Fox NBA board is very low traffic, and the MSNBC NBA board doesn't exist anymore. The CBS Sports NBA Message Board is a layered site; you can NOT post topics nor expect to be considered seriously there until you have spent a few years posting there. We do not recommend CBS Sports. So the only real, fully open NBA forum hosted by a big corporation is the ESPN message board. Be forewarned though that the ESPN board is dominated by very young fans who make very short comments. On the other hand, it is a high traffic site, so we won't stop you from posting a Quest link at ESPN if you want to.
ESPN NBA Message Board
SEARCH THE QUEST FOR THE RING--THE EQUIVALENT OF MORE THAN 13 BOOKS ABOUT BASKETBALL
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