Being a professional athlete especially in the sports of basketball is you need a lot of physical and mental toughness and one of the example of an athlete that for me have all of that is Vince Carter. Vincesanity who is just fresh from his retirement in the NBA with the Atlanta Hawks as his last team have played a total of four different decades in the league. But it does not mean that he his playing career has lasted for 40 years, it is that the he played in the NBA under the era's of 90's 2000's 2010's and 2020 and he is the only player in NBA history to managed to have done it despite the very hard competition in the league.
But one of the thing that is more hardest to do or achieve in the NBA is to become a champion or having a championship ring in there different decades. And it also not mean that he have played 30 years in the league, it is that he have managed to do it in the era of 80's 90's 2000's and 2010's. And for this article of mine i will share to you the players who have managed to won an NBA championship in three different decades so let's get started.
There is only two players who have achieved this accomplishment, and one of them and first to have make it is John Salley, a role player he played before in the bad boy era of the Detroit Pistons along with Dennis Rodman, Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars and Bill Lambeir. He has been a part of the 1989 and 1990 NBA Champion Detroit Pistons. Despite of his high draft selection being the 11th overall pick before he just settled to become the back up center of the team. And then he was transferred to other teams like Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors. On 1996 he got a 10 day contract to the Chicago Bulls, where reunite with his former team mates in Pistons which is John Edwards and Dennis Rodman. He played for only 17 games with the Bulls then got an full contract with the team after the regular season ended, where at that time the Bulls have made a 72-10 win loss record and also managed to win the NBA championship. It was the third championship of John Salley in his basketball career, after his tenure with the Bulls he had a temporary retirement in the NBA but there is a time that he played overseas basketball in Europe. And in 2000 he was signed by the Los Angeles Lakers to be working together again with his former coach Phil Jackson. He played for the Lakers for a total of 45 games as back up center and then have won his 4th NBA Championship in his career. So let's just do a recap, he won his 1st championship in 1989 that is part of the 80's and another two rings in 1990 and in 1996 that is part of the 90's era and lastly his fourth in 2000 which is the start of the 2000's decade.
The player with the most championship in his playing career is Bill Russell where he get it in the era's of 1950's and 1960's where he retired and finish his playing career in 1969. But of he continued to play until in the 1970's era maybe he is the first player in the history to win a championship in three different decades.
The first Hall of Famer who have won Championship in three different decades is none other than Tim Duncan he is the player together with David Robinson who have given the franchise of San Antonio their first Championship since they entered the league in 1976. On some NBA legends like Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Karl Malone and many more Tim Duncan is also one of the Hall of Famer that never missed the playoffs in his whole NBA career. Michael Jordan which is the GOAT of the NBA while he is playing in the Chicago Bulls they are always playing in the pro season, but he played for the Washington Wizards after he came back from his second retirement and that time they did not make it in the playoffs in two seasons of Jordan staying with the Wizards.
Now Tim Duncan have a total of five NBA Championship that matched the number of NBA titles of the San Antonio Spurs. He won his first title in his career in 1999 which part of the 1990's era. Then won again in 2003, 2005 and 2007 that is part of 2000's era and his last ring was on 2014 that is part of the 2010's era. And that is my article about the two NBA players that have won Championship in three different decades.
