5 NBA coaches with the most championship rings

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#3 John Kundla

John Kundla as coach of the Minneapolis Lakers. Photo credits: LosAngelesTimes

Back in the early days of the NBA, the Minneapolis Lakers dominated proceedings with league great John Kundla at the helm. Kundla would lead the team to five titles from 1949 to 1954. His sides included stars Jim Pollard and George Mikan, who would later enter the basketball Hall of Fame.

They weren't the only stars of Kundla's Lakers sides, though. His rosters also included future inductees Slater Martin, Vern Mikkelsen, Clyde Lovellette, Slick Leonard, Hot Rod Hundley and possibly the most famous - Elgin Baylor.

Kundla's side weren't just the first team in league history to win back-to-back titles, but were the first to three-peat. They were formidable in the West and had frequent battles with the New York Knicks, whom they beat on two occasions in the NBA Finals.

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#2 Arnold 'Red' Auerbach

Coach of the Boston Celtics side that dominated the 1950s and '60s in the NBA, Arnold 'Red' Auerbach comes into our list second with nine rings. His time with the franchise was phenomenal, leading them to eight titles in a row from 1959-66 - still a North American sports record.

After years of disappointment in the playoffs, Auerbach set his sights on Bill Russell in the 1956 draft. The center would go on to become one of the greatest NBA players of all time and won nine of his rings with Auerbach, creating one of the finest dynasties in basketball history. In that same draft class, the C's would also pick up future Hall-of-Famers Tom Heinsohn and guard K.C. Jones.

Auerbach's Celtics teams were known for their ability on the fast-break and relied on Russell's phenomenal rebounding to help create opportunities on offense. They were well-balanced with several effective scorers and frustrated opponents with their deep roster.

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#1 Phil Jackson

Phil Jackson as coach of the LA Lakers

Perennial winner Phil Jackson sits atop our list, having won 11 rings as a head coach in the NBA. He did so in style too, with the best regular season and playoff win percentage of any coach in this top 5.

Though he didn't put up the greatest stats as a player, Jackson won two titles with the New York Knicks and took that experience into his career as a head coach. He would go on to lead some of the greatest teams of all time, including the Chicago Bulls of the 1990's with Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman, whom he won six titles with.

Jackson then won another five NBA titles with the LA Lakers, including his third three-peat, coaching more greats such as Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.

NBA champions & legends of the game @Shaq & @PhilJackson11 talk #NBAFinals at American Express Teamed Up. #AmexNBAhttps://t.co/yfhzmoUd2d

— NBA (@NBA) June 14, 2016

Although he won all of these championships, Jackson surprisingly won just one Coach of the Year award in 1996. He was an All-Star game head coach on four occasions and will be remembered for the way in which he helped some of the NBA's biggest stars achieve greatness.