Chiefs look to join the Shaq-Kobe Lakers, Yankees and Michael Jordan with a rare three-peat

 

[January 28, 2025]  By JOSH DUBOW

Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs accomplished a feat that had never been done before: Getting back to the NFL's championship game following back-to-back Super Bowl wins.

Next up is the rare championship three-peat that hasn't been accomplished in the NFL, NBA, NHL or Major League Baseball in more than 20 years.

The most recent team in those four leagues to win three straight championships was the Los Angeles Lakers with Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant in the 2000-02 NBA Finals.

Only two NFL teams have ever won three straight championships with Green Bay doing it from 1929-31 when the champion was determined by regular-season record and then again in the 1965-67 seasons. Vince Lombardi's Packers won the final NFL championship before the start of the Super Bowl era in 1966 and then won the first two games between the AFL and NFL champions that determined the true kings of pro football.

Since the end of that Green Bay run, there have been seven three-peats in the four biggest North American pro sports leagues. Here's a look at those dynastic teams:

Oakland Athletics, 1972-74
Charlie Finley's Swingin' A's dominated baseball in the early 1970s with a roster filled with big characters. Led by slugger Reggie Jackson, dominant starters Catfish Hunter and Vida Blue, the A's knocked off the Reds, Mets and Dodgers in successive seasons to join the Yankees as the only baseball franchises to win three straight titles.

Montreal Canadiens, 1976-79
Montreal dominated the NHL for decades with 23 Stanley Cups. The majority of those came in the pre-expansion Original Six era, but the Canadiens put together an impressive run in the late 1970s under coach Scotty Bowman. Led by dynamic scorer Guy LaFleur, two Cup-clinching goals by Jacque Lemaire, Hall of Fame defenseman Larry Robinson and goalie Ken Dryden, Montreal raced to four straight titles with a 48-10 record in the four postseason runs.

New York Islanders, 1980-83
As soon as the Canadiens' dynastic run ended, the Islanders started one of their own as the last hockey team to win at least three straight titles. Al Arbour's squad was led by high-scoring wing Mike Bossy, defenseman Denis Potvin and goalie Billy Smith. The run started with an overtime clincher by Bobby Nystrom against Philadelphia in the 1980 Stanley Cup Final and then they lost only once in three other trips to the Final.

Los Angeles Lakers' Shaquille O'Neal, right, yells to the crowd as he stands behind the NBA Championship trophy as the Lakers and thousands of their fans celebrate their NBA Championship in downtown Los Angeles, Wednesday, June 21, 2000. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian, File)

Chicago Bulls, 1991-93 and 1996-98
After coming up short in back-to-back seasons against the Detroit Pistons, Michael Jordan and the Bulls broke through in the 1991 NBA Finals by beating Magic Johnson and the Lakers in five games. Chicago then dominated for most of the decade, repeating as champs in 1992 and 1993 for the NBA's first three-peat since Boston won eight straight titles from 1959-66.

After a brief step back in the 1994-95 seasons after Jordan stepped away to play baseball, the Bulls were even more dominant in their second run. Chicago won a then-record 72 regular-season games on the way to the title in 1996 and then won again the next two years before Jordan temporarily retired and the team broke up.

New York Yankees, 1998-2000
The Yankees had several dynastic runs in their history, winning four straight World Series from 1936-39 and then five in a row from 1949-53. But they are the only team to win three straight World Series in the free agency era. Led by homegrown stars Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte and Bernie Williams, Joe Torre's squad won the franchise's first title in 18 years in 1996.

After a playoff loss to Cleveland the next season, New York won three in a row starting with a then-record 114 wins in 1998. The Yankees dominated in the postseason with a 33-8 record.

Los Angeles Lakers 2000-02
After helping the Bulls to both of their three-peats in the 1990s, coach Phil Jackson did the same when he joined a talented Lakers team led by O'Neal and Bryant that had underperformed before his arrival. The Lakers needed an epic Game 7 comeback against Portland in the Western Conference Finals in 2000 on the way to the first title, went 15-1 in the postseason to repeat the following year and then had to pull out another Game 7 conference final win in 2002 against Sacramento on the way to the three-peat.

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