LeBron James has famously reached the NBA Finals 10 times, ranking third in conference titles behind only Bill Russell and Sam Jones. This is a pretty amazing feat considering he has played in a 30-team era where three playoff rounds are required to make the championship series, compared to often just one in the 1960s when Russell and Jones played.
However, there’s a caveat: while Russell played in the toughest conference (or division, as it was called then) in each of his seasons in the league, LeBron has only done so in five of his 21 years as a pro – just 23.81 percent of the time.
Among the greatest players ever, this puts him near the bottom in terms of conference difficulty faced, per HoopsHype research.
In contrast, Dirk Nowitzki spent 19 of his 21 years in the league playing in the strongest conference, the most of any player. That he made all those playoff runs under those circumstances and without All-Star sidekicks says a lot about how underrated his career is.
Below, we’ve ranked the players in our HoopsHype78 based on how frequently they competed in the toughest of the two conferences (defined by the most regular season wins).
Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Seasons in strongest conference: 13 out of 13
Conference titles: 12
NBA titles: 11
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 14 out of 15
Conference titles: 1
NBA titles: 0
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Seasons in strongest conference: 19 out of 21
Conference titles: 2
NBA titles: 1
Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 9 out of 10
Conference titles: 1
NBA titles: 1
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 16 out of 18
Conference titles: 5
NBA titles: 4
David Frerker-Imagn Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 14 out of 16
Conference titles: 4
NBA titles: 2
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Seasons in strongest conference: 13 out of 15
Conference titles: 6
NBA titles: 4
Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Network
Seasons in strongest conference: 12 out of 14
Conference titles: 2
NBA titles: 1
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Seasons in strongest conference: 16 out of 19
Conference titles: 1
NBA titles: 0
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 16 out of 19
Conference titles: 6
NBA titles: 5
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Seasons in strongest conference: 10 out of 12
Conference titles: 1
NBA titles: 1
Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 10 out of 12
Conference titles: 3
NBA titles: 2
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Seasons in strongest conference: 15 out of 18
Conference titles: 3
NBA titles: 2
Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 16 out of 20
Conference titles: 7
NBA titles: 5
NBAE via Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 11 out of 14
Conference titles: 7
NBA titles: 6
FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 7 out of 9
Conference titles: 1
NBA titles: 1
Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 14 out of 18
Conference titles: 0
NBA titles: 0
Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Seasons in strongest conference: 10 out of 13
Conference titles: 5
NBA titles: 3
Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 10 out of 13
Conference titles: 5
NBA titles: 3
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Seasons in strongest conference: 9 out of 12
Conference titles: 0
NBA titles: 0
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Seasons in strongest conference: 12 out of 16
Conference titles: 1
NBA titles: 0
NBA Photo Library/NBAE via Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 11 out of 15
Conference titles: 3
NBA titles: 1
Stephen Dunn/Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 8 out of 11
Conference titles: 4
NBA titles: 1
Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 10 out of 14
Conference titles: 6
NBA titles: 5
NBAE Photos/ NBAE/ Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 5 out of 7
Conference titles: 5
NBA titles: 5
Focus on Sport/Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 15 out of 21
Conference titles: 6
NBA titles: 4
Focus on Sport/Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 9 out of 13
Conference titles: 3
NBA titles: 2
Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 9 out of 14
Conference titles: 2
NBA titles: 2
Dick Raphael/NBAE via Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 9 out of 14
Conference titles: 6
NBA titles: 2
Manny Rubio-USA TODAY Sports
Seasons in strongest conference: 10 out of 16
Conference titles: 8
NBA titles: 8
Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 9 out of 15
Conference titles: 0
NBA titles: 0
Ken Levine /Allsport
Seasons in strongest conference: 9 out of 15
Conference titles: 6
NBA titles: 6
Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Network.
Seasons in strongest conference: 6 out of 10
Conference titles: 3
NBA titles: 2
RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports
Seasons in strongest conference: 10 out of 17
Conference titles: 2
NBA titles: 0
Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 10 out of 17
Conference titles: 6
NBA titles: 6
Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
Seasons in strongest conference: 11 out of 19
Conference titles: 0
NBA titles: 0
Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Seasons in strongest conference: 7 out of 13
Conference titles: 1
NBA titles: 1
Focus on Sport/Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 9 out of 17
Conference titles: 3
NBA titles: 1
Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 10 out of 19
Conference titles: 3
NBA titles: 0
George Gojkovich/Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 10 out of 19
Conference titles: 2
NBA titles: 1
Dick Raphael/NBAE via Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 7 out of 14
Conference titles: 0
NBA titles: 0
ROBERT SULLIVAN/AFP via Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 8 out of 16
Conference titles: 1
NBA titles: 0
Focus on Sport/Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 5 out of 10
Conference titles: 2
NBA titles: 1
MARK LEFFINGWELL/AFP via Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 10 out of 21
Conference titles: 2
NBA titles: 1
Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 9 out of 19
Conference titles: 2
NBA titles: 0
Manny Rubio-USA TODAY Sports
Seasons in strongest conference: 6 out of 13
Conference titles: 3
NBA titles: 1
Manny Rubio-USA TODAY Sports
Seasons in strongest conference: 6 out of 13
Conference titles: 3
NBA titles: 2
Dick Raphael/NBAE via Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 6 out of 13
Conference titles: 4
NBA titles: 1
Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Seasons in strongest conference: 10 out of 22
Conference titles: 0
NBA titles: 0
Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 8 out of 18
Conference titles: 4
NBA titles: 2
TOM MIHALEK/AFP via Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 6 out of 14
Conference titles: 1
NBA titles: 0
Focus on Sport/Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 6 out of 15
Conference titles: 0
NBA titles: 0
Focus on Sport/Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 4 out of 10
Conference titles: 3
NBA titles: 2
Focus on Sport/Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 8 out of 20
Conference titles: 10
NBA titles: 6
Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 6 out of 15
Conference titles: 0
NBA titles: 0
Sporting News via Getty Images via Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 7 out of 18
Conference titles: 3
NBA titles: 2
Stephen Dunn/Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 7 out of 18
Conference titles: 1
NBA titles: 0
JEFF HAYNES/AFP via Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 7 out of 19
Conference titles: 6
NBA titles: 4
Manny Rubio-USA TODAY Sports
Seasons in strongest conference: 4 out of 11
Conference titles: 2
NBA titles: 2
Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 5 out of 14
Conference titles: 4
NBA titles: 2
Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 5 out of 15
Conference titles: 3
NBA titles: 1
Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Seasons in strongest conference: 6 out of 18
Conference titles: 2
NBA titles: 1
Otto Greule Jr/Allsport/Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 4 out of 12
Conference titles: 7
NBA titles: 3
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Seasons in strongest conference: 6 out of 19
Conference titles: 3
NBA titles: 1
Tony Triolo/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 3 out of 10
Conference titles: 0
NBA titles: 0
Manny Rubio-USA TODAY Sports
Seasons in strongest conference: 4 out of 14
Conference titles: 9
NBA titles: 1
Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Network.
Seasons in strongest conference: 4 out of 16
Conference titles: 3
NBA titles: 1
Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 2 out of 8
Conference titles: 0
NBA titles: 0
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Seasons in strongest conference: 5 out of 21
Conference titles: 10
NBA titles: 4
David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Seasons in strongest conference: 3 out of 13
Conference titles: 4
NBA titles: 1
Jim Rogash/Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 4 out of 19
Conference titles: 2
NBA titles: 1
Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 2 out of 10
Conference titles: 0
NBA titles: 0
Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Seasons in strongest conference: 2 out of 11
Conference titles: 1
NBA titles: 1
Tim DeFrisco/Allsport/Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 2 out of 13
Conference titles: 9
NBA titles: 5
Manny Rubio-USA TODAY Sports
Seasons in strongest conference: 2 out of 14
Conference titles: 9
NBA titles: 1
Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Seasons in strongest conference: 1 out of 13
Conference titles: 4
NBA titles: 2
Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 1 out of 16
Conference titles: 6
NBA titles: 3
Focus on Sport/Getty Images
Seasons in strongest conference: 0 out of 11
Conference titles: 4
NBA titles: 1
