With a 6-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Oct. 15, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ dream of a three-peat died this week.
It turns out, the Dodgers aren’t alone.
Since the Los Angeles Lakerswon the NBA championship in 2002, capping a three-peat, no team in MLB, the NBA, NFL, NHL or WNBA has won three straight titles. In the time since, 11 teams have achieved back-to-back league championships, but none have reached a three-peat.
Three-peats weren’t always this rare.
USA TODAY looked back at all five leagues since 1970 and compared back-to-back champs with three-peat winners. Four three-peats began in the 1990s – the Chicago Bulls’ two separate title stints, the New York Yankees’ World Series at the end of the decade, and the Houston Comets winning the first four WNBA championships.
In the 1980s, the New York Islanders opened the decade with four-straight Stanley Cup titles. Directly before them, the NHL had another four-straight champion in the Montreal Canadiens. The Oakland Athletics also had a three-peat in the 1970s.
The NFL has never had a three-peat Super Bowl winner – technically, though, the Green Bay Packers won the NFL title in 1965 and then the first two Super Bowls. Before then, you’d have to go back to the Packers and their three-title run at the start of the Great Depression.
With the Dodgers’ exit from the 2026 MLB playoffs, the five-league three-peat drought extends 24 years. None of the five leagues have an active back-to-back champion, which means the earliest potential three-peat is February 2028, if the Seattle Seahawks win the next two Super Bowls.
Prior to the current drought, the longest streak between three-peat champions across all five leagues was 10 years – once between the Yankees and Toronto Maple Leafs in 1939-49 and again between the Islanders and Bulls in 1983-93. The first three-peat wasn’t until Green Bay won three straight NFL titles ending in 1931.
How close do teams come to a three-peat?
Since 1970, there have been 36 runs where a team won at least back-to-back championships. Eight have gone on to three-peat, with three of those four-peating.
However, most back-to-back champions do at least reach the playoffs. By USA TODAY’s count, just five teams since 1970 failed to reach the postseason after winning back-to-back crowns: Cincinnati Reds (1977), New York Yankees (1979), Pittsburgh Steelers (1980), Denver Broncos (1999) and Florida Panthers (2026).
The 1994 Toronto Blue Jays also didn’t reach the playoffs, but that was due to a players’ strike canceling MLB’s postseason play (Toronto also didn’t make the 1995 playoffs).
Three-peat fails since 2002
The 11 recent back-to-back winners without three-peating are, with championship years:
- MLB: Los Angeles Dodgers (2024-25)
- NBA: Los Angeles Lakers (2009-10), Miami Heat (2012-13), Golden State Warriors (2017-18)
- NFL: New England Patriots (2004-05), Kansas City Chiefs (2023-24)
- NHL: Pittsburgh Penguins (2016-17), Tampa Bay Lightning (2020-21), Florida Panthers (2024-25)
- WNBA: Los Angeles Sparks (2001-02), Las Vegas Aces (2022-23)
Three-peat winners since 1970
The eight three-peats since 1970 across MLB, the NBA, NFL, NHL and WNBA are, with championship years:
- Oakland Athletics, MLB (1972-74)
- Montreal Canadiens, NHL (1976-79)
- New York Islanders, NHL (1980-83)
- Chicago Bulls, NBA (1991-93)
- Chicago Bulls, NBA (1996-98)
- Houston Comets, WNBA (1997-2000)
- New York Yankees, MLB (1998-2000)
- Los Angeles Lakers, NBA (2000-02)
Methodology: USA TODAY compiled back-to-back and three-peat champions in MLB, the NBA, NFL, NHL and WNBA since 1970 using championship lists from the Sports Reference family of sites: MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL and WNBA.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dodgers' playoff exit extends 24-year pro sports three-peat drought