Three-peat

In sports (especially in North America), a three-peat is winning three consecutive championships or tournaments. The term, a portmanteau of the words three and repeat, originated with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association, during their unsuccessful campaign for a third consecutive championship during the 1988–89 season, having won the previous two NBA finals.
The term is a registered trademark owned by Pat Riley, the Lakers' head coach from 1981 to 1990. The original owner and assignor of the underlying THREE-PEAT "mark" was Bijan Khezri, former president of P.d.P. Paperon De Paperoni, a Delaware corporation. Khezri submitted in November 1988 a trademark application for the use of three-peat on shirts, jackets and hats. Around that time, the phrase was being used by members and fans of the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team, of whom Pat Riley was the head coach, regarding the Lakers' quest that season to obtain what would have been a third successive NBA championship. According to Riley, it was Laker player Byron Scott who cited the term in reference to the team's goal for that season.
After Khezri assigned the trademark to Riley, it remained an entity of Riles & Co., the corporate entity of National Basketball Association (NBA) coach Pat Riley. In 1989, Riles & Co. successfully registered the trademark under U.S. Registration Number 1552980. The Lakers did not win a third consecutive NBA championship in 1989, but the Chicago Bulls did in 1993, and Riles & Co. collected royalties from sports apparel makers who licensed the phrase for use on merchandise commemorating that accomplishment.
Riles & Co. subsequently obtained additional registrations expanding the trademark to cover many other kinds of merchandise in addition to apparel. The company then went on to reap additional profits by again licensing the phrase to merchandisers when the Bulls again won three consecutive NBA championships from 1996 through 1998, as well as when the New York Yankees won three straight World Series championships from 1998 through 2000 and when the Lakers won three straight NBA championships from 2000 through 2002. It was the Lakers' second three-peat in franchise history and only their first since moving from Minneapolis. As of 2025, the Lakers are the last team of the four major American professional sports (NHL, MLB, NFL, NBA) to achieve a three-peat. Incidentally, Pat Riley was the head coach of the losing teams (New York Knicks in 1992 and 1993, Miami Heat in 1996 and 1997) that were eliminated by the Bulls during their 1991-93 and 1996-98 three-peats of NBA Championships. Phil Jackson was the head coach of the Bulls for both of these three-peats, and serving in that same capacity for the Lakers when they achieved their second three-peat.
While originating in the United States, the three-peat has been replicated all over the world across different sports. In recent times, Spanish association football club Real Madrid notably became the first club of the modern era to win three consecutive UEFA Champions League titles (2015–16, 2016–17 and 2017–18).
The trademark registration for three-peat has been challenged over the years by those who argue that the term has become too generic in its usage for the trademark to continue to be applicable. However, such arguments have yet to succeed, with the registration continuing to be upheld by the United States Patent and Trademark Office as recently as 2001, in the case of Christopher Wade v. Riles & Co. This challenge documented the transfer of assignment from Khezri to Riles & Co., and upheld the validity of the trademark as originally conceived.
In 2005, a group of individuals attempted to trademark the phrase Three-Pete in anticipation of the (ultimately unsuccessful) attempt that year by the 2005 USC Trojans football team to win a third consecutive national championship. The change in spelling was a reference to the team's head coach, Pete Carroll. However, the Patent Office ruled that the change in spelling was not dissimilar enough from Riles & Co.'s three-peat, and denied the registration. Later that year, U.S.C. fan Kyle Bunch began selling his own "Three-Pete" T-shirts. He discontinued sales once he was notified that he was infringing upon the Riles & Co. trademark.
In a comedic context, the same play on words, additionally incorporating the name "Pete", is known to have been used as early as 1930 on the radio program Empire Builders. The episode of that program broadcast on December 29, 1930, featured a trio of singers dubbed "The Three Visiting Firemen: Pete, Re-Pete, and Three-Pete".
The Oxford English Dictionary credits an Illinois high school senior, Sharif Ford, with the earliest published use of the word in the March 8, 1989, edition of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Ford's quote uses the term in a sporting context and serves to provide a clear etymology as well:
There have been numerous instances of teams winning three or more consecutive championships in the National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, Major League Baseball, National Football League, and Australian Football League, most of which occurred prior to the advent of the term three-peat.
Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA Finals)
NACDA Director's Cup (overall collegiate athletics)
NAIA National Football Championship
NAIA National Basketball Championship
NCAA Division I Baseball
NCAA Division I Softball
NCAA Division I Men's Volleyball
NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball
NCAA Division I Football
NCAA Division I Men's Basketball
NCAA Division I Men's Water Polo
NCAA Division I Women's Basketball
NCAA Division I Men's Cross Country
NCAA Division II Women's Basketball
NCAA Division III Women's Basketball
NCAA Division I Women's Soccer
NCAA Division II Football Championship
NCAA Division III Football
U.S. National Collegiate Club Rugby championships
Warhammer 40k American Team Championships
West Australian Football League
AFL
Australian Football League Germany
Costa Rica, American Football 1st Division:
First Division (association football)
Belgian Pro League
Brazilian Championship
Bulgarian A PFG
First Division (Association football):
Croatian Football League
Danish Superliga
Egyptian Premier League
Egypt Cup
Egyptian Super Cup
English football First Tier
FA Cup
Football League/EFL Cup
FA Charity/Community Shield
Veikkausliiga
Ligue 1
Bundesliga
DDR-Oberliga
Persian Gulf League
Iran Super Cup 2017–2020 Persepolis (4-peat)
Iraq Stars League
Iraq FA Cup
Umm al-Ma'arik Championship
Iraqi Super Cup
Iraq Central FA Premier League
Liga Leumit
Israeli Premier League
Italian Football Championship
Serie A
Coppa Italia
J1 League
Liga MX
Eredivisie
Tippeligaen
National Men's Championship
PFL
Primeira Liga
Russian Football Premier League
Scottish football league system first tier
Scottish Cup
Serbian SuperLiga
Slovenian PrvaLiga
La Liga
Copa del Rey
South Africa
South African Premier Division
K League 1
Allsvenskan
Süper Lig
Soviet Top League
UAE Pro League
Yugoslav First League
Baseball
Nippon Professional Baseball
KBO League
Liga Nacional de Básquet
Czech National Basketball League:
LNB Pro A
Basketball Bundesliga
Iraqi Professional Basketball League
Iraqi Basketball Perseverance Cup
Israeli Basketball Premier League
Lega Basket Serie A
In the Philippines, a similar concept of a grand slam, winning all 3 conferences (tournaments) in sequence in a single season exists. Leagues such as the PBA, PVL, and formerly PBL and MICAA had used this format.
A conventional definition of three peat, winning a conference championship in three or more consecutive seasons, can also be applied:
PBA
PBA D-League
BSN basketball
Russian Basketball Super League 1 (1992–2010)
Russian Professional Basketball League
VTB United League
Premier A Slovenian Basketball League
Liga ACB
Spanish Cup
Spanish Super Cup
Swiss Basketball League
Basketball Super League
VBA
Canadian Rugby Union (pre 1958) / Canadian Football League (post 1958) (Grey Cup):
Collegiate women's basketball
Queensland Premier Cricket T20
Indian cricket's Ranji Trophy
New Zealand cricket's Plunket Shield
Taça Brasil de Futsal
Iraqi Futsal Premier League
Campeonato Nacional de Futsal
Taça de Portugal de Futsal
Taça da Liga de Futsal
Russian Futsal Super League
Russian Futsal Cup
Primera División de Futsal
Copa de España de Futsal
Copa del Rey de Futsal
Supercopa de España de Futsal
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
Iraqi Handball Premier League
Slovenian First League of Handball
Russian Handball Super League
Liga ASOBAL
Copa del Rey
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
National Hurling League
Australian Ice Hockey League
Soviet Championship League
Super Rugby (Union)
Men's Premiership Rugby
Premiership Women's Rugby
Women's Premiership
New South Wales Rugby Football League/Australian Rugby League/National Rugby League
Northern Rugby Football Union/Northern Rugby Football League/Rugby Football League/Super League
PVL
V-League
Athletics
Basketball
Equestrian
Fencing
Field Hockey
Football
Handball
Sailing
Shooting
Swimming
Volleyball
Water polo
Curling
Ice Hockey
3 Peat 1984-1987-1991 Canada Cup
Unofficial Championships (before 1886)
Pre-FIDE World Championships (1886–1946)
FIDE World Championships (2006–present)
World Athletics Championships
Cricket World Cup
ICC Women's T20 World Cup
BDO World Darts Championship
PDC World Darts Championship
Gary Anderson could have made a three-peat in 2015–2017 but lost 7–3 to Michael van Gerwen in the final of the 2017 World darts championship.
BDO Women's World Darts Championship
Counter Strike
Counter Strike: Global Offensive
FIFA Futsal World Cup
UEFA Futsal Championship
Intercontinental Futsal Cup
South American Futsal Championship / Copa Libertadores de Futsal
International Rules Series
Formula One World Drivers' Champion
Champ Car World Series auto racing
MotoGP
Formula 1 Powerboat World Championship
Women's Rugby World Cup
Rugby League World Cup
Women's Rugby League World Cup
IPS World Circuit World Champion
ASP World Tour World Champion
ASP World Tour World Champion
Winter X Games SuperPipe
In the National Football League (NFL), a Super Bowl championship three-peat has not been accomplished. Two-time defending Super Bowl champions who failed to three-peat include the Green Bay Packers (1968), Miami Dolphins (1974), Pittsburgh Steelers (twice: 1976, 1980), San Francisco 49ers (1990), Dallas Cowboys (1994), Denver Broncos (1999), New England Patriots (2005), and Kansas City Chiefs (2024). The Chiefs became the first two-time defending Super Bowl champion to reach the Super Bowl, but lost Super Bowl LIX to the Philadelphia Eagles, the team they had previously defeated two years prior in Super Bowl LVII. The other eight teams failed to return to the title game in the third season (indicated in parentheses).
The Buffalo Bills went to 4 consecutive Super Bowls as the AFC champions from 1990 to 1993, which is a feat unmatched in NFL history; however, they lost in every appearance. The Miami Dolphins (1971-73), New England Patriots (2016-18), and Kansas City Chiefs (2022-24) have each won 3 consecutive Conference championships (and appeared in 3 straight Super Bowls) in their history.
In the early years of the NFL, decades before the introduction of either the term three-peat or the Super Bowl, the Packers won three consecutive NFL titles from 1929–31. This was achieved without playing any postseason playoff games, as the league title was determined at that time from the season standings. In addition, the Packers won the NFL championship in 1965, at a time when the rival NFL and AFL played separate exclusive championships. They then followed that 1965 championship with their first two Super Bowl victories in 1966 and 1967 (their Super Bowl berths were earned by winning both the 1966 NFL Championship Game and 1967 NFL Championship Game), thereby winning championships three years in a row.
There have been efforts to come up with a similarly clever name for the potential fourth consecutive championship in the year following a three-peat. But attempts such as quat-row have thus far failed to catch on, and most fans simply use the term four-peat. Since the term three-peat came into usage, however, only one team in major American sports has been able to achieve it – Hendrick Racing/Jimmie Johnson NASCAR team, who won 5 championships in a row.
The wordplay of three-peat is clearer if repeat is stressed on the first syllable; this pronunciation is uncommon outside North America. Other English-speaking people may instead talk of a hat trick of championships, or simply a three-in-a-row.
There are also terms for winning three trophies in the same season:
The trifecta (also known as a tricast, triactor or tierce) is a concept in gambling in which a bettor successfully guesses the win, place and show in a particular race.