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 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.
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.
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.
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".
[1] 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: The Lincoln High Tigers say they want to "three-peat".
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).
[17] 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.