Best Of’s – NBA Teams To Never Win A Title
There have been a lot of great teams over the years, great teams that fell short of a Championship. Several were Championship-caliber teams…some had bad luck, some had an untimely injury, some had the misfortune of playing during another team’s dynasty, and some simply underachieved.
So, what is the best team that didn’t win a Championship?
Note - These are not individual team seasons (that would obviously be the 2016 Warriors), these are teams that had a run over a period of time. Some of these runs were just a few years, and some were over the course of a decade.
Here are top 20 NBA Teams that never won a Championship. And as always, tell me how I’m wrong! Note – Based on the feedback I got from having John Stockton on my Mount Rushmore of Basketball Positions article, I am sure I will get some comments about my #1 on this list!
20. 1990’s Portland Trailblazers (Phase 2)
Years – 1998 - 2000
Key Players – Rasheed Wallace, Damon Stoudamire, Arvydas Sabonis, Scottie Pippen, Steve Smith
Coach – Mike Dunleavy
Runs – 2 Conference Finals appearances, 2 Conference Semifinals appearances
Notables – Won Division 1 time; Won 50+ games 1 time; blew a 16 point lead in Game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference Finals, capped off by Kobe’s alley-oop to Shaq with under a minute to go
19. 1980’s Denver Nuggets
Years – 1981 - 1990
Key Players – Alex English, Kiki Vandeweghe, Dan Issel, Fat Lever, Calvin Natt, Michael Adams
Coach – Doug Moe
Runs – 1 Conference Finals appearance, 4 Conference Semifinals appearances
Notables – Won Division 2 times; Won 50+ games 2 times
18. 2010’s Houston Rockets
Years – 2016 - present
Key Players – James Harden, Chris Paul, Clint Capela, Eric Gordon, Russell Westbrook
Coach – Mike D’Antoni
Runs – 1 Conference Finals appearance, 3 Conference Semifinals appearances
Notables – Won Division 3 times; Won 50+ games 3 times; won 60+ games 1 time; possibly a Chris Paul injury away from winning 2018 Western Conference Finals; currently sitting in 1st place in 2020 season (at the time of this writing)
17. 1990’s Miami Heat
Years – 1995 - 2001
Key Players – Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway, Jamal Mashburn, Dan Majerle, P.J. Brown
Coach – Pat Riley
Runs – 1 Conference Finals appearance, 2 Conference Semifinals appearances
Notables – Won Division 4 times; Won 50+ games 4 times; won 60+ games 1 time
16. 2010’s Indiana Pacers
Years – 2011 - 2014
Key Players – Paul George, Roy Hibbert, David West, George Hill, Lance Stephenson, Danny Granger
Coach – Frank Vogel
Runs – 2 Conference Finals appearances, 3 Conference Semifinals appearances
Notables – Won Division 2 times; Won 50+ games 1 time; lost to eventual Eastern Conference Champion Miami Heat all 3 years
15. 2010’s Los Angeles Clippers
Years – 2011 - 2017
Key Players – Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Jamal Crawford, Matt Barnes, J.J Redick
Coaches – Doc Rivers, Vinny Del Negro (2 seasons)
Runs – 3 Conference Semifinals appearances
Notables – Won Division 2 times; Won 50+ games 5 times; one of the more exciting teams to watch in history, as well as one of the more underachieving teams in history
14. 1990’s Cleveland Cavaliers
Years – 1988 - 1993
Key Players – Mark Price, Brad Daugherty, Larry Nance, Hot Rod Williams, Ron Harper, Craig Ehlo
Coach – Lenny Wilkens
Runs – 1 Conference Finals appearance, 2 Conference Semifinals appearances
Notables – Won 50+ games 3 times; lost to Chicago Bulls in the Playoffs 4 out of 6 years
13. 2010’s Chicago Bulls
Years – 2010 - 2015
Key Players – Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, Jimmy Butler, Kirk Hinrich, Taj Gibson
Coach – Tom Thibodeau
Runs – 1 Conference Finals appearance, 3 Conference Semifinals appearances
Notables – Won Division 2 times; Won 50+ games 3 times; won 60+ games 1 time; one of those “what could have been” teams had Derrick Rose never blown his knee out
12. 1990’s Seattle SuperSonics
Years – 1991 - 1998
Key Players – Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp, Ricky Pierce, Nate McMillian, Detlef Schrempf, Sam Perkins
Coach – George Karl
Runs – 1 NBA Finals appearance (1996), 2 Conference Finals appearances, 5 Conference Semifinals appearances
Notables – Won Division 4 times; Won 50+ games 6 times; won 60+ games 3 times
11. 1990’s Portland Trailblazers (Phase 1)
Years – 1989 - 1994
Key Players – Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter, Jerome Kersey, Buck Williams, Kevin Duckworth, Clifford Robinson
Coach – Rick Adelman
Runs – 2 Finals appearances (1990 & 1992), 3 Conference Finals appearances, 3 Conference Semifinals appearances
Notables – Won Division 2 times; Won 50+ games 4 times; won 60+ games 1 time
10. 1960’s Philadelphia / Golden State Warriors
Years – 1959 - 1964
Key Players – Wilt Chamberlain, Paul Arizin, Tom Gola, Guy Rodgers, Al Attles
Coach – Neil Johnston, Frank McGuire (1 season), Bob Feerick (1 season), Alex Hannum
Runs – 1 NBA Finals appearance (1964), 3 Division Finals appearances, 4 Division Semifinals appearances
Notables – Won Division 1 time; had arguably the most dominant player in NBA history (Wilt Chamberlain)
9. 2000’s Phoenix Suns
Years – 2004 - 2010
Key Players – Steve Nash, Amar’e Stoudemire, Shawn Marion, Leandro Barbosa, Raja Bell, Shaquille O’Neal
Coach – Mike D’Antoni
Runs – 3 Conference Finals appearances, 4 Conference Semifinals appearances
Notables – Won Division 3 times; Won 50+ games 5 times; won 60+ games 2 times; lost controversial 2007 Western Conference Semifinals to San Antonio Spurs (Robert Horry’s hip-check of Steve Nash, followed by Amar’e Stoudemire’s questionable suspension)
8. 1980’s Milwaukee Bucks
Years – 1977 - 1987
Key Players – Sidney Moncrief, Marques Johnson, Junior Bridgeman, Quinn Buckner, Brian Winters, Ricky Pierce
Coach – Don Nelson
Runs – 3 Conference Finals appearances, 9 Conference Semifinals appearances (8 consecutive)
Notables – Won Division 7 times (7 consecutive); Won 50+ games 7 times; won 60+ games 1 time; lost to Boston Celtics or Philadelphia 76ers in the Playoffs 7 consecutive seasons; Note - I believe this is one of the more forgotten teams in NBA history
7. 2010’s Oklahoma City Thunder
Years – 2009 - 2016
Key Players – Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Serge Ibaka, Kendrick Perkins, Thabo Sefolosha
Coaches – Scott Brooks, Billy Donovan (1 season)
Runs – 1 NBA Finals appearance (2012), 4 Conference Finals appearances, 5 Conference Semifinals appearances
Notables – Won Division 5 times; Won 50+ games 5 times; won 60+ games 1 time; original core consisted of 3 of the more dynamic scorers in the game (Durant, Westbrook, & Harden)
6. 1990’s Indiana Pacers
Years – 1993 - 2000
Key Players – Reggie Miller, Rik Smits, Mark Jackson, Dale Davis, Antonio Davis, Jalen Rose
Coach – Larry Brown, Larry Bird
Runs – 1 NBA Finals appearance, 5 Conference Finals appearances, 6 Conference Semifinals appearances
Notables – Won Division 3 times; Won 50+ games 4 times; only team to take 1990’s Chicago Bulls Championship teams to 7 games (1998)**
**Correction (pointed out by a reader) - The Pacers were NOT the only team to take the 1990’s Chicago Bulls Championship teams to 7 games, the Knicks also did that in the 1992 Eastern Conference Semifinals
5. 1990’s Orlando Magic
Years – 1993 - 1996
Key Players – Shaquille O’Neal, Penny Hardaway, Horace Grant, Nick Anderson, Dennis Scott
Coach – Brian Hill
Runs – 1 NBA Finals appearance (1995), 2 Conference Finals appearances, 2 Conference Semifinals appearances
Notables – Won Division 2 times; Won 50+ games 3 times; won 60+ games 1 time; one of the bigger “what-if’s” in NBA history…had they (Shaq & Penny) played together longer, they would have either won a Championship, or been #1 on this list
4. 2000’s Sacramento Kings
Years – 1998 - 2004
Key Players – Chris Webber, Mike Bibby, Peja Stojakovic, Vlade Divac, Doug Christie, Jason Williams
Coach – Rick Adelman
Runs – 1 Conference Finals appearance, 4 Conference Semifinals appearances
Notables – Won Division 2 times; Won 50+ games 4 times; won 60+ games 1 time; lost controversial 2002 Western Conference Finals to Los Angeles Lakers (referee scandal, see Tim Donaghy)
3. 1990’s New York Knicks
Years – 1991 - 2000
Key Players – Patrick Ewing, John Starks, Charles Oakley, Larry Johnson, Anthony Mason, Allan Houston, Latrell Sprewell
Coach – Pat Riley, Jeff Van Gundy
Runs – 2 NBA Finals appearances (1994 & 1999), 4 Conference Finals appearances, 9 Conference Semifinals appearances (9 consecutive)
Notables – Won Division 2 times; Won 50+ games 6 times; won 60+ games 1 time; lost to Chicago Bulls in the Playoffs 4 times in the 1990’s
2. 1960’s Los Angeles Lakers (Elgin Baylor era)
Years – 1958 - 1971
Key Players – Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Frank Selvy, Dick Barnett, Rudy LaRusso, Gail Goodrich, Wilt Chamberlain
Coach – John Kundla, Fred Schaus, Butch van Breda Kolff, Joe Mullaney
Runs – 7 NBA Finals appearances (1959, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968, & 1969), 11 Division/Conference Finals appearances, 13 Division/Conference Semifinals appearances (13 consecutive)
Notables – Won Division 2 times; Won 50+ games 4 times; won 60+ games 1 time; lost to Boston Celtics in NBA Finals 7 (SEVEN!) times; finally won NBA Championship after the season in which Elgin Baylor retired
1. 1990’s Utah Jazz
Years – 1990 - 2000
Key Players – Karl Malone, John Stockton, Jeff Hornacek, Greg Ostertag, Byron Russell, Mark Eaton
Coach – Jerry Sloan
Runs – 2 NBA Finals appearances (1997 & 1998), 5 Conference Finals appearances, 8 Conference Semifinals appearances
Notables – Won Division 4 times; Won 50+ games 8 out of 10 years; won 60+ games 3 times; ran into the Chicago Bulls buzzsaw in back-to-back years
So, there they are. Now, tell me how I’m wrong and who I missed!!!
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