While Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics they managed to win the title of NBA champions seventeen times eachthere are 11 other franchises in the league that still don’t know the feeling of being the best in a season.
let’s see who they are the 11 teams that have not yet been crowned champions and what was his best result to date.
MORE | Who were all the championship teams in NBA history?
*The Sacramento Kings are credited with the title of their predecessor the Rochester Royals in 1951, the Oklahoma City Thunder with the Seattle SuperSonics in 1979, and the Atlanta Hawks with the St. Louis Hawks in 1958.
Phoenix Sans
The Suns, in the NBA since 1968-69, reached the NBA Finals twice but lost both times: falling in the 1976 Finals against the Boston Celtics 4-2 and in the 1993 Finals against the Chicago Bulls with the same result. . In addition, they reached the Western Conference Finals on seven other occasions.
Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz (formed in 1974 as the New Orleans Jazz) are the other Western Conference team that has played in two Finals but failed to win a championship: in both 1997 and 1998 they lost to the Chicago Bulls of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman. , both times 4-2. In addition, on three other occasions during the John Stockton and Karl Malone era they played in the Western Conference finals, which they returned to for the last time in the 2006-2007 season with a banner Deron Williams.
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic are one of the newest franchises in the league, emerging in the 1989-1990 season and quickly building their way to a Finals appearance. In the 1994-1995 season, with the memorable team of Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway, they lost 4-0 to the Houston Rockets. In 2009, he was returned to the Finals by Dwight Howard, but lost 4-1 to the Los Angeles Lakers, so they remain without rings. They also lost in the East finals in 1996 and 2010.
brooklyn nets
Before moving to Brooklyn in 2012, the Nets had been in New Jersey since 1977, after making the jump from the ABA to the NBA (in 1976, still in New York). And in this situation they reached two NBA Finals in a row, albeit without the best result: led by Jason Kidd, before joining him with Vince Carter, they lost 4-0 to the Los Angeles Lakers and 4-2 to the Suns Antonio Spurs. . It is interesting neither before nor after qualifying for the Eastern finals.
Indiana Pacers
The other team that wasn’t a champion but at least made it to the NBA Finals is the Indiana Pacers. Another franchise that also entered the ABA in 1976 as the Nets, the Pacers lost the 2000 Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers 4-2, with Reggie Miller still active. They’ve been cheerleaders for the East quite a few times, going to the Conference Finals eight times, but they still haven’t brought Larry O’Brien to the streets of Indianapolis.
Charlotte Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets, formed in 1988, are one of six franchises that have never appeared in the NBA Finals. He was inactive between 2002 and 2004 and since his return (for a few years as the Bobcats) has not won a playoff series, although before that they had reached the second round of the East four times, making the seventh game in 2001.
Denver Nuggets
Like the Nets and Pacers, the Denver Nuggets entered the ABA in 1976. And after a long run that included West Finals losses in 1978, 1985, 2009 and 2020, all to the Los Angeles Lakers , achieved their goals in 2023. first NBA Finals. In the aforementioned ABA he was runner-up in the 1975-1976 campaign (losing to the New York Nets).
Los Angeles Clippers
Unlike their Lakers neighbors, history has not been kind to the Clippers. They entered the NBA as the Buffalo Braves, then were the San Diego Clippers, and in 1984 moved to Los Angeles, but never played in a championship finals in any of those three folds. The most they reached was eight conference semifinals, like those in 2020.
Memphis Grizzlies
Reaching the championship in the 1995-1996 season as the Vancouver Grizzlies and moving to Memphis in 2001, the Tennessees have yet to make it through the entire tough West in the Playoffs to be able to play in the League Finals. It wasn’t until 2013 that they made the Conference Finals, but lost 4-0 to the San Antonio Spurs.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Another of the franchises that was created in the late eighties, more specifically in 1989, the Minnesota Timberwolves also do not know what it is to be on the biggest stage of the NBA. In fact, only one year have they been able to advance past the first round of the Playoffs: 2004, when MVP Kevin Garnett reached the Western Conference Finals, losing 4-2 to the Los Angeles Lakers.
New Orleans Pelicans
It is the last franchise to appear in the NBA: it was in 2002 as the New Orleans Hornets and in 2013 they changed their name to the Pelicans, but they barely won two Playoff series in all that time: a first round against the Dallas Mavericks. in 2008 and another against the Portland Trail Blazers in 2018. It also makes sense on the franchise club that has never reached the Finals.
The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the NBA or its organizations.
