The five greatest NBA teams that never won a championship. Bad luck, bad timing, and unforeseen circumstances all influence the outcome of games; did your team make the cut?
There can only be one — one champion out of 30 NBA teams every season. Sometimes a season is ruined by injuries, sometimes you run into an immovable object like an all-time great player. Sometimes the basketball gods simply don’t shine their light upon you. You can track the history of the league through these teams and the actual champions. Why didn’t this otherwise historic, well-rounded team win a title? The answer is often one of a handful of great players and teams—Celtics (in multiple decades), Lakers, Bulls, Spurs, Warriors. Bill Russel, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Larry Bird, Tim Duncan, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
For whatever reason, every team on this list failed to win a championship, and yet we remember them still — or we should. This list reminds us of the difficulties of winning at the highest level; but hopefully this list also reminds us that failing to win a championship does not prevent a team from being great or worthy of praise.
Not to mention, what happens if the 2019-20 NBA season is never completed. We’ll always be adding new teams to this list, but because of a lost season? That would be a strange wrinkle in NBA history. How much longer can LeBron maintain this level of play? Can the Bucks get better, again? Finding your peak form at the right time is no easy task, and the lack of a championship should not invalidate that accomplishment. We have an obligation to continue telling these stories.
Honorable Mention: 1989-90 Phoenix Suns, 1990-91 Portland Trail Blazers, 1991-92 Cleveland Cavaliers, 1993-94, 1994-95, 1995-96 Seattle Supersonics, 1994-95 Orlando Magic, 1994-95, 1997-98 Utah Jazz, 2004-05 Phoenix Suns, 2005-06, 2006-07 Dallas Mavericks, 2007-08 Los Angeles Lakers, 2008-09 Boston Celtics, 2012-13 San Antonio Spurs, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2015-16 Oklahoma City Thunder, 2016-17 Cleveland Cavaliers, 2017-18 Toronto Raptors, 2018-19 Milwaukee Bucks, 2018-19 Houston Rockets.