In the rich tapestry of NBA history, there are still NBA teams without championships. Numerous franchises have etched their names in the annals of the sport, celebrating championship victories that symbolize excellence and teamwork. However, there exists a group of teams that, despite their storied legacies and passionate fan bases, have yet to capture the coveted Larry O’Brien Trophy.
These franchises have experienced their share of triumphs and tribulations, showcasing incredible talent and resilience, yet they find themselves yearning for that elusive title. From teams with deep playoff runs to those that have struggled to find their footing, much to the chagrin of fans who bet on them on their favorite NBA betting sites, the narrative of NBA teams without championships is one of unfulfilled potential and enduring hope.
As the league continues to evolve, these teams remain determined to break the championship drought, be the headline for NBA news, and inspire their loyal supporters with the promise of future glory. With that in mind, let’s explore the stories of these franchises, highlighting their challenges, memorable moments, and the quest for basketball immortality.
1. Phoenix Suns
Finals Appearances: 3 (1976, 1993, 2021)
The Phoenix Suns is one of the popular NBA teams without championships. Historically, the Suns have had a number of very good teams that just couldn’t get them over them hump. Their 1976 roster had Paul Westphal as their leading scorer, followed by Alvan Adams who won Rookie of the Year, and Curtis Perry.
Unfortunately, the Suns had the unenviable task of battling the Boston Celtics. Led by Dave Cowens, Jo Jo White, Charlie Scott, and John Havlicek, the Celtics’ triple overtime Finals game was a thrilling finale.
Fast forward to 1993, the Charles Barkley-led Suns, along with Dan Majerle, and Kevin Johnson had to contend against Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Horace Grant of the Chicago Bulls. After 6 games, and a valiant effort from Charles Barkley, Chicago was raising the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Their most recent Finals appearance saw them run a team with Chris Paul, Devin Booker, and DeAndre Ayton compete against Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, and Jrue Holiday of the Milwaukee Bucks, who were the NBA odds on favorite to win it all. It took 6 games for the Bucks to wrestle the championship away from the Suns.
2. Utah Jazz
Finals Appearances: 2 (1997, 1998)
The Utah Jazz had two of the closest brushes with raising the Larry O’Brien trophy during 1997 and 1998. Karl Malone and John Stockton ran the team’s offense, along with spurts from Jefff Hornacek, the Jazz went on to the Finals, battling the formidable team of the Chicago Bulls, which was led by Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, and Tony Kukoc.
During the 1996-97 season, Malone won the regular season MVP, and battled the Chicago Bulls along with Stockton. However, they were unable to unseat the defending champions, and got routed after 6 games.
The two teams met again during the 1997-98 Finals, and the Jazz once again fell to the mighty Bulls, who capped off their second threepeat with Michael Jordan’s iconic Finals shot against Bryon Russell.
3. Brooklyn Nets
Finals Appearances: 2 (2002, 2003 as New Jersey Nets)
During the 2000s, the Brooklyn Nets were known as the New Jersey Nets. Their consecutive Finals run during the 2002 and 2003 seasons gave them the best chance to win the big one to date.
The Nets during these runs had Jason Kidd, Kenyon Martin, and Richard Jefferson. During their 2002 Finals appearance, they faced Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant of the LA Lakers. Shaq and crew handily dominated the Nets, sweeping them 4-0 on their way to their third title in 3 years.
Meanwhile, their 2003 Finals appearance had them square off against Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs. While this Final series was more competitive, the Nets ultimately succumbed to the Spurs in 6 games, thanks to the burgeoning trio of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili.
Their most recent foray into the playoffs saw them fall to the Milwaukee Bucks in a thrilling Eastern Conference semifinals bout back in the 2020-2021 season. Currently, the Brooklyn Nets are seemingly in a rebuilding phase, and from the looks of their lineup, they have a long time to go before they get back to their winning ways.
4. Orlando Magic
Finals Appearances: 2 (1995, 2009)
The Orlando Magic is another one of the NBA teams without championships. The Magic had two Finals runs, and in both instances, they had a big man who was leading the charge. During the 1994-95 season, Orlando Magic was being run by Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway.
They beat the Chicago Bulls who had Michael Jordan coming back from retirement, but ran into a wall in the Finals in the form of Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets. While Shaq and Penny were highly talented, they weren’t able to overcome the veteran savvy and experience Olajuwon and his team had. This resulted in a 4-game sweep for the Rockets, who won their second championship.
Fast forward to 2009, where the Magic was running with Dwight Howard, who won Defensive Player of the Year, Rashard Lewis, and Hedo Türkoğlu. They faced an LA Lakers team composed of Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and Lamar Odom. After 5 games, the Lakers proved to be the better team, nabbing Kobe his fifth title.
Orlando currently has a youthful and talented core of Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, and Jalen Suggs. They are in the middle of the fray, and after a couple more years of honing, they will be a perennial contender in the Eastern Conference, and their players becoming key NBA picks.
5. Indiana Pacers
Finals Appearances: 1 (2000)
The Indiana Pacers at one point was a perennial Eastern Conference Finals fixture, especially during the late 90s and the 2000s. Their Finals run happened during the 1999-2000 season, and their roster was led by Reggie Miller, Jalen Rose, who won Most Improved Player, and Rik Smits.
However, they had to face the LA Lakers, who were led by both Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. The Pacers tried to go toe-to-toe with the Lakers in 6 games. However, Shaq was in his prime and dominated down the block, while Kobe was the closer; once the dust settled, the Lakers were raising the championship, the first one in their threepeat run.
During the 2010s, they flirted with strong playoff runs, most notably with their roster composed of Paul George, Roy Hibbert, Lance Stephenson, and David West. However, while they gave LeBron’s Miami Heat some competition, they unfortunately couldn’t wrestle the deciding win against the “Heatles”.
6. New Orleans Pelicans
Finals Appearances: 0
New Orleans was known as the Hornets during the 2002 to 2012-13 seasons. They had a number of playoff appearances during this time, with their deepest run resulting in a Western Conference Semifinals stint in 2007-08.
As the Pelicans, New Orleans had 4 separate playoffs appearances, with their most recent one during the 2023-24 season. However, while their team is usually composed of young and talented players, they cannot crack past the Western Conference Semifinals.
Their string of bad luck can be attributed to a highly competitive Western Conference. Even though they have a puncher’s chance, during the regular season, they have a tendency to lose steam and fail to maintain their momentum.
When healthy, the team composed of Zion Williamson, CJ McCollum, Trey Murphy III, and Dejounte Murray are a scrappy and energetic team that can have a number of highlights.
7. Los Angeles Clippers
Finals Appearances: 0
The Los Angeles Clippers is often known as “the other Los Angeles basketball team”. This is due to the fact that the Clippers have not seen much success during the post-season, unlike the Lakers.
The Clippers started playing for the NBA back in 1970. They were known as the Buffalo Braves and competed in the Eastern Conference for 8 seasons. After a brief stay in San Diego, they finally settled down in Los Angeles. To date, the Clippers have been part of the playoffs 18 separate times, with their 2020-21 campaign seeing them having the deepest run, reaching the Western Conference Finals and falling to the Phoenix Suns.
For the majority of their runs, the Clippers’ rosters seem great on paper, but they often get into bad luck during the latter part of the regular season leading up to the playoffs. This includes injuries to their star players, such as Kawhi Leonard, or James Harden.
And when healthy, they can dominate other teams, their mileage is always in question, especially during times when they rest their star players – during such cases, analysts and bettors alike question whether their chemistry would
8. Memphis Grizzlies
Finals Appearances: 0
The Memphis Grizzlies is another one of the NBA teams without championships. Originally hailing from Vancouver, the Grizzlies relocated to Memphis after 6 seasons. After moving to Memphis, the Grizzlies slowly but surely found success, culminating in 13 playoff appearances.
That said, while Memphis is a perennial playoff contender, they usually bow out after Round 1. Their most successful playoff run was during the 2012-13 season, but was cut short, thanks to the San Antonio Spurs.
With that in mind, the current Memphis roster proves to be the best one they’ve established so far. As of this writing, the Grizzlies currently hold the 4th spot in the Western Conference, thanks to the resurging Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, and Jaren Jackson Jr. gearing for another playoff run.
However, given that the Western Conference is notoriously highly competitive, the Grizzlies need to lock in to improve their standing and assert themselves against their opponents.
9. Minnesota Timberwolves
Finals Appearances: 0
Throughout the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 36 seasons, they only managed to be part of the postseason 12 times. To date, the T’Wolves exited the playoffs during the first round 10 times, and became part of the Western Conference Finals 2 times.
Their 2 Western Conference Finals appearances were notable runs – the first one was during the 2003-2004 season where Kevin Garnett was the focal point of their offense, along with Latrell Sprewell, and Sam Cassell. They battled the super team LA Lakers that included Shaq, Kobe, and aging stars Karl Malone, and Gary Payton. After 6 games, the Lakers emerged victorious, but will eventually fall to the Detroit Pistons in the Finals.
As for their most recent Western Conference Finals, the T’Wolves faced off against Luka Dončić, Kyrie Irving, and the Dallas Mavericks. While Anthony Edwards and Karl Anthony-Towns did their best effort, Luka and Kyrie proved to have the better team, besting them 4-1.
With their current team of Edwards, Naz Reid, Rudy Gobert, and recent additions of Julius Randle, and Donte DiVincenzo, the T’Wolves look to run it back and go for another deep playoff run which will result with their team breaking through the Western Conference Finals and into the Finals.
10. Charlotte Hornets
Finals Appearances: 0
From their inception back in 1988, the Charlotte Hornets have been clawing their way into the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference. To date, the Hornets have been part of the postseason 10 times, and 4 of them saw them bowing out of the contention in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, which were their deepest runs.
That said, the Hornets never had a highly competitive team as of late – their most talented lineup was back in the 1996-97 season that had Glen Rice, Anthony Mason, Del Curry, Vlade Divac, and Muggsy Bogues. The team registered 54 wins and 4th place in the Eastern Conference, but they were soundly defeated by the New York Knicks during the First Round, 3-0.
Since then, the Hornets have sadly been a middling basketball team – they haven’t reached 50 wins or more since the 1997-98 season, and currently holds the second-worst team record for the 2024-2025 season at 14-46 as of this writing.
Their current lineup is full of young talented players with LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, and Tre Mann. Meanwhile, Miles Bridges and Mark Williams, as well as Seth Curry, and Taj Gibson add much needed experience and veteran savvy.
However, their lineup still needs more honing, even in a top-heavy Eastern Conference.