How Many NBA Teams Have Never Been To The Finals?

The answer to this question is more complicated than it seems. There are a few NBA teams that have never been to the finals, but the number changes depending on how you define “never been to the finals.”

Introduction

While it may seem like some NBA teams are perennial contenders for the championship, there have actually been a number of teams that have never made it to the finals. In fact, out of the 30 NBA teams, 13 have never made it to the finals.

So which teams have never been to the finals? The Charlotte Hornets, Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, Oklahoma City Thunder, Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards have all never made it to the finals.

Interestingly enough, six of those teams (the Hornets, Nuggets, Timberwolves, Pelicans, Suns and Jazz) have never even been to the Conference Finals. So if you’re a fan of one of those teams, you may want to temper your expectations come playoff time.

NBA Teams That Have Never Been to the Finals

Out of the 30 NBA teams, 11 have never been to the Finals. These teams are the Charlotte Hornets, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, and Utah Jazz. Let’s take a look at each team’s history.

Atlanta Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks are a professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at State Farm Arena.

The team’s origins can be traced to the establishment of the Buffalo Bisons in 1946, a member of the National Basketball League (NBL). The Bisons were one of 11 NBL franchises that joined the NBA in 1949 when the leagues merged. In 1951, the franchise moved to Moline, Illinois, and were renamed the Tri-Cities Blackhawks. In 1954, they moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin and became the Milwaukee Hawks. In 1955, they relocated to St. Louis and became the St. Louis Hawks until 1968, when they moved back to Atlanta to be closer to Coca-Cola headquarters than their previous homes in Milwaukee and St. Louis.

The Hawks currently own the second-longest drought of not winning an NBA championship at 57 seasons; only the Sacramento Kings have a longer active streak of not reaching The Finals at 65 seasons (as of 2020).

Charlotte Hornets

The Charlotte Hornets are a professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The Hornets are currently the only team in the NBA to have never made an appearance in the NBA Finals.

Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the Denver Larks in 1967 as a charter franchise of the American Basketball Association (ABA), but changed its name to Rockets before the first game. It changed its name again to the Nuggets in 1974. After nine seasons in the ABA, they joined the NBA in 1976 as part of the ABA–NBA merger.

Memphis Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies have never been to the NBA Finals. The franchise began in Vancouver in 1995 and moved to Memphis in 2001. The Grizzlies have made the playoffs nine times in their history, but have never advanced beyond the Western Conference Finals.

Minnesota Timberwolves

The Minnesota Timberwolves have never been to the NBA Finals.

New Orleans Pelicans

The New Orleans Pelicans are a professional basketball team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays their home games at the Smoothie King Center.

The Pelicans were established as the Charlotte Hornets in 1988, and spent most of their early years based in Charlotte. The team moved to New Orleans permanently in 2002 due to damage caused by Hurricane Katrina, and became known as the New Orleans Hornets. In 2013, the franchise announced it would rebrand itself as the Pelicans, effective after the conclusion of the 2012–13 season.

Orlando Magic

The Orlando Magic is an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was established in 1989 as an expansion team, and such notable NBA stars as Shaquille O’Neal, Penny Hardaway, Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway, and Dwight Howard have played for the club throughout its young history. As of 2019, the franchise has yet to make an appearance in the NBA Finals.

Phoenix Suns

The Phoenix Suns are a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Suns began play as an expansion team in 1968. The franchise owns the NBA’s fourth-best all-time winning percentage, winning 55 percent of its games, as of the end of the 2012–13 season. In forty-five years of play, they have made the playoffs twenty-eight times (in thirty-nine seasons), posted nineteen seasons of 50 or more wins, made nine trips to the Western Conference Finals, and advanced to the NBA Finals in 1976 and 1993. As a result, based on their all-time win-loss percentage, the Suns are the winningest franchise to have never won an NBA Championship.

Portland Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers, commonly known as the Blazers, are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Western Conference Northwest Division. The franchise was founded in 1970, and played its home games in Memorial Coliseum before moving to Moda Center in 1995 (called the Rose Garden until 2013).

The team has advanced to the NBA Finals three times, winning the NBA championship once in 1977. Their other NBA Finals appearances were in 1990 and 1992. The team has also qualified for the playoffs 35 times, winning their division 10 times and their conference six times. However, they have never made it past the second round of the playoffs since moving to Moda Center.

Sacramento Kings

The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference’s Pacific Division. The Kings are the only team in the major professional North American sports leagues located in Sacramento.

The franchise began play as the Rochester Royals in Rochester, New York, as a founding member of the National Basketball League (NBL) before moving to Cincinnati, Ohio in 1957 and becoming the Cincinnati Royals. Despite strong fan support, the Royals never won an NBA championship. The franchise moved to Kansas City, Missouri, after the 1972–73 season following a dispute over their proposed move to Anaheim, California. As part of a settlement between Kaufman and Irving Tisch, who bought a majority share of the team with his wife Marjorie Merriweather Post at an estate auction in May 1975 for $10 million ($48 million today), they agreed to sell their stake to Racine businessman James Tringe (Jim Fitzgerald’s uncle). The franchise again failed to find success in that market; winning just 39 games out of 82 during their time there (1975–1985).

San Antonio Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home games at the AT&T Center in San Antonio.

Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz haven’t been to the NBA Finals since their back-to-back appearances in 1997 and 1998. In those two seasons, they were led by eventual Hall of Famers Karl Malone and John Stockton. The Jazz have only made it past the Western Conference Finals once since then, in 2007. They lost to the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs in five games.

Conclusion

In conclusion, out of the 30 NBA teams, 11 have never been to the Finals. This includes the Charlotte Hornets, Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz, and Washington Wizards. Of these 11 teams, the Hornets, Pacers, Grizzlies, Suns, and Jazz have never even made it to the Conference Finals.