What NBA Teams Haven’t Won a Championship Yet?

It’s hard to believe that there are still a handful of NBA teams who have never won a championship, but it’s true! Here’s a look at the teams who are still waiting for that elusive first title.

Introduction

It seems like every year, a new NBA team is crowned champion. But there are still a few teams that have never won it all. Here’s a look at the NBA teams that have never won a championship, along with their best season ever and their current status.

The Buffalo Braves (now the Los Angeles Clippers) had the best season ever for a team without a championship, going 57-25 in 1974-75. The Clippers have made it to the playoffs 30 times but have never advanced to the NBA Finals.

The Denver Nuggets also have never won an NBA title, despite making the playoffs 43 times and earning nine division titles. Their best season came in 2012-13, when they went 57-25 but lost in the first round of the playoffs.

The Indiana Pacers have been to the playoffs 33 times but have never won an NBA championship. Their best season came in 2013-14, when they went 56-26 but lost in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Memphis Grizzlies (formerly the Vancouver Grizzlies) also have never won an NBA title, despite making the playoffs eight times and winning one division title. Their best season came in 2005-06, when they went 49-33 but lost in the first round of the playoffs.

The Teams

NBA Teams That Haven’t Won a Championship

Milwaukee Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 as an expansion team, and play at the Fiserv Forum. former owners Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry purchases the team in 2014.

The Bucks have appeared in the NBA Finals twice (1971 and 1974), losing to the Golden State Warriors both times.

Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league’s Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first established in 1967 as a member of the American Basketball Association (ABA) and became a member of the NBA in 1976 after the ABA–NBA merger. They play their home games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The team is named after Indiana’s history with the Indianapolis 500’s pace cars and with the harness racing pace horse industry.

New Orleans Pelicans

The New Orleans Pelicans are an American 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 its home games at the Smoothie King Center.

The Pelicans were established as the New Orleans Hornet’s expansion franchise in 2002. Initially, Charlotte was supposed to receive the franchise, but then-owner George Shinn backed out at the last minute. The team then received majority ownership from Saints owner Tom Benson. In 2012, Benson purchased full ownership of the franchise and announced that it would be rebranded as the Pelicans beginning with the 2013 season.

The Pelicans have yet to make it to an NBA Finals, or even win a Conference Finals series. They have only made it as far as the second round twice in their history. In 2008, they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the second round. In 2015, they made it to the second round again before losing to eventual champion Golden State Warriors in five games.

Oklahoma City Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder is an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Thunder competes in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays its home games at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

The Thunder was established as the Seattle SuperSonics, an expansion team that joined the NBA for the 1967–68 season. The SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City in 2008 after a settlement was reached between owner Clay Bennett and lawmakers in Seattle, Washington following a dispute over public funding for a proposed arena in Seattle. In Seattle, the SuperSonics qualified for the NBA playoffs 22 times, won their division six times, advanced to three NBA Finals, and won the1979 NBA Championship. In Oklahoma City, the Thunder qualified for their first playoff berth during the 2009–10 season. They also won their first division title as well as their first Western Conference championship in 2010–11. The Thunder made their first appearance in the NBA Finals in 2011–12 where they lost to the Miami Heat four games to one.

In 2012–13, using coach Scott Brooks’ 7-seconds-or-less offense/defense system commonly known as “small ball”, they qualified for their fourth consecutive playoff appearance and fourth consecutive division title; they also set a new franchise record of 60 regular season wins en route to winning their second Western Conference championship and appearing in their second NBA Finals.

Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz are a professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Western Conference, Northwest Division. Since 1991, the team has played its home games at Vivint Smart Home Arena. The franchise began play in 1974 as an expansion team based in New Orleans. The Jazz were one of the least successful teams in the NBA during their early years. In 1979, they moved to Salt Lake City after owner Larry Miller bought the team.

The Jazz failed to make the playoffs in their first season in Utah, but did so every year thereafter until 2003. During those years, they had two NBA Finals appearances—in 1997 and 1998—where they lost to Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls both times. In 2001–02, Karl Malone and John Stockton led the franchise to their best season yet: They not only qualified for the playoffs with a 64–18 record (tying an NBA record for fewest losses in a season), but also won their first-ever division title. Malone and Stockton continued to lead the Jazz to regular-season success through much of the 2000s; however, playoff disappointment followed them throughout those years as well—including another loss to Jordan’s Bulls in 1998 and losses to Shaquille O’Neal’s Lakers in 2000 and 2001), Kobe Bryant’s Lakers in 2002 and 2004), Kevin Garnett’s Timberwolves in 2004), Tim Duncan’s Spurs in 2007), and Oklahoma City Thunder (formerly Seattle SuperSonics) in 2010).

After coached by Jerry Sloan for 23 seasons between 1988 and 2011, and featuring All-Star point guard Deron Williams from 2005 to 2011; Utah appeared poised to finally make a return trips back to NBA Finals withStocktonand Malone still on board as Honorary Presidents; however, they were unable to do so after suffering heartbreaking second round playoff losses each year between 2007 and 2010. Kennedy was replaced by Tyrone Corbin on February 10, 2011; Corbin would spend his next two seasons coaching mostly a collection of young players mixed with veterans such as Raja Bell, Earl Watson, Al Jeffersonand Devin Harris; however he was unsuccessful at inverseingUtah’s fortunesand was replaced by Quin Snyder on June 6 2014. On April 17th 2018 it was announced that general manager Dennis Lindsey would be taking an indefinite leave of absence for personal reasons effective immediately; Jeff Calabrese ascended from his assistant GM position as acting general GM during his absence

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is evident that there are several NBA teams who have never won a championship. These teams include the Charlotte Hornets, the Denver Nuggets, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the New Orleans Pelicans, the Phoenix Suns, and the Utah Jazz. Although these teams have never won a championship, they continue to strive and hope to one day be able to call themselves NBA champions.