NBA Veterans Who Will Never Win a Championship

As young fellows start their NBA career, they come into the league with high hopes of games, glory and above everything else, gold.

Most players go in and out of the league within a few years of being drafted, but a hunk of every draft class makes a career out of the game; some even go on to become star players.

However, what we ultimately judge a career on is whether a ring encircles a guy's finger when he has that final press conference.

There are quite a few players who get their rings, some even get two or three, but most basketball players will end their careers without any kind of gold glittering around their fingers.

With championships the ultimate symbol of success, and some very good players retiring without a ring, then how can we accurately judge their careers?

That's a question for another day; for now, let's take a look at some of the best NBA players who are most likely going to finish out their days without a title. 

Kurt Thomas

Sure, Kurt Thomas isn't the flashiest of players in the NBA, and he was never a guy that was going to be the man to swing a championship, but he is a player who could come in as an enforcer, play some stellar defense and tip in a shot here and there.

The poor guy came close near the end of his career when he was traded to the San Antonio Spurs, unfortunately he was traded to San Antonio about a half season after they won their last title.

Thomas is going to be turning 40 in October with likely one more small contract left coming his way, but it's probably not going to be with a contender. 

Jerry Stackhouse

Nobody scored more points than Jerry Stackhouse in 2001. There's something that is easily forgotten now that Stackhouse is reaching for his final few paychecks in the NBA as the ninth man of the Atlanta Hawks.

Stack was a great scorer in the early 2000s, but he was really the perfect example of a volume scorer of the 2000s, never shooting better than 43 percent in his entire career.

It's a bit disappointing that he wasn't able to hang on long enough with the Miami Heat, at least then there would have been one more guy to be happy for.

Baron Davis

There are few players in the history of the NBA who have had a career go up and down as quickly and dramatically as Baron Davis.

At one point he was one of the most promising young point guards in the NBA, going from the New Orleans Hornets to the Golden State Warriors and leading them to their victory over the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks back in 2007.

Just a few years later, he got fat, lazy, injured and Clipper'd, which led to his downfall and most likely championshipless career.

Gilbert Arenas

Gilbert Arenas is a bit like Baron Davis in that he had a meteoric rise before an unceremonious downfall, absolutely ruining his image in the process.

At one point, Arenas was one of the 15 best players in the NBA, averaging nearly 30 points per game in 2006 and 2007, only to see injuries and guns lead to his downfall.

Now Arenas is going to be lucky to sign a veteran minimum contract with a decent team, and it seems like he can forget about signing with a contender unless someone like Chicago decides to see if he can fill in until Derrick Rose comes back.

Marcus Camby

This year is Marcus Camby's last shot at a title, that seems to be a pretty popular opinion of the 38-year-old super-skinny center at this point.

Camby has something left to offer good teams, that's for sure, but the question of whether he ends up with one is nothing more than a coin flip at this point.

It's crazy to think that one of the best defensive specialists of the past decade was never able to land in a spot where he would put a ring on his finger.

Mike Bibby

There's nothing but love from me going toward Mike Bibby when we're talking about the first half of his career, but the hanging-on act that he's played for the past four seasons has been nothing short of embarrassing.

Bibby was a great player in his days with the Grizzlies and Kings, but when he left Sacramento for Atlanta, his career took a noticeable downturn. 

If I've got to spend another season making Mike Bibby zombie jokes, I'm going to have to put him down myself.

Antawn Jamison

Antawn Jamison seems to want to go to the Charlotte Bobcats, which basically means he's retired.

Jamison, 36, has one mediocre contract left in his body before he can decide between retirement and doing the ever-popular choice of hanging around the league for a few extra years to chase a ring.

It's good to see Jamison interested in going home, but it's also a shame that such a unique player couldn't end up with a ring.

Andre Miller

If anything, Andre Miller was the most consistent point guard of the past 13 years, putting in serviceable game after serviceable game.

Two things that always seem to surprise people about Miller: he led the league in assists per game back in 2002 with the Cavaliers and he has the 10th most assists in NBA history.

Miller was never flashy, never dropping jaws, but he always seemed like a point guard that you could go to war with, and it's quite a surprise that he's never won a title.

Vince Carter

One of the greatest dunkers in NBA history, Vince Carter just seemed to be missing something otherwise.

He always brought it when there was dunking to be done, but when he was on the floor, he was easy to knock out of the game when it comes to competitive drive.

Carter put together amazing seasons, but never really put together an amazing career, mostly because of the lack of glittering coming from his ring finger.

Hopefully, Carter can hang around for a few more years after his contract with the Mavericks runs out and shamelessly chase a ring as a towel-waver.

Tracy McGrady

If you were to go back in time and tell me in 2000 that neither Vince Carter nor Tracy McGrady would have won a title by the time 2012 rolled around, I would have found that to be impossible.

At that time they were both the best young players in the NBA and it looked as if they would be taking the Toronto Raptors to the promised land. Hah!

Here we are over a decade later and not only has McGrady completely missed out on a ring, but he's also never been out of the first round of the playoffs, which doesn't seem as shocking in hindsight. 

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