The Top NBA Five Teams in the Last 20 Years To Never Win a Title

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There have been many teams in history that, had they played in a different year, most likely would have won a title. However, due to the fact that these teams failed to win a championship, they will most likely be forgotten in history.

Below are the top five teams in the last 20 years that do not have a Larry O’Brien trophy to show for their great talent, but deserve to be recognized as the incredible teams that they were.

Note: A team that has a title to show for their talent, but didn’t win a title every year, (like the 2004 Lakers) aren’t allowed on this list.

5. 1996 Seattle SuperSonics

The 1996 Sonics went 64-18 to finish with the best record in the Western Conference. Their starting five of Shawn Kemp, Gary Payton, Detlef Schrempf, Hersey Hawkins, and Sam Perkins was one of the best starting fives never to win a title.

After going down 3-0 to the Chicago Bulls, the Sonics came roaring back to win two straight games and make the series stand at 3-2. Unfortunately, Michael Jordan’s Bulls would finish the series off in game six to win the title.

4. 1993 Phoenix Suns

The Suns, led by the MVP that year Charles Barkley, went 62-20 and finished with the best record in the NBA. This team had incredible depth with their top seven players averaged at least 11.8 points a game.

The 1993 NBA finals was an epic battle highlighted by the Suns' three-overtime win in game three against the Bulls. With the series likely to go seven games, John Paxson buried a three-pointer with 3.9 seconds left, giving the Bulls a 99-98 lead and eventually the victory.

3. 2000 Blazers

The 2000 Blazers were one of the deepest teams in NBA history. They went 59-23 and finished second in the Western conference. They had great outside shooters in Scottie Pippen, Damon Stoudamire, Steve Smith, Detlef Schrempf, Greg Anthony, and had great big men in Brian Grant, Rasheed Wallace, and Arvydas Sabonis.

Although, this team didn’t even make the NBA finals, I would argue that they were the closest team on this list to winning an NBA title, since the conference finals were essentially the finals in the early part of this decade.

The Blazers’ had the game in hand when the Los Angeles Lakers would go on a 15-0 run in the fourth quarter en route to the biggest game seven comeback in history.

2. 1998 Utah Jazz

The 1998 Jazz were one of the only teams to ever be favored against Michael Jordan’s Bulls in the '90s. The Jazz had one of the best combos in NBA history, with the current MVP that year in power forward Karl Malone and point guard John Stockton.

These two may not be the best 1-2 combo ever, but it would be hard to argue that they didn’t have the best chemistry. Jeff Hornacek was also not a bad third option himself. Although this team lacked depth on paper, every player performed his role precisely.

The Jazz went 62-20 that year and finished with the best record in the NBA. Yet, they would lose 4-2 in the NBA finals to the Chicago Bulls after Michael Jordan hit his legendary game winning shot.

1. 2003 Sacramento Kings

It’s debatable whether this team was better in 2002 or 2003, but 2003 was their best opportunity with the Lakers being knocked out by the Spurs in the second round. In 2003, the Kings went 59-23 and entered the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the Western conference.

This team was one of most exciting teams to watch in NBA history, as they were known for their fast pace offense, incredible passing, and great chemistry. The Kings had everything you could ask for.

They had great outside shooters in Peja Stojakovic, Mike Bibby, Doug Christie, Bobby Jackson, Hedo Turkoglu, and Jim Jackson, and had two great passing post players in Chris Webber and Vlade Divac.

In the second round against the Mavericks, the Kings would lose Weber to a knee injury, ultimately allowing the Dallas Mavericks the seven-game series. Webber’s injury was essentially the beginning of the end of the exciting Kings teams and Webber's career was mostly ended due to the injury.

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