The Top 20 Active Sports Superstars Without a Ring
In the world of sports, more than anything else, superstar athletes are ultimately judged on the number of rings they win. And while plenty of today's active stars have already reached the promised land, many more are still in search of championship glory.
Chris Paul, for example, is an eight-time All-Star, a four-time member of the All-NBA First Team and a four-time member of the NBA All-Defensive First Team, yet he has never reached so much as a conference final.
Likewise, Adrian Peterson of the NFL will eventually go down as one of the greatest running backs to ever grace the gridiron, but he too is without a championship ring.
And, on the ice, Alexander Ovechkin is arguably hockey's top talent today, while the sport's top prize—Stanley's Cup—continues to elude him.
Naturally intrigued by these elite, but incomplete superstars, we were inspired to put together a comprehensive list, specifically highlighting the top 20 active sports stars without a ring.
We should note, to make our list a bit more exclusive and limiting, we only considered the stars who have played their sport professionally for at least seven years.
Beyond that, though, we tried our very hardest to appropriately honor the absolute best ringless superstars the sports world has to offer.
Close, but No Cigar
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While we've specifically spotlighted the top 20 ringless stars, there are plenty of other elite athletes out there still searching for a title. Consider this, then, our ringless list of honorable mentions:
- Felix Hernandez
- Kevin Love
- Torii Hunter
- Steven Stamkos
- Matt Ryan
- Henrik Sedin
- Daniel Sedin
- Joe Mauer
- Jose Reyes
- Adrian Beltre
- Cliff Lee
- LaMarcus Aldridge
- Vince Carter
- Johan Santana
- Andre Johnson
- Steve Smith
- Patrick Marleau
Derrick Rose
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He may not be the player he once was, but Derrick Rose is a former NBA MVP—the youngest ever at that—and, believe it or not, is already seven years into his promising career.
Of course, despite all the accolades—which also include three All-Star appearances, a All-NBA First Team nomination and five playoff appearances—the Chicago star is still without an NBA championship.
And if recent history is any indication, he may be further away than ever.
For starters, Rose continues to struggle with injury, forced to have yet another knee surgery in the middle of the 2014-15 NBA season. And though he managed to return to action and play a key role in Chicago's playoff push—which ended with a discouraging loss to the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Semifinals—there's still no telling what the future will hold for the less-than-durable point guard.
Additionally, for the first time since he arrived in Chicago back in 2008, the Bulls are in relative disarray. They finished the most recent NBA season in lethargic and depressing fashion—more specifically, with an ugly 94-73 loss to Cleveland in front of a sold out hometown crowd. Plus, significant tension between management and head coach Tom Thibodeau—who, by the way, was the league's Coach of the Year in 2011—will likely spell major turnover this coming summer.
Still, misfortune and all, Rose remains one of the premier athletes in sports today and, as a result, is a guy who will ultimately be remembered for the titles he wins, loses or lacks.
David Wright
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From the moment he entered the league back in 2004—when he hit .293 with 14 homers and 40 RBI in 69 games as a 21-year-old rookie—David Wright has been one of baseball's top talents.
Since then, the dynamic third baseman has made it to seven All-Star Games while winning two Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers awards in addition to joining the 30-30 club back in 2007.
In his 12 years with the Mets, the Virginia native has been a true model of consistency, hitting .298 with 231 homers and 943 RBI for an average of 25 and 101, respectively, per season.
Wright, however, plays a team game and has shouldered the unfortunate burden of a career with the New York Mets, a franchise that has made just one postseason appearance since his arrival in '04.
Of course, at just 32 years of age, Wright is far from finished starring on the diamond. The ultimate question, though, is whether he will ever play for a team that allows him to shine as bright as a champion.
Henrik Lundqvist
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Swedish goaltender extraordinaire Henrik Lundqvist has spent his entire nine-year NHL career in New York with the Rangers, treating fans to nothing but elite play along the way.
He was nominated for the Vezina Trophy—given annually to the game's best goalie—in each of his first three seasons in the league before finally winning the award outright in 2012 and was named an NHL All-Star in 2009, '10 and '11.
And Lundqvist is a record breaker too, becoming the first goalie ever to win 30 games or more in each of his first seven seasons while also setting the standard for consecutive Game 7 victories with six in a row.
Of course, even with all that he's done, King Henrik wouldn't be on our list if he'd won a Stanley Cup too.
Recently, though, he's gotten pretty close.
In 2013-14, he took the Rangers all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they lost to the Kings in five, and he and top-seeded New York once again find themselves deep in postseason play, currently battling Tampa Bay in the 2015 Eastern Conference Finals.
And, at 33 years of age, there's still reasonable title hope for Lundqvist both this year and beyond.
Tony Romo
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Though he's been criticized plenty throughout his 11-year NFL career, Tony Romo has nonetheless remained among the NFL's elite signal-callers.
While suiting up for the Dallas Cowboys, Romo has made it to four Pro Bowls while, at various times, leading the NFC in passing yards (2009), touchdowns (2007) and passer rating (2007, 2014).
More importantly, the 35-year-old Romo is coming off arguably his best season yet. In 2014, the polarizing gunslinger threw for 3,705 yards, 34 touchdowns and just nine interceptions, leading all NFL quarterbacks in completion percentage, yards per attempt and passer rating!
And though he still doesn't have a title to show for all his hard work, Romo does have the Cowboys playing as well as they have in years, coming off a 12-4 season and their first playoff victory since 2009.
Viewed now as prolific but sometimes volatile and equally unreliable, Romo has the chance to transform his image forever if he can win just a single championship ring.
Russell Westbrook
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While he's still considered one of the elite young players in the NBA, 26-year-old Russell Westbrook is already seven years into an accomplished professional career.
In that amount of time, the ultra-athletic point guard has solidified his place among the league's very best players, appearing in four All-Star Games and making it onto three All-NBA Second Teams.
Most recently, the Oklahoma City star led the NBA in scoring and put together what was, statistically, one of the most impressive seasons in league history: For the year, Westbrook averaged 28.1 points, 7.1 assists, 5.2 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game while recording 11 triple-doubles.
It's well known, however, that Westbrook and the Thunder have fallen short of their title expectations in recent years, failing to reach the NBA Finals every season since losing there in 2011-12.
Still, as long as he stays healthy in Oklahoma and right by Kevin Durant's side, chances are Westbrook will at some point get his ring, whether it's sooner or later.
Justin Verlander
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From a strictly individual perspective, Justin Verlander has had a remarkable pitching career. At just 32 years of age, the Detroit Tiger has made six All-Star appearances, won a AL Cy Young award unanimously and has also been named AL MVP. He's a two-time MLB wins champion as well, a Triple Crown winner and has thrown not one, but two no-hitters.
Despite all the dominance, however, the ace has never won a championship despite making it to the World Series on two separate occasions.
In 2006—which marked just his second season in the league—Verlander lost both his starts in the final series while his Tigers lost to St. Louis in five.
Then, in 2012, he was hit hard by San Francisco in Game 1 and Detroit was eventually swept in four.
Yet even though the postseason has been less than kind to the Virginia native, Verlander can still hang his hat, and title hopes, on a couple undeniable assets: his cannon of a right arm, for starters, as well as the rest of the Detroit Tigers, who currently sport an elite collection of talent and one of the very best records in baseball.
Philip Rivers
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Whether it's fair or not, great NFL quarterbacks are often judged over time on the number of Super Bowls they manage to win.
In the case of Philip Rivers, there's virtually no room to doubt whether he's an elite NFL signal-caller.
In nine seasons as a starter, the former N.C. State star has five Pro Bowl appearances, including three in a row from 2009-2011.
During the prolific run, the true gunslinger has thrown for a whopping 36,507 yards to go along with 251 TDs—that's an average of 4,056 yards and 28 scores per season—while leading his Chargers to 11 wins or more on three separate occasions.
Rivers, however, is still without the thing that matters to quarterbacks most of all: a Super Bowl ring!
Of course, we should note, San Diego won nine games in 2014 and could be even better in 2015. More importantly, at 33 years of age, Rivers still has considerable gas left in his tank.
But when the quarterback inevitably calls in quits in the coming years, I think we can all agree, his accomplishments won't read quite the same if "world champion" is missing from his resume.
Dwight Howard
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Over the last few years, Dwight Howard has transformed from the NBA's best "big" into one of its biggest villains.
Since shunning the Magic in 2012, Howard has squabbled with Kobe, dissed LA and underwhelmed in Houston. More importantly, during the same stretch of time, the muscular center has continued aging—as people so often do—and grown far more brittle.
Consider this stat: After missing a total of just seven games in his first seven years in the league, the 29-year-old Howard has missed a combined 86 contests over the last four seasons.
Of course, before his recent decline, Howard was one of the game's most dominant forces, making five consecutive All-NBA First Teams (2008-2012) and winning three consecutive Defensive Player of the Year awards en route to leading Orlando all the way to the 2009 NBA Finals (note: Orlando lost to LA in five games).
And although he's no longer the player he was back then, the ringless Howard currently finds himself on yet another title contender, as his Rockets are presently in the middle of challenging Golden State for a trip to the 2015 NBA Finals.
Should Howard help the Houston franchise win a third NBA title, we're betting his ailing back, bum knees and lack of popularity will suddenly cease to matter.
Carlos Beltran
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For a guy who doesn't get a whole lot of fanfare or attention, Carlos Beltran has had himself one hell of a career.
Beltran began his 18-year run in MLB by winning AL Rookie of the Year honors, and he's hardly slowed down since then, making eight All-Star appearances in addition to winning three Gold Gloves and two Silver Slugger Awards.
Most important of all, the Puerto Rican sensation has been at his best on the biggest of stages, sitting atop baseball's all-time postseason leaderboard in both career homers and total runs scored.
Yet despite putting together what appears to be a Hall of Fame career, the 38-year-old Beltran has still never won a World Series.
That said, he hasn't quit trying, either.
Currently, Beltran fills his days by staring in right field for the New York Yankees who, by the way, are currently in first in the AL East. And though his biological clock is surely nearing its end, Beltran's spot with the Yanks should afford him at least one or two more shots at championship glory.
Jarome Iginla
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On the ice, Jarome Iginla has accomplished just about everything a right winger can. Over his 19 years in the NHL, the Canadian product has appeared in six All-Star Games and has won two Maurice Richard trophies, a Art Ross trophy and a Lester B. Pearson award. He is one of just seven players in NHL history to score 30 or more goals in 11 consecutive seasons and stands alone in Calgary Flames history as the all-time leader in goals, points and games played.
In fact, at 37 years of age, the only thing Iginla has failed to do is capture Stanley's Cup.
Of course, he came close back in 2004, when he led hockey with 13 postseason goals and took the Flames to their first Stanley Cup final in 15 years. Unfortunately, the Iginla-led Flames lost a hard-fought seven-game series to the Tampa Bay Lightning and then lost in the first round the following year.
Now, Iginla is still going strong—to the tune of 59 points this season—but on behalf of the Colorado Avalanche, who missed the playoffs completely in 2014-15. And with two years left on his current contract, a world championship seems as far away as ever.
If only rings went to those who deserve them most, Jarome Iginla would have a cupboard full of them.
Calvin Johnson
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When watching Calvin Johnson dominate the NFL with both power and grace, the freakish athlete looks as though he could own the league forever. He owns numerous impressive records—like most receiving yards in a single season (1,964) and fastest wideout to 10,000 yards (115 games)—and is coming off his sixth 1,000-yard season.
In truth, though, the five-time Pro Bowler has recently displayed signs of regression.
Johnson's production has declined dramatically over the last two seasons—from 1,964 yards in 2012 to 1,492 in 2013 and then 1,077 in 2014—not to mention he is just months away from turning 30 and has had to battle the injury bug more and more in recent years.
In fact, after missing just four games through his first six years in the league, the ringless Megatron has been forced to sit out five times in just the last two seasons.
As a result, there's serious reason to believe the future Hall of Famer is entering the twilight of his career, which places the next few seasons firmly in the category of Super Bowl or bust.
And though his Lions have escaped the proverbial cellar in recent years, they haven't exactly been title contenders either.
They can, however, build off a better-than-solid 2014 campaign, which saw them go 11-5 and display some serious promise. Of course, Detroit better cash in on said potential sooner than later, because when it comes to Johson's title hopes, it's quickly becoming now or never.
Kevin Durant
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Kevin Durant may still be young—26 years young, to be exact—but after eight grueling seasons of professional ball, the 2014 NBA MVP still sits without a championship ring.
More importantly, the Daily Durant seems to be getting further and further away from the promised land.
After making it all the way to the NBA Finals in 2011-12—where he fell to the Miami Heat in five games—Durant and the Thunder lost in the conference semifinals in 2013 and missed the playoffs altogether in an injury-plagued 2015.
Moving forward, with a title in mind, the six-time All-Star and five-time All-NBA First Teamer has some difficult decisions to make. Most notably, as a 27-year-old free agent in 2016, Durant will have to determine where he wants to spend the remainder of his career and, more specifically, which team gives him the best chance to win big.
We already know what Durant can do on his own—he's a four-time scoring champ, after all.
What remains to be seen, however, is if the dynamic talent has what it takes to score a ring or two as well.
Ichiro Suzuki
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Of all the active stars in sports without a ring, perhaps no one deserves one quite as much as Ichiro Suzuki.
After all, the Japanese legend traveled across the world in search of MLB fame and fortune and paid his dues for nearly 10 years in Japan—playing in its NPB league—before seeing so much as a single American league pitch.
More importantly, after proving his worth as a seven-time NPB All-Star, Suzuki managed to dominate Major League Baseball all the same.
From the moment he joined the Seattle Mariners in 2001, Ichiro was a force to be reckoned with, winning AL MVP honors in his very first season before topping it off with 10 consecutive All-Star appearances.
Unfortunately, despite winning 10 Gold Gloves, two AL batting titles and three Silver Slugger awards, the 41-year-old has made the playoffs on just two occasions—once with the Mariners and once with the Yankees—and fell short of making the World Series both times.
Worse yet, barring some sort of major change, Ichiro's title hopes look far from promising.
The 15-year vet currently plays the part of backup right fielder for the lowly Miami Marlins, a team that would be lucky to simply sniff .500, much less make the playoffs.
Joe Thornton
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Over a remarkable 18-year career, star centre Joe Thornton has cemented his status as one of the best ever to grace the NHL.
The former No. 1 overall pick has appeared in six All-Star Games, has won both the Art Ross and Hart Memorial trophies—in 2006, he became the only ever to win the two awards in the same season he switched teams—and is one of just three players in NHL history to record back-to-back 90-assist seasons.
Jumbo Joe, however, is still without the most prized hardware of all—a Stanley Cup—and has tasted the most bitter of defeat while trying to chase the trophy down.
In 2013-14, to be exact, Thornton and the Sharks completed an impressive 111-point regular season and established themselves as one of the favorites to win the Cup. And when they jumped out to a 3-0 series lead against in-state rival Los Angeles, it looked like Jumbo's title void was about to get filled.
Yet somehow, in truly demoralizing fashion, San Jose found a way to blow its significant advantage and was eventually eliminated by the Kings in a do-or-die seventh game.
The look on the 35-year-old Thornton's face at the time was unforgettable and, after missing the postseason altogether in 2015, it appears as though neither he nor the Sharks have found a way to recover.
And only time will tell if either has enough juice left to make one last push.
Larry Fitzgerald
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Despite getting close once before—making it all the way to the Super Bowl in 2008—11 years into his career, NFL superstar Larry Fitzgerald is still without a ring.
Of course, from an individual perspective, he's done it all: Fitzgerald is a eight-time Pro Bowler and fifth all-time in career receiving yards per game not to mention a record-setting wideout, ranking as the youngest player ever to reach 900 catches and 11,000 career receiving yards even though he's never played with a truly elite quarterback.
In truth, his title hopes have been mostly waylaid by a middle-of-the-road franchise that has made the postseason just three times during the wideout's lengthy tenure.
That said, 2015 could turn into Fitzgerald's best opportunity yet. Arizona finished 11-5 in 2014, returns a top-five scoring defense and presumably a healthy Carson Palmer too.
And if Fitz does finally capture an elusive championship ring, it will have happened to one of the top performers and best men the NFL has ever had to offer.
Carmelo Anthony
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More than most of the other athletes on our list, Carmelo Anthony is in the middle of a now-or-never point in his career.
From an individual standpoint, few people question what the former Syracuse star has accomplished throughout his 13 seasons in the NBA. After all, he's a eight-time All-Star, a two-time All-NBA Second Teamer, a four-time Third Teamer and a scoring champion to boot.
But check out what we wrote about the slumping star back in April:
"Forget that he missed 42 of 82 games while sometimes suiting up for the 17-65 New York Knicks, it's been years since Carmelo Anthony has played anything even approaching meaningful basketball.
In fact, it's been three seasons since an Anthony-led team has even made a postseason appearance and even longer since one has mattered—the last time the former No. 3 overall pick made it out of the first round occurred all the way back in 2009.
And don't look now, but Anthony is already 30 years old, which is often a make-or-break point in an NBA player's career.
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Simply put, everything we wrote then remains true today. Though his personal numbers remain solid—he has averaged 27.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game over the last three seasons—he hasn't played for a relevant team in what seems like forever.
Worse yet, Anthony signed a five-year deal with the Knicks in July of 2014, which means unless they trade him, his title hopes rest with a team that's presently in total disarray.
So while we're holding out hope that the New York contingent will manage to figure things out, we also recognize that, if he's going to retire a champion, Anthony will have to earn every penny of his sizable $130 million contract.
Alexander Ovechkin
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Though he is still just 29 years of age, Alexander Ovechkin is easily one of the most accomplished athletes on our prestigious list.
In short, the Russian sensation is a six-time NHL First Team All-Star, a three-time winner of the Ted Lindsay Award, a five-time winner of the Maurice Richard Trophy and a three-time winner of the Hart Memorial Trophy!
But after 10 seasons with the Washington Capitals, the game's most dynamic player still sits without a Stanley Cup.
He has, though, had a decent run at it: Throughout his career, Ovechkin and the Caps have made the postseason seven times in 10 years, making it to the Eastern Conference Semifinals on four separate occasions.
Most recently, however, Ovechkin was the key cog in a 2015 playoff meltdown, as he and Washington blew a 3-1 series lead against the New York Rangers, falling in Game 7 of the conference semifinals for the third time in seven years.
Of course, if the Capitals can find a way to bounce back from demoralizing defeat, they remain on the verge of breaking through, notably armed with a game-changing left winger who is hungry for a ring and still firmly in his prime.
Clayton Kershaw
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Through more than seven seasons of professional baseball, LA's Clayton Kershaw has clearly established himself as the game's best pitcher.
Sporting baseball's best ERA in each of the last four seasons, Kershaw is a four-time All-Star, a three-time Cy Young Award winner (2011, '13, '14) and was named NL MVP in 2014.
In that year alone, he posted a ridiculous 21-3 record to go along with an absurd 1.77 ERA and a whopping 239 strikeouts.
Still, for all his brilliant work on the mound, Kershaw is still fighting to win his first World Series title.
He's been somewhat close before—Kershaw and the Dodgers made it to the NLCS in 2008, 2009 and 2013—but is still in search of his first National League pennant.
It's worth noting, though, LA currently sports the fourth-best record in all of baseball, which means, in 2015, Kershaw should once again have an opportunity to break through.
Adrian Peterson
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He may have had a rough 2014—missing all but one game of the NFL season due to legal issues—but at the age of 30, Adrian Peterson has already put together a Hall of Fame career.
In seven full seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, the former Sooner has rushed for 10,115 yards and 86 touchdowns, averaging an impressive 1,445 yards and 12 scores per season.
For his gaudy efforts, the two-time NFL rushing leader is a three-time First-Team All-Pro selection, a six-time Pro Bowler and was named NFL MVP in 2012, when he rushed for 2,097 yards to go along with 12 TDs.
Yet despite all the accolades and accomplishments, Peterson is still without the most prized possession of all: an NFL Super Bowl ring.
Adding insult to injury, the Texas native has made the postseason only three times in his career and has just one playoff victory to show for it.
Of course, with his status in Minnesota seriously in doubt, there's no telling what the running back's future holds in store. If he can find the proper landing spot, however, he still has the talent to serve as a major contributor on a championship team.
Chris Paul
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Chris Paul is arguably the best athlete in the world without a ring and, at the age of 30, he's quickly running out of time.
To make matters all the more urgent, the eight-time All-Star is coming off a season that included by far his best opportunity to win a title and also his most crippling defeat to date.
More specifically, his 56-win Clippers held a 3-1 advantage over Houston in the Western Conference Semifinals—including a 19-point lead in the third quarter of Game 6—but blew both, becoming just the ninth team in NBA history to relinquish such a significant series lead.
Of course, outside of the playoffs—he's still never reached even a conference final—Paul has been nothing short of spectacular.
Throughout his 10-year career, despite winning zero rings, CP3 has made eight All-Star appearances, is a four-time member of the All-NBA First Team, a four-time member of the NBA All-Defensive First Team, a four-time NBA assists leader and a six-time NBA steals leader.
For his career, Paul has averaged 18.7 points, 9.9 assists and 2.3 steals per game while suiting up for both New Orleans and Los Angeles.
It's worth noting, Paul is also still playing at as high a level as ever—he averaged 19.1 points, 10.2 assists and 1.9 steals per game in 2014-15—but in the ultra-competitive Western Conference, his future opportunities for a ring may be increasingly limited moving forward.
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