The Longest Active Championship Droughts in Sports After Knicks Win NBA Title
The New York Knicks are celebrating their first championship in 53 years after defeating the San Antonio Spurs in the thrilling 2026 NBA Finals. Meanwhile, their fans are overjoyed at leaving the inglorious list of the longest championship droughts across all major U.S. sports.
Winning a title is the goal for every professional team. Every addition to and subtraction from the roster is made with a long-term vision in mind. Even an intentional teardown is executed with the idea of building up a future contender.
But a championship, as the Knicks know full well, can be agonizingly elusive.
For some organizations, the dream of winning a championship has never been more than exactly that. Each of these organizations has a title drought longer than the Knicks' 53-year gap between championships.
Buffalo Sabres: 55 Years
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On the heels of a drought-snapping postseason berth in 2026, a jolt of excitement has surged through the Buffalo Sabres' fanbase.
Prior to that 15-year absence, the Sabres had been a playoff mainstay. Buffalo made its NHL debut in 1970 and earned a ticket to the postseason 29 times throughout its first 40 years, making two runs to the Stanley Cup Final.
In both 1975 and 1999, the Philadelphia Flyers and Dallas Stars, respectively, dispatched the Sabres in six games.
Perhaps a championship window is starting to open in Buffalo, though.
Vancouver Canucks: 55 Years
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Meanwhile, the vibes are extraordinarily low around the Vancouver Canucks, who just finished the recent NHL season as the worst team in the league. Adding salt to the wound, they dropped to third in the 2026 draft.
In their 55-year history, though, the Canucks have enjoyed a few periods of sustained success and reached the Stanley Cup Final on three occasions.
And they've been so tantalizingly close to hoisting the banner.
Vancouver lost the New York Islanders in a four-game sweep in 1982. Later, both the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins toppled the Canucks in Game 7 showdowns during the 1994 and 2011 playoffs, respectively.
Los Angeles Clippers: 56 Years
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Every iteration of this franchise—the Buffalo Braves in 1970 to the San Diego Clippers in 1978 to the Los Angeles Clippers in 1984—has fallen short of winning a championship.
That's a short-and-sweet, blunt summary.
Prior to their "Lob City" ascent in 2011, the Clippers reached the playoffs in just seven of their first 41 seasons. Los Angeles picked No. 1 overall more times (three) than it won playoff series (two) during that stretch.
In the last 15 years, L.A. has established itself as an annual playoff team. Yet those 12 appearances have resulted in a lone Western Conference Finals run.
The next time the Clippers make the NBA Finals will be their first.
Milwaukee Brewers: 57 Years
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In 1969, Major League Baseball added four franchises. One of those was the Seattle Pilots—a short-lived club that led to the Milwaukee Brewers' debut in 1970.
Led by Hall of Fame infielders Robin Yount and Paul Molitor, the Brewers won the AL pennant in 1982. But in a back-and-forth seven-game World Series, the St. Louis Cardinals—a future NL Central rival—took out the Crew.
Milwaukee would not return to the postseason until 2008, and it fell to St. Louis in the 2011 National League Championship Series.
In recent years, the Brewers have become a playoff regular thanks to a thrifty, intelligent front office. But that cost-conscious approach has peaked in two NLCS losses to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2018 and 2025.
San Diego Padres: 57 Years
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Another part of MLB's expansion in 1969, the San Diego Padres experienced a slow start to their professional journey.
In the first 15 years of existence, the Padres never finished better than fourth in the NL West—and only division winners made the playoffs. They finally broke through in 1984 and advanced to the World Series, losing to the Detroit Tigers in five games.
San Diego returned to the Fall Classic in 1998 but endured a sweep by the dynasty-era New York Yankees.
Since then, the Pads have managed just six postseason berths and have made only a single appearance in the NLCS in 2022.
Cleveland Browns: 57 Years
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Cleveland's tortured sports history is riddled with angst. (At least the Cavaliers won in 2016, right?)
The city's main gripe is that the Browns have stunk for 30-plus years.
Incidentally, that wasn't the case early on. During the pre-Super Bowl days, the franchise won four AAFC championships and three NFL titles in a 10-year period. Cleveland won the 1964 NFL championship, too.
The organization was also competent in the 1980s with seven playoff bids.
Since the 1990s, though—even excluding the 1996-98 seasons when operations were suspended—the Browns have made only four playoff appearances and have never reached the AFC Championship Game.
New York Jets: 57 Years
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Congratulations are due to the New York Jets. They're the organization with the longest title drought to last win a championship under its current name.
Joe Namath memorably took a heavy underdog to a Super Bowl triumph in 1969, knocking off Johnny Unitas and the Baltimore Colts.
Unfortunately for the Jets, they haven't soared to those same heights ever since. Among their 13 playoff appearances since then, the Jets reached the AFC Championship Game four times but dropped each one.
Heading into the 2026 season, the NFL's longest postseason drought—at 15 years—belongs to the Jets.
Cincinnati Bengals: 58 Years
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Two seasons after the Super Bowl era kicked off, the Cincinnati Bengals joined the AFL party (1968) shortly before the AFL-NFL merger (1970).
Cincy rose to prominence in the 1980s, winning the AFC in 1981 and 1988 with Ken Anderson and Boomer Esiason, respectively, at quarterback. However, the Joe Montana-led San Francisco 49ers won both Super Bowl matchups.
Then in 2021, another NFC West franchise took down the Bengals in the Super Bowl.
Cooper Kupp's late touchdown catch pushed the Los Angeles Rams to a 23-20 win in their own stadium, sending Cincy home empty-handed.
Toronto Maple Leafs: 58 Years
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One of the "Original Six" NHL teams, the Toronto Maple Leafs have a proud history and a passionate fanbase.
They just haven't had much to celebrate for a long, long time.
The Maple Leafs have won 13 NHL titles in their 108-year history, but their last one came in 1966-67. They haven't even been back to the Stanley Cup Final since then.
They've made the postseason 36 times over that span, but they've repeatedly failed to break through.
As if that's not enough, through the 2025-26 campaign, Toronto is riding a 24-year drought of making the conference finals, let alone the Cup.
Multiple NFL Teams: 60 Years
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Since the start of the Super Bowl era in 1966, seven franchises have played every NFL season without winning a championship.
Easily one of the more painful extended droughts, the Buffalo Bills hold the inglorious honor of losing four straight Super Bowls. They boasted a Hall of Fame-filled roster but lost in the 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1993 seasons.
Similarly, the Minnesota Vikings (1969, 1973, 1974 and 1976) have fallen short in their four attempts at the Lombardi Trophy.
Each of the Arizona Cardinals (2008), Atlanta Falcons (1998 and 2016) and Tennessee Titans (1999) endured soul-crushing losses. Arizona lost on a last-minute touchdown, Atlanta infamously blew a 28-3 lead in 2016, and Tennessee fell a literal yard short of a ring.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Chargers suffered a blowout defeat in 1995.
Rounding out this group in the most frustrating fashion is the Detroit Lions, who have yet to appear in a Super Bowl.
Atlanta Hawks: 68 Years
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Initially known as the Tri-Cities Blackhawks and Milwaukee Hawks, the St. Louis Hawks won an NBA title in 1958. The team then moved to Georgia in 1968.
The Atlanta Hawks have become an exhausting team to support ever since.
Unlike our next NBA organization, Atlanta has consistently been a competitive team. Within this extended drought, the Hawks have reached the playoffs in 46 of those campaigns—essentially two-thirds of the time.
The problem is that most of their postseason runs have ended quickly.
Since moving to Atlanta, only two years included a spot in the conference finals—with zero NBA Finals trips.
Sacramento Kings: 75 Years
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Founded as the Rochester Royals, the organization wasted no time making its mark. It celebrated an NBA title in 1951, its third year of existence.
The franchise moved to become the Cincinnati Royals in 1957, relocated as the Kansas City (Omaha) Kings in 1972 and became the Sacramento Kings in 1985.
Over these four decades, the Kings had an eight-year stretch of contention from 1999-2006 and little else.
Save for brief postseason stays in 1986, 1996 and 2023, the Kings haven't made the playoffs except in their era with players like Mike Bibby, Chris Webber, Peja Stojaković and Vlade Divac. Sacramento never made an NBA Finals in that stretch, only reaching one Western Conference Finals.
Cleveland Guardians: 77 Years
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So close, yet so far.
Since the franchise last won a World Series back in 1948, Cleveland has returned to the championship stage four times, only to come up empty each time.
First, it was a sweep at the hands of the New York Giants (1954). Following a four-decade playoff drought, it was a six-game loss to the Atlanta Braves (1995) and crushing seven-game series loss to the Florida Marlins (1997).
Most recently, it was a soul-crushing collapse to the Chicago Cubs (2016). Cleveland squandered a 3-1 series lead and lost Game 7 at home in extra innings.
Pain.
