50 Greatest NBA Players Without A Championship (Updated Through 2015-16)
By Phil Watson
1. Karl Malone
Utah Jazz 1985-2003, Los Angeles Lakers 2003-04
The Utah Jazz tabbed Louisiana Tech forward Karl Malone with the 13th overall pick in 1985.
They got the other half of perhaps the most famous duo in NBA history along with John Stockton, drafted by the Jazz the previous year.
Malone was the NBA MVP in both 1996-97 and 1998-99, was a 14-time All-NBA selection, made four All-Defensive teams and was selected for 14 All-Star games.
Utah lost in the first round to the Dallas Mavericks in 1986 and in a first-round Game 5 to the Golden State Warriors in 1987.
Malone helped the Jazz to a first-round win over the Portland Trail Blazers before they lost a Game 7 to the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in the second round.
In 1989, Utah was shockingly swept by the Warriors in the first round and in 1990 went down in a first-round Game 5 to the Phoenix Suns.
The Jazz beat Phoenix before losing to Portland in five games in the second round in 1991. A breakthrough finally happened in 1992—Utah survived Game 5 against the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round and beat the Seattle SuperSonics in five games in the second round before a six-game loss to the Trail Blazers in the Western Conference Finals.
In 1993, Seattle beat the Jazz in a first-round Game 5. The following year, Utah beat the San Antonio Spurs in the first round and took out the Nuggets in a second-round Game 7 before losing in five games to the eventual champion Houston Rockets in the Western Conference Finals.
Defending champion Houston eliminated the Jazz in Game 5 of the first round in 1995. In 1996, the Jazz beat Portland in a Game 5 in the first round, knocked out the San Antonio Spurs in six games in the second round and lost a Game 7 to Seattle in the Western Conference Finals.
The door finally got knocked down in 1997. Utah swept the Clippers and beat the Lakers in five games in the second round, then took down the Rockets in six games in the Western Conference Finals. But the defending champion Chicago Bulls took the NBA Finals in six games.
In 1998, the Jazz took a first-round Game 5 from Houston, wiped out San Antonio in five games in the second round and swept the L.A. Lakers in the Western Conference Finals before another six-game defeat at the hands of the two-time defending champions from Chicago in the NBA Finals.
Utah survived a Game 5 against the Sacramento Kings in 1999 before losing in six games to the Trail Blazers in the second round. It was a similar pattern in 2000—the Jazz won a Game 5 against Seattle before losing in five games to Portland.
Utah lost a Game 5 to the Mavericks in the first round in 2001 and lost to the Kings in 2002 and 2003.
Malone signed with the Lakers in July 2003. Los Angeles beat the Rockets in the first round, the Spurs in the second round and took down the Minnesota Timberwolves in six games in the Western Conference Finals. But in the NBA Finals, the underdog Detroit Pistons beat the Lakers in five games.
Malone retired officially in February 2005. He spent four seasons as an assistant coach at Louisiana Tech and has worked with big men for the Jazz since May 2013.
He is the NBA’s all-time leader in free throws made and attempted, is second all-time with 36,928 points, seventh with 14,968 rebounds and 10th with 2,085 steals. His career average of 25 points per game is 11th all-time.
He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010.
The final tally on Malone’s playoff career:
Next: NBA: 50 Greatest Players Of All Time
NBA Finals: 0-3
Conference Finals: 3-3
Conference Semifinals: 6-4
First Round: 10-9