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The 5 best NBA Finals losers since 2000

By Luke Duffy

Allen Iverson (L) of the Philadelphia 76ers and Kobe Bryant (R) of the Los Angeles Lakers (R) exchange words at the end of game two of the NBA Finals 08 June 2001 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Lakers won 98-89 to tie the seven-game series 1-1. AFP PHOTO/Jeff HAYNES (Photo by JEFF HAYNES / AFP) (Photo credit should read JEFF HAYNES/AFP via Getty Images)
Allen Iverson (L) of the Philadelphia 76ers and Kobe Bryant (R) of the Los Angeles Lakers (R) exchange words at the end of game two of the NBA Finals 08 June 2001 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Lakers won 98-89 to tie the seven-game series 1-1. AFP PHOTO/Jeff HAYNES (Photo by JEFF HAYNES / AFP) (Photo credit should read JEFF HAYNES/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Oklahoma City Thunder
NBA (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

1. 2012 Oklahoma City Thunder

Oh, what could have been. In the last two decades, no team seemed more certain in the moment to get at least one championship with the young roster they put together, only to end up having just one Finals appearance in a losing effort. The Oklahoma City Thunder are the modern iteration of the Magic of the mid-90s, and that is not a distinction you want.

They did all of the things that a would-be champion is supposed to do, they just arrived too early and came up against LeBron James and a Miami Heat organization that would not be denied. To have Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden (as their sixth man no less), three future MVPs of the league, on the one team was outrageous, and they were usually a joy to watch.

It was clear even then, despite being so young (Durant and Westbrook where both 23 and All-Stars that year, Harden was 22), that they were good enough to give anybody a good series. They had beaten the Lakers in the Western Conference semi-finals and climbed out of a 2-0 hole vs the Spurs in the West finals to beat them 4-2. Doing that in and of itself was a great achievement.

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Their time wasn’t supposed to be now, but it was clear that they had skipped a few steps in the process. The Heat beat them in five games shows that they weren’t ready for the biggest stage, with Kendrick Perkins and Derek Fisher the only real elder statesmen with championship experience on their roster (they were the second youngest finals team in league history).

When they lost, most understood that it was the time for James to get his ring, but that the Thunder were going to be back for the next decade. We know now it didn’t go that way, with Harden being traded to the Houston Rockets to save money. The Thunder front office instead decided to keep Serge Ibaka.

The rest is history, but no roster from the last 20 years looked good enough to win multiple titles so early on in their development, only to win none at all. They had Durant, a transcendent star who was at that point universally liked. Westbrook was the ferocious guard who had flashes of Iverson. Harden was overqualified in his role. A beloved unit who did great things in their time together that just couldn’t get to the top of the pile.

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