Finals losers are often discussed as the best to never get it done, but plenty of worthy NBA champions have bowed out in previous rounds.
When it comes to the often-played game of determining some of the best NBA teams never win a title, the conversation naturally starts with the loser of the Finals in any given year. They finished in an unofficial second place and got as close as any other non-winning team to securing the championship.
Those like the Utah Jazz of the late 1990s and 73-win Golden State Warriors are viable options, but they and similar others don’t comprise the entire list.
If only two teams make the Finals, plenty more are bound to wind up disappointed. Many of those early-exiters are unworthy of recognition, but not all. Some looked the part of championship contenders only to wind up eliminated for some reason or another.
That meant a roster-weakening injury — as noted with an asterisk, including a different and more unique type of absence — or a bad matchup. Sometimes, the success or failure of a team comes down to the type of heat their opponents are bringing.
Limiting the scope to just Finals participants restricts one from an excess number of equally worthy candidates for that infamous title. To remedy that, we have a list stretching only through this century but remains a stark reminder of how little regular-season success guarantees.