Greatest non-Finals teams to never win the NBA title this century

4. 2006-07 Phoenix Suns

After injuries plagued the Phoenix Suns’ title hopes in back-to-back seasons, 2006-07 was shaping up to be the year of their coronation.

They won 61 games, second-most in the league behind only the Dallas Mavericks, propelled by a top-ranked offense for the third consecutive season. Reigning two-time MVP Steve Nash led the league in assists for the third straight season, piloting an attack with four players averaging no fewer than 17.5 points per game.

After easily advancing past the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round, Phoenix was matched up with a familiar foe. The San Antonio Spurs had eliminated the Suns in the 2005 conference finals. History was on its way to repeating itself after they stole homecourt advantage and took a 2-1 series lead.

Within the final seconds of Game 4, the odds of both team’s chances had flipped dramatically. Phoenix was on its way to regaining homecourt, retaking the momentum for a pivotal Game 5 that would place the winner to within a game of the conference finals.

Robert Horry’s flagrant hip checking of Steve Nash into the stands changed all that. Horry’s suspension hurt San Antonio. Even more impactful for the Suns were the suspensions of Amar’e Stoudemire and Boris Diaw, who had left the vicinity of their bench upon watching their leader fly into the scorer’s table, violating league rule.

The absence of Phoenix’s leading scorer — and a key bench contributor — was all the Spurs needed to gain an edge, one they exploited on their way to a six-game series victory.

Awaiting the winner of the series was an up-and-coming Utah Jazz team. In the Finals sat an inexperienced Cleveland Cavaliers organization led by a 22-year-old LeBron James. Both matchups would’ve fallen in Phoenix’s favor.

To this day, nobody argues whether those Suns players broke NBA ruling. That much is undeniable. The argument lies within its unnecessarily strict implementation and the role it played in potentially rewriting the 2007 NBA champion.