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

15. *2012-13 Oklahoma City Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder may have entered the 2012-13 season a bit shell-shocked after the sudden trade of James Harden days before the start of the season. Once that wore off, they proceeded onto a better regular season than the one that bred their first-ever Finals appearance.

60 wins netted the top spot in the Western Conference and the second-best record in all the NBA. A .732 winning percentage was better than the .712 amassed in the lockout-shortened campaign.

Perhaps not in terms of style, but Kevin Martin was adequate at replacing most of the substance Harden brought from the bench. He averaged 14.0 points per game on 42.6 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

Both offense and defense saw noticeable improvements, thanks largely to the continued progress of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka. KD’s improvements were particularly noteworthy after breaking the 50-40-90 shooting plateau for just the 10th time in NBA history.

A Finals rematch with the Miami Heat seemed pending. Until Patrick Beverley undercut Westbrook’s right leg in Game 2 of the Thunder’s first-round matchup with the Houston Rockets. Russ’s meniscus was torn, costing him the remainder of the postseason.

Durant wasn’t equipped to shoulder an entire offense, at least not against a vaunted Memphis Grizzlies defense in the second round. The Thunder were eliminated in five games, a sudden end to the season everyone pegged to last much longer.