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NBA Playoffs: Top five players without a playoff appearance

By Larry Hammonds

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 30: Head Coach Monty Williams of the Phoenix Suns holds the Western Conference Championship trophy as his team looks on after the Suns defeated the LA Clippers in Game Six of the Western Conference Finals at Staples Center on June 30, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 30: Head Coach Monty Williams of the Phoenix Suns holds the Western Conference Championship trophy as his team looks on after the Suns defeated the LA Clippers in Game Six of the Western Conference Finals at Staples Center on June 30, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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NBA playoffs (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

Top five players without NBA playoffs experience: 1. Zach LaVine

Zach LaVine has played for bad teams his entire seven-year career and is arguably the best player in the league without a single playoff appearance. Drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2014, the franchise didn’t make the playoffs until the season after they traded him to the Chicago Bulls, and the Bulls haven’t made the playoffs since the season prior to trading LaVine.

Lavine has shown improvements in his game every season of his career, most notably after recovering from an ACL tear. The two-time Slam Dunk Contest champion doesn’t seem to have lost any of his athleticism or explosiveness after suffering the gruesome injury, and in his time with Chicago, he has developed into one of the league’s premier isolation and three-level scorers. In his first four seasons in the Windy City, Lavine has averaged 24.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game.

The 2020-21 season was his best yet from a statistical standpoint, and he finally made his first All-Star game appearance. He averaged career-highs across the board with 27.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game while posting career-best shooting splits of .507/.419/.849 as well.

Chicago put all their chips in the middle of the table at the trade deadline, mortgaging their future to put together a package that brought All-Star center Nikola Vucevic into the fold. After the blockbuster trade. Unfortunately, Vucevic didn’t make enough of a difference, and the Bulls lost 17 of 29 games after the trade, failing to qualify for the play-in tournament and missed out on the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. The Bulls will have to make another big splash via free agency or trade, and if not, we may have to wait till LaVine is on a new team before we see him make his postseason debut.

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