Ranking the 10 championship-less NBA teams by closeness to title

No title-less team is closer to the championship than the Phoenix Suns. Considering the win-now moves it has made in recent months, it better win soon, because there’s a long way yet for the franchise to fall.

After making it all the way to the NBA Finals a couple of years ago, it seemed like the Suns were in good shape to contend for years to come. Then, it decided to go all-in on a few veterans, sacrificing young players like Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson in the process.

Last year at the deadline, Phoenix traded for Kevin Durant. This offseason, the team has already jettisoned Chris Paul to help bring in Bradley Beal. That’s a lot of major talent on one team, but also a lot of money owed at a time when the CBA is making it harder to hang on to those types of contracts.

Phoenix will open this season as one of the three top contenders to win the title. They still have center Deandre Ayton and they hired coach Frank Vogel, who may not be the most inspired hire, but does have an NBA championship close in his rearview mirror.

New owner Mat Ishbia also seems willing to take big swings and spend – the Durant trade was one of his first moves after taking over from Robert Sarver. It helps to have that kind of owner in place.

The draft picture going forward for the next decade for Phoenix looks ugly, though. Suns fans won’t have much of a need to tune in to the NBA Draft on an annual basis for years to come.

Basically, Phoenix is really close to ending their title drought, maybe even closer than they were during the Steve Nash heyday. If they don’t close the deal soon, though, they could soon find themselves on the opposite end of this list.