11 NBA Teams That Have Never Won A Championship

The Phoenix Suns have to be the unluckiest team out of 11 NBA teams that have yet to place a hand on the title. They compete from Western Conference Pacific Division.

Came into NBA radar as an expansion team in 1968, the Phoenix, Arizona-based team reached three finals and lost all three of them. The Suns have consistently fielded a potent and formidable squad, but they have yet to claim a Larry O'Brien trophy. 

Charles Barkley, Steve Nash, and Amar'e Carsares Stoudemire were among their many brilliant players, but they have struggled in the playoffs and thrice lost in the championship final game.

Since they came so close to winning the championship in the past but fell short, losing the NBA Finals in 1976, 1993, and most recently in 2021, some people may view them as an unlucky team.

Though they are strong in the first and playoffs rounds, the Suns always have bad and disappointing results in important games when it matters the most. Moreover, the franchise's current president and general manager James Jones has taken an oath to rejuvenate the club. They are currently in the build-up and formative phase but with a bigger plan in their mindset. 

The Suns recently made it to the NBA finals after nearly three decades in 2021. After coming victorious against Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference final, they headed for the championship trophy with huge hope.

Phoenix came extremely close to winning their first NBA trophy after leading the first two series 2-0 against Milwaukee Bucks. However, the Bucks completely turned the table, prevailing in the remaining four games to beat the Suns 4-2.

The Utah Jazz is another NBA team that has not tasted the championship final victory. Founded in 1974, the team is based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

They were unsuccessful in winning a title in spite of having several excellent seasons and twice reaching the NBA Finals. The West Conference Northwest Division franchise had its best league seasons in 1997 and 1998, when they made it to the competition's final.

Despite being blessed with a pair of excellent players like Karl Malone and John Stockton in the 90s, Jazz went clueless in the two finals in 1997 and 1998. In both editions, they faced off against the basketball legend Michael Jordan-inspired Chicago Bulls.

Jordan was in the prime of his career and played at an extremely high level, which the Jazz was unable to match. Utah has not advanced to the final since that time. Supporters are confident that their club will soon make a comeback since it has been a long wait of roughly 25 years. 

Although they have never claimed a title, they have a sizable fan base and frequently make the playoffs. On Instagram, the club's official page has landed 1.2 million followers.

Nevertheless, Jazz has brought 11 division titles to Vivint Arena even though the lustrous Larry O'Brien trophy is still on their to-do list. They are recently in good form and became the Northwest champion three times in five years, including the back-to-back title win in 2021, followed by 2022. 

Many fans of the Utah Jazz hope the team will have a successful season and make it to the NBA Finals for the third time in their history. They believe the current talent could give them the edge they need to win the championship this time.

The Orlando Magic has yet to create magic in the NBA to seal the championship trophy. They were founded in 1989 as an expansion team based in Orlando, Florida.

Following its formation in the late 80s, the franchise has lured many NBA stars to the team throughout its history, including Shaquille O'Neal, Penny Hardaway, Dwight Howard, and Tracy McGrady.

Orlando came near the vicinity of the Larry O'Brien trophy twice but could not capitalize on either occasion. In the 90s, the club was flocked with talents with the dynamic duo of Shaq and Penny, Magic caused a riot in the 1995 NBA season.

The team was so dominant that they even defeated the Chicago Bulls, who were in blistering form with the likes of Michael Jordan on the team.

After a sumptuous victory in the Eastern Conference finals against the Bulls, basketball fans across the globe were in no doubt that Orlando would secure their first championship title. However, the final game turned out to be forgettable to them as they lost to the underdog, the Houston Rockets.

Fourteen years later, in 2019, the Magic are back in the NBA finals hoping to seek revenge for their defeat last time. The Los Angeles Lakers were on their way at that time. 

Orlando managed to win the next two games of the series after dropping the first three, but they were defeated on the road in the sixth game of the series, which ended their title hope.

A year after that, in 2010, they reached NBA playoffs but were humiliated by the Atlanta Hawks. Then for nine seasons, Orlando was eliminated in the early rounds until they returned to playoffs in 2019, only to surrender to the Milwaukee Bucks. 

The Brooklyn Nets have a long history of playing in the NBA. But unfortunately, they have never kissed the trophy.

In their two NBA final appearances, they fell short both times. The New York City borough, Brooklyn-based team was established in 1967. The team was called the New Jersey Americans when it was first formed.

A year later, in 1968, they shitted to Long Island and became the New York Nets. Only in the last decade, in 2012, the franchise got its present name, the Brooklyn Nets, after it relocated to Brooklyn. 

The team has had several notable players throughout its history, including Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson, Vince Carter, and Brook Lopez. With their presence in the club, Nets went flying in the early 2000s and reached the NBA Finals twice in 2002 and 2003.

Brooklyn lost to Los Angeles Lakers in four games in 2002, and a year later, San Antonio Spurs buried their dream of winning the championships. Despite losing two NBA finals, the Nets were the original four charter franchises of the American Basketball Association (ABA). 

They were crowned the ABA champions two times, in 1974 and 1976, when they played under the name New York Nets. Following the NBA and ABA merger in 1976, the Nets entered the NBA.

Besides the two finals, Brooklyn has not created much tumult in the league. Their last division title was in 2006, which was sixteen years ago. So it is obvious their fans are in more hunger to relive those glory days.

The Indiana Pacers are another American Basketball Association (ABA) member that aligned NBA following the 1976 merger.

Pacers were the most successful team in the ABA, having won the title three times in 1970, 1972 and 1973 before it joined the NBA. They can be considered the king of the ABA dynasty.

However, since joining the NBA in 1976, the team has not been able to replicate that success, winning only one conference title in 2000 but losing the NBA Finals. The team has had a number of successful seasons and playoff appearances but has yet to win the grand trophy.

Reggie Miller, Jermaine O'Neal, and Paul George were some of the prominent names who donned the Pacers kit. Since it entered the NBA, they have competed from the league's Eastern Conference Central Division.

Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks are their two main rivals, their arch nemesis in the league. The Pacers were back on track, making it to the conference final in 2013 and the following year in 2014, but they lost in both editions. In 2014 Indiana suffered a sweet defeat at the hand of the Miami Heat. 

Despite multiple failures, the franchise has a dedicated fan base and continues to compete in the NBA, and the Pacers are still trying to reach the top and win the NBA championship in the future. The official team's account on Instagram has reached 2.6 million followers as of 2023.

The Western Conference team the Denver Nuggets has never won an NBA championship. Nuggets are based in Denver, Colorado.

It is one of the select few teams that has never even reached the NBA final, let alone win it. The franchise was formed in 1967 as the Denver Larks, and it was one of the original members of the American Basketball Association (ABA).

The team played in the ABA for nine seasons before the league blended with the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1976. After a year of its establishment, the club changed its name to Denver Rockets, which again altered to Nuggets in 1974. 

In its 46-year-long NBA history, Denver has not made it to the NBA Finals despite winning the division title 11 times, including the two ABA divisions. They have made it to the Western Conference Finals several times but have not advanced to the grand finale. 

The Nuggets had a good squad in the early years of their NBA career; they made the playoffs in each of their first six seasons in the league and advanced to the Western Conference Finals in 1997, 1978 and 1985. 

They were sold to a new ownership group after failing to reach the playoffs for much of the 1990s. The team's fortunes started to turn around during the following several years, as they made the playoffs in 2006 and 2009.

Their best performance came in the 2008-2009 season when they reached the Western Conference Final but lost to the Los Angeles Lakers. Some elite players to play for the clubs are Alex English, Carmelo Anthony and Dikembe Mutombo.

The Los Angeles Clippers lie on the leeward side of LA in terms of trophies won. It is another team based in Los Angeles, but compared with its city neighbours Lakers, who have the most NBA titles, the Clippers have zero. 

Founded in 1970, the franchise partakes in the NBA as Western Conference's Pacific Division Team. Their home ground is Crypto.com Arena, which they also share with the Lakers, LA Sparks of the WNBA, and the NHL side LA Kings.

Despite being from the same city and playing on the same ground, the other side of Los Angeles is the most decorated team, with 17 championship trophies. In contrast, Clippers is the least interesting of the two. 

When it was first formed, they called it the Buffalo Braves. Then In 1978, the team moved to San Diego and became the San Diego Clippers, and then again in 1984, the clan migrated to Los Angeles and became the Los Angeles Clippers.

They have never played in front of the Larry O'Brien trophy having only qualified for the playoffs on two occasions in 2013 and 2014. The team's early years were characterized by subpar play and minimal achievement on the court.

The club started to get better in the late 1990s and the early 2000s, and they frequently made the playoffs, but they were never able to get past the second round.

Spearheaded by superstar players Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, they developed into a formidable force in the league recently, making it to the Conference Finals in 2020. The Clippers have not claimed an NBA title despite their recent success.

The Memphis Grizzlies are another unfortunate team who have yet to win the NBA championship. The team is based in Memphis, Tennessee. 

The Grizzlies were established late only in 1995 as Vancouver Grizzlies and spent their first six seasons playing in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The group relocated to Memphis and adopted the name Memphis Grizzlies in 2001.

The franchise's first few seasons in Vancouver were characterized by poor play and little success on the court. All six of their seasons in Vancouver ended without a playoff appearance.

Even after relocating to Memphis for several years, the club struggled, missing the playoffs in each of their first three seasons in the NBA. With players such as Pau Gasol, Mike Miller, and Zach Randolph joining the team, they began to improve in the mid-2000s.

They made the playoffs for the first time in 2004 and had a string of playoff appearances from 2004-2013, which included a trip to the Western Conference Finals in 2013. 

In recent years, the team has experienced some transformations, and despite some ups and downs, they have stayed a competitive team in the league.

In their victory over the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference's second round on March 30, 2022, the Memphis Grizzlies won their first division championship in franchise history. They were seeded second, which was their highest seeding ever.

The Grizzlies are a great team always trying to compete at the top level. Although they have not yet won the NBA trophy, their fanbase is very dedicated, and they keep on being a top-tier team. They have 1.6 million followers on their official Instagram account.

Established in 1989 as an extension team, the Minnesota Timberwolves joined the NBA in the 89-90 season. They are based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The Timberwolves come in the third bottom on the list of less successful NBA teams with just one division title in three decades-long histories. During its formative years in the league, the team displayed weak and underwhelming performance season after season. 

They could not advance to the playoffs for their first eight league seasons. With the arrival of quality players like Kevin Garnett, Stephon Marbury, and Tom Gugliotta, the club started to get better in the late 1990s.

They entered the playoffs for the first time in 1996 and enjoyed a run of trips from 1997 to 2004, culminating in a trip to the Western Conference Finals in 2004. From 1997 to 2004, they were eliminated in the eastern conference first round for seven consecutive seasons.

After 2004, the drought resumed as the club struggled once more in the following years, going 13 seasons without getting past the early phase. The Timberwolves could not reach the playoffs till the 2017-18 season.

Jimmy Butler and Karl-Anthony Towns were the team's leaders in 2018 when they made the playoffs once more but lost in the first round. Similarly, the franchise made the playoffs last season as well, but they had similar faith. This time they were defeated by Memphis Grizzlies.

Besides, the Minnesota Timberwolves have a sizable fan base on social media. Their Instagram page has 2.7 million followers. 

The New Orleans Pelicans is a young NBA team founded in 2002. The Pelicans are based in New Orleans and compete from the league's Western Conference Southwest Division.

The team was originally owned by the NBA but was purchased by Tom Benson, who also owned the NFL's New Orleans Saints, in 2012. In 2013, he renamed the group the New Orleans Pelicans.

They failed to make the playoffs for their first four seasons in the league. In the late 2000s, the team improved, led by players such as Chris Paul, David West, and Tyson Chandler. They made the playoffs for the first time in 2007 and had a string of playoff appearances from 2007-2011.

In the 2014-2015 season, led by Anthony Davis, the team returned to the playoffs but failed to advance past the first round. Likewise, in the following years, the team struggled again, but with the acquisition of Jrue Holiday, Nikola Mirotic, and Julius Randle in 2018, the team returned to the playoffs in the 2018-2019 season and reached the second round.

In 2020, it changed its name to New Orleans Pelicans. The following 2021-22 season, the team was led by Zion Williamson, Jrue Holiday and Brandon Ingram; they reached the playoffs but failed to advance past the first round.

Marching to the Eastern Conference first round after getting better of San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers, clinching the eighth seed, Pelicans lost to Phoenix Suns 4-2 in the best of seven.

The Charlotte Hornets are another NBA club that has never held the championship trophy. The team is based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The Hornets are the only team in the league that has yet to win any division titles. The franchise was established in 1988 as an extension team and played its first season in the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1988-1989. 

In the 1990s, with world-class players such as Larry Johnson and Alonzo Mourning, the team made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history in the 1993-1994 season. Similarly, they reached the Conference Semifinals in the 1997-1998 season under coach Dave Cowens.

The club was initially owned by George Shinn and played its home games at the Charlotte Coliseum. In 2002, Shinn sold the team Robert Johnson, who later moved to New Orleans, and up until 2013, they played under the moniker Hornets before switching the name to New Orleans Pelicans.

Until the Charlotte Bobcats' comeback in 2004, Charlotte was left without an NBA club. They returned for the 2004–05 NBA season and continued playing the Bobcats until the franchise rebranding in 2013. The team then got its present name Charlotte Hornets.

Since then, they have only made it to three conferences' first rounds in the 2009-10, 2013-14 and 2015-16 seasons, losing in all three. Four seasons without qualifying for the playoffs, Hornets had an overall good performance in the 2020-21 season, reaching the east conference play-in.

They followed the same result the following season as they lost again in the play-in to the Atlanta Hawks. The club sacked the head coach. James Borrego after he was unable to deliver. Then in June 2022, Hornets had a new guy in the steering wheel, Steve Clifford.