Behind every championship is a superstar or two who played their hearts out to reach the NBA’s steepest plateau. But not all the stars have ever won an NBA championship. Some came close but ultimately failed on the task because the other team they were competing with was much better in June.
Today, we will select the ten best NBA players to never win a championship. We are going to take a dive into how close they came to that elusive title and state the factors why they failed in their quest to do so. The players are ranked in no particular order.
Reggie Miller
Arguably the best superstar in the Pacers’ history, Miller was a five-time All-Star and was named to three All-NBA teams in his career.
Miller came close to winning a title at least twice in his career. He gave Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls a headache with his clutch shooting and an endless amount of trash-talking in the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals.
The second one was against the Lakers in the 2000 NBA Finals. He averaged 27.8 PPG in the series, but the Pacers couldn’t stop the Shaq and Kobe duo. Miller retired in 2005.
Steve Nash
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Nash was arguably one of the best point guards to play in the NBA. Nash was an eight-time All-Star and was named to seven All-NBA teams in his career.
While the 6’3” floor general never played in a single Finals game in his career, he came really close in doing so on three separate occasions, all with the Phoenix Suns. The West was insanely stacked during Nash’s peak years with foes like Duncan, Nowitzki and Bryant constantly battling for a Finals spot each year.
Allen Iverson
The diminutive Iverson can certainly go toe to toe against the rest of the league during his heyday. He was an eleven-time All-Star and was named to seven All-NBA teams. Plus, he won the league MVP award in 2001.
The closest he got to winning a title was in 2001. He dropped 48 points against the Lakers in game one of the Finals that same year and steered Philadelphia to a stunning victory. Unfortunately, that was the lone win for the Sixers and Iverson’s team bowed out in just five games.
Russell Westbrook
Though Russ could technically still win one as he’s still an active player, it feels like his championship window is slowly closing on him. Aside from winning the league MVP in 2017, Westbrook is a nine-time All-Star and was named to nine All-NBA teams in his career.
Westbrook’s only Finals appearance was in 2012 against the Miami Heat. That Thunder team was packed with young stars such as Kevin Durant and James Harden, but their inexperience was quickly exploited by Miami. Westbrook’s athleticism has faded recently and it’s highly likely that he will retire without an NBA title in his name.
Patrick Ewing
When Ewing was drafted first overall in 1985, the entire state of New York celebrated with joy and excitement as they thought the big man out of Georgetown would lead the Knicks to title contention in just a few years.
Ewing was named to nine All-NBA teams and made eleven All-Star teams throughout his career. In the 1994 NBA Finals, the Knicks were just one game away from winning the championship but inexplicably dropped their last two games against Houston.
The Knicks made another run to the Finals in 1999 but ultimately fell short against the emerging San Antonio Spurs. Ewing did not play a single minute in the series due to an injury.
John Stockton
Stockton is the all-time leader in both assists and steals. In addition, he was a ten-time All-Star and was named to eleven All-NBA teams in his career.
After years of playoff failures, Stockton and the Jazz finally made the NBA Finals in 1997 and again in 1998. However, they were unfortunately manhandled by Michael Jordan and the Bulls in six games in back-to-back years.
Karl Malone
Malone, Stockton’s co-star in Utah, was one of the greatest scorers in league history. He was named to fourteen All-NBA teams, a fourteen-time All-Star Game participant and was named a league MVP in 1997 and 1999.
But the Mail Man suffered the same fate as his co-star in Utah in terms of coming up short in the NBA’s grandest stage. The Bulls’ Jordan-Pippen duo were just too much for Utah in the 1997 and 1998 NBA Finals. Malone had another chance in 2004, this time playing with the Lakers, but was upset by the Detroit Pistons.
Chris Paul
Paul is arguably one of the best point guards in the game but is still missing a championship on his resume. Paul is a twelve-time All-Star and was named to nine All-NBA teams in his career.
The closest he got to winning a title was in 2021. His former team, the Phoenix Suns, were up 2-0 in the Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks. However, his team squandered their series lead and lost the next four games in the Finals.
Adrian Dantley
Dantley was one the best scorers throughout the 1980s. He was a six-time All-Star and was named to a couple of All-NBA teams in his career. Plus, he won two scoring titles in his career.
If Dantley never clashed with several Pistons personnel in 1989, he would’ve won a ring with the team that same year. He demanded a trade out of Detroit as he wasn’t happy with his situation in Detroit.
Charles Barkley
Barkley was a charismatic and dominant power forward throughout his career in the association. He was an eleven-time All-Star and was named to eleven All-NBA teams. Despite gathering numerous accolades, including an MVP award, Barkley fell short of an NBA Championship to his resume.
He was really close to winning one in 1993. Barkley steered the Phoenix Suns to the Finals after a tough road in the West. But Jordan and the Bulls prevailed in the Finals, denying Barkley a title.
