Best All-Time Players Without An NBA Title
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1.LeBron James
(2003-present)
At 26, LeBron, of course, still has plenty of time to escape this list, which is otherwise filled with retirees and older active players. In fact, he could do it as soon as June in his first season with Miami. For now, though, the scoreboard reads zero championships for the two-time MVP and eighth-year veteran, who reached the 2007 Finals with Cleveland before being swept by San Antonio.
2.Karl Malone
(1985-2004)
The Mailman lost twice to Michael Jordan and the Bulls in the Finals while in his prime with the Jazz. Then, in the final season of a career in which he finished as the No. 2 scorer of all time and won two MVPs, Malone couldn't prevent the Lakers from being outclassed by Detroit in the Finals.
3.Elgin Baylor
(1958-72)
The spectacular 6-5 forward averaged 27.4 points and 13.5 rebounds in 14 seasons with the Lakers, who ran up against Bill Russell's Celtics throughout Baylor's tenure. A knee injury ended Baylor's 1970-71 season after two games -- the same season the Lakers ripped off an NBA-record 33 victories and won the championship.
4.Charles Barkley
(1984-2000)
Sir Charles played on 50-win teams with three franchises (Philadelphia, Phoenix and Houston). The 1992-93 Suns were the best of those teams, as Barkley led them to an NBA-high 62 victories, won the MVP award and made his first and only Finals, where Phoenix lost to the Bulls in an entertaining six-game series.
5.John Stockton
(1984-2003)
Like pick-and-roll partner Karl Malone, Stockton piled up individual accolades (all-time leader in assists and steals, 10 All-Star appearances) and spearheaded Utah's sustained run of excellence but couldn't surmount Michael Jordan's Bulls in the Finals
6. Steve Nash
(1996-present)
The two-time MVP has reached the conference finals three times with Phoenix but never advanced to the championship round. The Suns had a surprise run to the West finals in 2009-2010 but followed it up by missing the playoffs at 40-42.
7.Patrick Ewing
(1985-2002)
One of the NBA's great centers (career averages: 21 points, 9.8 rebounds) certainly had his chances with the Knicks, most notably in 1994 when New York lost Games 6 and 7 of the Finals at Houston.
8.Dirk Nowitzki
(1998-present)
Nowitzki might still be having nightmares about the 2006 Finals. The Mavericks had already won the first two games and led by 13 midway through fourth quarter of Game 3 in Miami before Dwyane Wade rallied the Heat to the first of four consecutive victories. A year later, after Nowitzki's MVP regular season, the 67-win Mavs fell to the Warriors to become the first No. 1 seed to a lose to a No. 8 seed in a seven-game series. But in 2011, the Mavs are closing in a Finals appearance and a possible shot at redemption against the Heat.
1.LeBron James
(2003-present)
At 26, LeBron, of course, still has plenty of time to escape this list, which is otherwise filled with retirees and older active players. In fact, he could do it as soon as June in his first season with Miami. For now, though, the scoreboard reads zero championships for the two-time MVP and eighth-year veteran, who reached the 2007 Finals with Cleveland before being swept by San Antonio.
2.Karl Malone
(1985-2004)
The Mailman lost twice to Michael Jordan and the Bulls in the Finals while in his prime with the Jazz. Then, in the final season of a career in which he finished as the No. 2 scorer of all time and won two MVPs, Malone couldn't prevent the Lakers from being outclassed by Detroit in the Finals.
3.Elgin Baylor
(1958-72)
The spectacular 6-5 forward averaged 27.4 points and 13.5 rebounds in 14 seasons with the Lakers, who ran up against Bill Russell's Celtics throughout Baylor's tenure. A knee injury ended Baylor's 1970-71 season after two games -- the same season the Lakers ripped off an NBA-record 33 victories and won the championship.
4.Charles Barkley
(1984-2000)
Sir Charles played on 50-win teams with three franchises (Philadelphia, Phoenix and Houston). The 1992-93 Suns were the best of those teams, as Barkley led them to an NBA-high 62 victories, won the MVP award and made his first and only Finals, where Phoenix lost to the Bulls in an entertaining six-game series.
5.John Stockton
(1984-2003)
Like pick-and-roll partner Karl Malone, Stockton piled up individual accolades (all-time leader in assists and steals, 10 All-Star appearances) and spearheaded Utah's sustained run of excellence but couldn't surmount Michael Jordan's Bulls in the Finals
6. Steve Nash
(1996-present)
The two-time MVP has reached the conference finals three times with Phoenix but never advanced to the championship round. The Suns had a surprise run to the West finals in 2009-2010 but followed it up by missing the playoffs at 40-42.
7.Patrick Ewing
(1985-2002)
One of the NBA's great centers (career averages: 21 points, 9.8 rebounds) certainly had his chances with the Knicks, most notably in 1994 when New York lost Games 6 and 7 of the Finals at Houston.
8.Dirk Nowitzki
(1998-present)
Nowitzki might still be having nightmares about the 2006 Finals. The Mavericks had already won the first two games and led by 13 midway through fourth quarter of Game 3 in Miami before Dwyane Wade rallied the Heat to the first of four consecutive victories. A year later, after Nowitzki's MVP regular season, the 67-win Mavs fell to the Warriors to become the first No. 1 seed to a lose to a No. 8 seed in a seven-game series. But in 2011, the Mavs are closing in a Finals appearance and a possible shot at redemption against the Heat.
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9.Allen Iverson
(1996-2010)
The Answer's only trip out of the second round came in his MVP season, in 2001, when he closed within three wins of a title after guiding the underdog 76ers to a Game 1 victory against the host Lakers in the Finals. The Lakers, however, rebounded to win the next four games. After that, the four-time scoring champ jumped from Philadelphia to Denver to Detroit to Memphis and back to Philadelphia again. He played with a Turkish team in 2010 after NBA teams passed on signing him as a 35-year-old free agent.
10.Jason Kidd
(1994-present)
The NBA's active leader in games, assists, steals and triple-doubles has made the playoffs 15 times, including back-to-back Finals appearances with the Nets in 2002 and '03. The 38-year-old remains alive for another chance at a ring with the 2010-11 Mavericks.
11.George Gervin
(1972-86)
The Ice Man, a four-time scoring champ with a career NBA average of 26.2 points, was part of a Spurs team that squandered a 3-1 lead to the Washington Bullets in the 1979 Eastern Conference finals.
12.Dominique Wilkins
(1982-99)
In terms of the playoffs, the Human Highlight Film is remembered best for his scintillating duel with Larry Bird in Game 7 of the 1988 Eastern Conference semifinals ... which the Hall of Famer Wilkins' Hawks lost 118-116.
13.Pete Maravich
(1970-80)
Maravich never played on a serious contender in the prime of a career in which he averaged 24.2 points over 10 seasons. In his final season, he played limited minutes for the Celtics, who went 61-21 before losing to the 76ers in the Eastern Conference finals.
14.Alex English
(1976-91)
Nobody scored more points in the '80s than English, who set an NBA record with eight consecutive 2,000-point seasons. But English's offensive-minded Nuggets teams went as far as the conference finals just once, in 1985, when Denver was trounced by the eventual champion Lakers.
15.Adrian Dantley
(1976-91)
The Lakers (near the start of Dantley's career) and the Pistons (near the end of Dantley's career) won titles immediately after trading the prolific scorer. In between, Dantley, a former Rookie of the Year and two-time scoring king, spent his prime years with non-title-contending Utah. -
lol @ Adrian Dantley. ? can't catch a break. If I ever catch him buying a lotto ticket, I'll clothes-line a old lady to buy one after him.
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16.Bernard King
(1977-93)
The former scoring champion (and notable Hall of Fame snub to many) won one playoff series in his career (during which he lost nearly two full seasons of his prime to a knee injury). King's Knicks memorably lost in seven games to eventual champion Boston in the 1984 Eastern Conference semifinals.
17.Dave Bing
(1966-78)
The former Pistons guard couldn't deliver a title to Detroit, where he's now the mayor, but he did win Rookie of the Year and All-Star MVP in his Hall of Fame career.
18.Nate Thurmond
(1963-77)
Thurmond made the Finals twice but had the misfortune of meeting Bill Russell's Celtics and Wilt Chamberlain's 76ers in those series. The Warriors traded the rebounding and defensive ace the year before they won the 1975 title.
19.Sidney Moncrief
(1979-91)
The two-time Defensive Player of the Year won division titles in his first seven years with Milwaukee but that regular-season success never translated into a single Finals berth.
20.Vince Carter
(1998-present)
The knock on the explosive scorer and perennial All-Star has always been his teams' lack of playoff success. Carter had a chance to redefine his reputation with the Magic in the 2010 playoffs but struggled in a conference-finals loss to Boston. Orlando traded Carter to Phoenix early in the 2010-11 season.
21.Chris Webber
(1993-2008)
If only Webber's Kings had gotten past the Lakers in the controversial 2002 Western Conference finals -- surely Sacramento could have dominated the Nets in the Finals like L.A. did. In fact, Webber played on four 55-win teams with the Kings without a Finals appearance to show for it. Webber's crunch-time shortcomings have led to much debate surrounding his Hall of Fame candidacy.
22.Reggie Miller
(1987-2005)
One of the league's great shooters had several signature playoff moments, many against the Knicks, and he made the playoffs 15 times in an 18-year career, all with the Pacers. But his only trip to the Finals came in 2000, when the Pacers lost to the Lakers in the first of L.A's three consecutive titles. -
List is fraudulent. Nash is better than Kidd and A.I. now?
Then they put VINCE ? CARTER over Webber? Wow -
reggie miller>>>>.vince carter
and kidd way better than nash -
steve nash is better than ewing?? really??
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I hope J Kidd get his this year
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this list lost from the begining.
how the ? are we judging greatness on potential?
lebron hasn't done anything to surpass malone yet.
yet being the whole point of the article -
...............true^^
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skooby2315 wrote: »reggie miller>>>>.vince carter
and kidd way better than nashCoo Coo Cal's Beanie wrote: »List is fraudulent. Nash is better than Kidd and A.I. now?
Then they put VINCE ? CARTER over Webber? Wowcopperkid27 wrote: »steve nash is better than ewing?? really??this list lost from the begining.
how the ? are we judging greatness on potential?
lebron hasn't done anything to surpass malone yet.
yet being the whole point of the article
..................................... -
lol this is some funny ? and the order of the list... wow
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Why in the ? is Steve Nash number 6 on this list.
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? list no love for that ? Kevin Johnson....most of yall ? probably don't even know who he is.
Kevin Johnson>>>>>>Steve Nash -
2nd best PG in suns historyone_manshow wrote: »? list no love for that ? Kevin Johnson....most of yall ? probably don't even know who he is.
Kevin Johnson>>>>>>Steve Nash -
Coo Coo Cal's Beanie wrote: »2nd best PG in suns history
Name me the other players to have averaged at least 20.0 points and 10.0 assists per game in three different seasons?
Name me another player who averaged at least 20.0 points and 10.0 assists per game over the course of a season while shooting at least .500 from the field? -
Magic Johnsonone_manshow wrote: »Name me the other players to have averaged at least 20.0 points and 10.0 assists per game in three different seasons?
Name me another player who averaged at least 20.0 points and 10.0 assists per game over the course of a season while shooting at least .500 from the field?
dont have another. Easy to do when ur team is stacked and u play in a system that inflates stats -
Steve nash is a perfect offensive player, he's a wizard on that side of the ball
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too bad basketball isnt just about offense. So being trash on that end brings down ur overall value
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Coo Coo Cal's Beanie wrote: »too bad basketball isnt just about offense. So being trash on that end brings down ur overall value
PG is the least important position defensively, fisher is arguably the worst defensive PG in the game and the lakers won back to back championships. all I ask for is more PG to be a great offensive player and orchestrate my offense. No one doesthat better then Nash. -
FALSE on both statements. If PG is the least important position defensively the lakers would be in the finals instead of JJ Barea lookin like a ? allstar. Every position of the floor is important defensively. You have to play defense every possession no matter ur position.Mvpbrodie93 wrote: »PG is the least important position defensively, fisher is arguably the worst defensive PG in the game and the lakers won back to back championships. all I ask for is more PG to be a great offensive player and orchestrate my offense. No one doesthat better then Nash.
2nd Nash had a run of 4 good seasons wit 1 team. Before that he couldnt get off the bench because Robert Pack was outplaying him.
CP3, Dwill, Kidd > Nash
All have done more with less -
All positions are important, but each is weighted differently. You honestly think PG is as important as C defensively?
The lakers have won 5 rings with the worst defensive PG in the game. Is it really that important? No PG shuts down each other anymore.
The mags with Nash were one of the best offensive teams In the game. So it's not just phoenix.
I'll give u CP3 who I think is the GOAT PG, I love kidd but Nash is a VASTLY offensive superior player.(I'd probably still take Kidd cause intangibles)
What have they done more the Nash? Kidd making it to the finals(and getting destroyed there) in the weakest era in ECF history? That's more impressive then battling the defensive juggernauts of the western conference? CP3 whose only been out of the 1st Rd once? Jus last year Nash took a suns team no one expected to get to the WCF and 6 games with the best team in the league -
Who runs Better offensive teams then Nash?
Number one or 2 every year, and it doesn't matter the supporting cast either. -
You're saying its not important to play defense as a PG and this is a guard driven league. A PG just won MVP lol. Your argument is ? . All positions matter when it comes to defense. Nash isnt vastly offensively superior to kidd. He's a better jumpshooter, but kidd is a better passer.
Mavs went to the finals after Nash left, i guess his value really showed huh?
Nash also had a ? that was an ALL NBA first teamer on that WCF run last year, so idk why you acting like he's so great. what did he do after Amar'e left? -
Nash is a better shooter, scorer, and finisher at the rim, better handles too. Kidd has better Vision/passer, not by alot. Nash runs better offenses the Kidd.
Rose is an avg defender, but his team could live with tha because they were the best defensive and rebounding team in the league.
Nash won 2 less games then amare in the western coference this year ina rebuilding situation with 98 year old grant hill as his second best players. If he was in the east they'd be in the playoffs....Coo Coo Cal's Beanie wrote: »You're saying its not important to play defense as a PG and this is a guard driven league. A PG just won MVP lol. Your argument is ? . All positions matter when it comes to defense. Nash isnt vastly offensively superior to kidd. He's a better jumpshooter, but kidd is a better passer.
Mavs went to the finals after Nash left, i guess his value really showed huh?
Nash also had a ? that was an ALL NBA first teamer on that WCF run last year, so idk why you acting like he's so great. what did he do after Amar'e left? -
I never said all positions don't matter, I said they all are weighted differently in terms of importance. Mike Bibby is an atrocious defender...
Heat in the NBA finals.......
