Some of the best NBA teams ever fell short of a title, usually because of one bad series or one historically great opponent. This list covers single seasons, so a franchise like Golden State appears even though it has won other championships. Here are 10 teams that deserved better.
- 2015-16 Warriors (73-9). They set the record for regular-season wins but lost the Finals to Cleveland in seven games after leading 3-1, a lead no team had blown in the Finals before. See our look at the Warriors’ Big 3 era.
- 2006-07 Mavericks (67-15). The league’s best record ended in a first-round loss to the eighth-seeded Warriors in six games.
- 2008-09 Cavaliers (66-16). Cleveland lost to the Magic in six games in the Eastern Conference finals.
- 2017-18 Rockets (65-17). They lost the Western Conference finals to the Warriors in seven games.
- 1995-96 SuperSonics (64-18). Seattle won a franchise-record 64 games, beat Utah in seven games in the West finals, and then ran into Michael Jordan’s 72-10 Bulls, losing in six.
- 1996-97 Jazz (64-18). Karl Malone won the MVP, but Utah lost the Finals to Chicago in six games.
- 1997-98 Jazz (62-20). The Jazz had home-court advantage over the Bulls and won Game 1 in overtime, but lost again in six.
- 1992-93 Suns (62-20). Charles Barkley’s MVP season, averaging 25.6 points and 12.2 rebounds, led to a Finals loss to the Bulls in six.
- 2004-05 Suns (62-20). Steve Nash’s first MVP year ended in a 4-1 loss to the Spurs in the West finals.
- 2001-02 Kings (61-21). One outlet argues this is the team that most deserved a title. They lost a seven-game West finals to the Lakers.
Franchise-wide, the Charlotte Hornets are still without a championship, and the Suns, Jazz and others remain waiting. Rankings of near-misses are subjective, and records come from the sources below. For another way to measure greatness, see our list of NBA records that may never be broken.
Sources: BetMGM, Yardbarker, ESPN, Wikipedia, Basketball Network.