Which NBA Teams Have Never Won a Championship?

Winning an NBA championship is the dream of every NBA player, and it is the primary goal of an NBA franchise. Because they just don’t earn the championship title, but they also earn a spot in basketball history. Each NBA franchise works their butts off so that they might have a chance to win the NBA championship. You don’t know how committed each franchise is and how badly they want that title. 

However, some NBA teams are unlucky to win at least one NBA championship. Yes, winning an NBA championship is difficult because there are a total of 30 NBA teams to compete for that title in one season. Each team’s chances to win the title vary on how good their lineup is. If the team’s lineup sucks, then they most likely have a low chance to grab the championship title. 

We are going to talk about some NBA teams that haven’t won a championship. To give you an introduction, let me list below the teams that have never won a championship. The NBA teams that have never won a championship are:

• Indiana Pacers
• Charlotte Hornets
• Brooklyn Nets
• Memphis Grizzlies 
• Utah Jazz
• Phoenix Suns
• New Orleans Pelicans
• Los Angeles Clippers
• Denver Nuggets
• Orlando Magic
• Minnesota Timberwolves

What Is An NBA Championship Title?

An NBA championship title is a reward rewarded to a certain NBA team who managed to win the NBA finals. 

The NBA consists of two conferences, the Eastern and Western Conference. The total team who competes for the championship title is 30, 15 teams in each conference. Each NBA team has a total of 82 games where each team tries to get a spot in the playoffs. Only a total of 8 teams in each conference can clinch into the playoffs. 

Related Article: How Do NBA Playoffs Works?

The two teams who will compete for the NBA finals are the teams who won in the Eastern and Western Conference Finals. The NBA finals have a total of seven games, and the first team who won four games will win the NBA championship title.

NBA Teams With No Championship Title

As I have mentioned above, there are a total of 11 NBA teams who haven’t won a single championship. Let me give you some facts about these teams who haven’t won an NBA championship.

Related Article: NBA Team With Most NBA Championship

1. Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers are an American basketball team based in Indianapolis. They compete in the NBA as a member of the Eastern Conference Division. The Pacers were first established in 1967, and they were a member of the American Basketball Association before they became a member of the NBA in 1976. They won a league-best 3 ABA championships. 

The Indiana Pacers haven’t won an NBA championship title. They had a chance last 2000 where Reggie Miller led them to the finals to face off the dynamic duo of the Lakers, Shaq, and Kobe. However, Kobe and Shaq were so unstoppable, and they are the dominant duo in the league at that time. The shooting skills of Reggie Miller have no match for these dynamic duo’s skills.

2. Charlotte Hornets

The Charlotte Hornets are part of the NBA, and they are based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They compete in the NBA as a part of the Easter Conference division. The Hornets are mainly owned by the greatest of all time, Michael Jordan. 

The Hornets were an expansion team started in 1988 and they have been re-established again last 2004 as the Charlotte Bobcats. They renamed their franchise into Charlotte Hornets last 2013. 

The notable players who played for this franchise are Larry Johnson, Alonzo Mourning, Glen Rice, and Muggsy Bogues. However, this team hasn’t won an NBA championship title since they have established. 

3. Brooklyn Nets

The Brooklyn Nets compete in the NBA and they are part of the Eastern Conference Division. They are based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Brooklyn Nets was established in 1967 as a charter franchise of the ABA. They played in New Jersey as the New Jersey Americans before they relocated to New York. After relocation to New York in 1968, they changed their franchise name to New York Nets. They also changed their franchise name in 1977 to New Jersey Nets. 

The Nets have won two consecutive Eastern Conference championships led by Jason Kidd, but they failed to win the NBA championship title. They moved to the Barclays center in 2012 and changed their name to Brooklyn Nets. 

4. Memphis Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies compete in the NBA as a member of the Western Conference Division. They were originally established as the Vancouver Grizzlies as an expansion team in 1988. They moved to Memphis after the 2000 NBA season. 

The Memphis Grizzlies managed to get a spot in the NBA finals in 1997 and 1998. However, because of the Chicago Bulls’ dynasty, they lost the opportunity to win back-to-back titles.

5. Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz is an NBA team based in Salt Lake City. They are the members of the Western Conference Division. The Utah Jazz played like an expansion team in 1974 as the New Orleans Jazz and moved to Salt Lake in 1979. 

The two notable players that have played for the Utah Jazz in the late 1980s were Karl Malone and John Stockton. This dynamic duo showed that they can compete in the league. It looks unbelievable that this Jazz team hasn’t won an NBA championship at that time where they had their dynamic duo. 

Like the other teams above, the Utah Jazz had a chance to win two consecutive NBA titles. However, they have no match against the Chicago Bulls’ dynasty. 

6. Phoenix Suns

The Phoenix Suns is part of the NBA league based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the NBA as part of the Western Conference Division. The Suns began to play in 1968 as an expansion team. 

The Phoenix Suns first made it to the finals in 1976 but lost to the Boston Celtics. In 1993, they again had a chance to win an NBA final led by Charles Barkley and Kevin Johnson. However, they only became a snack for the Chicago Bulls.

7. New Orleans Pelicans

The New Orleans Pelicans are part of the NBA, and they are in the Western Conference Division. They were established in 2002 as the New Orleans Hornets. The Pelicans renamed the franchise as Pelicans in 2013. 

They have won one division title and managed to make the playoffs seven times but have never been into the NBA finals. 

8. Los Angeles Clippers

The Los Angeles Clippers compete in the NBA as part of the Western Conference Division. They were an expansion team called the Buffalo Braves in 1970. The Clippers became the San Diego Clippers and became the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Los Angeles Clippers had a strong lineup over the past ten years until today. The best season they had when Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and Deandre Jordan played into their team. They have reached the playoffs many times but never get past the Western Conference Finals. 

9. Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets compete in the NBA, and they are part of the Western Conference Division. They were founded as the Denver Larks in 1967 as a franchise of the ABA. The Nuggets made it to the finals in 1976 but lost to the New York Knicks. 

They had a chance to get into the NBA finals where Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups led the Nuggets. However, they couldn’t get past the Los Angeles Lakers and Kobe Bryant.  

In this year in the bubble, Jokic and Murray led the Nuggets to the Western Conference Finals. But history repeats itself because they lost against the Lakers again, but this time it was led by Lebron James. 

10. Orlando Magic

Orlando Magic competes in the NBA as part of the Eastern Conference Division. They were an expansion team in 1989. 

Shaquille O’neal is the best center they had. Shaq led the Orlando Magic to the NBA finals in 1995, but they had no match against the Houston Rockets that were led by Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Dexter. The Orlando Magic made it again in the NBA finals last 2009 but lost against the Lakers and Kobe Bryant. 

11. Minnesota Timberwolves

The Minnesota Timberwolves compete in the NBA as part of the Western Conference Division. They were founded as an expansion team in the late 80s.

In 1995, the Minnesota Timberwolves made it to the playoffs eight years in a row that were led by Kevin Garnett. They also became the victim of the Los Angeles Lakers in 2004 where they had a chance to reach the NBA finals. 

You notice that the Oklahoma City Thunder is missing from the list. Why? Yes. they haven’t won any single NBA championship in the NBA as the OKC. However, the franchise has won a championship title as the Seattle Supersonics.

Final Verdict

The long list of NBA teams that haven’t won a single championship proved that it is really difficult to win an NBA title. Yes, it is indeed difficult to reach the conference finals, but it is much harder to reach the NBA finals. That is why every time the season ends, each NBA team tries to make a lineup that can compete through the next season by signing a talented young player in the NBA draft, or by signing a free agent player that will give value to their franchise. 

Which of these NBA teams that haven’t won an NBA title do you think can grab a title in the coming years? Comment your answers in the comments section below!