22) Dikembe Mutombo (2001, 2003) 

Though he played in two NBA Finals, Mutombo’s most iconic postseason moment came in a first round series in 1994, when he fell to the ground clutching the ball and screaming in exhalation after his #8 seed Nuggets stunned the top-seeded SuperSonics. Denver lost in their ensuing second round series against Utah and that was their deepest playoff run in his five seasons there. Mutombo’s first NBA Finals trip came in ’00-’01, when he was traded to the 76ers at the deadline and slotted in as their starting center, replacing the injured Theo Ratliff. Though he hardly slowed down Finals MVP Shaquille O’Neal and Philly dropped the Finals series to the Lakers in five games, Mutombo was one of the stars of that postseason, leading all players in total rebounds and blocks. One year later he was traded again to a title contender, this time the Nets, but due to a sprained wrist played just limited minutes in the 2003 playoffs, backing up Jason Collins as the Nets lost in the NBA Finals to San Antonio. His career eventually ended in 2009, when the then 42-year-old Mutombo had to be carried off the court after injuring his knee during a playoffs game.

21) Reggie Miller (2000)
20) Chris Mullin (2000)

When the ’99-’00 Pacers finally reached the NBA Finals after Conference Finals losses in 1994, 1995, 1998, and 1999, their 11-man rotation featured seven players in their 30s, and only one, Sam Perkins, with previous NBA Finals experience. That Finals berth was a culmination of 13 years of toiling for Miller, who spent his entire career with Indiana developing a legend as a clutch postseason performer but not a champion. At age 34, he had a lost a step or two but was still effective, averaging 18.1 points per game in ’99-’00. The same couldn’t be said for the 36-year-old Mullin, who had come to the Pacers in 1997 after 12 seasons with the Warriors that included only five playoff appearances, with three second round exits and two first round losses to show for it. Though the Pacers made a valiant effort, especially Miller, who averaged 24.3 points per game in the series, they fell to the Lakers in six games. Mullin subsequently returned to Golden State for one last season, missing the playoffs. Miller continued on through ’04-’05 but made it back to the Conference Finals just once more, losing to the Pistons in 2004. Both players did at least earn Olympic gold medals during their career, Mullin in 1992 and Miller in 1996. Other longtime Pacers stalwarts who were featured on that ’99-’00 team and eventually retired without a title ring include Dale Davis, Rik Smits, Jalen Rose, Derrick McKey, and Mark Jackson.

19) Gus Johnson (1971)

In a rare Red Auerbach misstep, he skipped over Johnson in the 1963 first round to take the similarly skilled Bill Green, who quit the Celtics before his rookie season due to aerophobia. Selected by the Bullets two picks later, Johnson went on to have a Hall of Fame career but missed out on what would have likely been multiple titles with Boston. Instead, he made just one NBA Finals appearance in 1971 with the Bullets, when they were swept by the Bucks. Johnson averaged 18.2 points and 17.1 rebounds per game that season but fell off a cliff the next year as years of wear-and-tear took their toll on his knees. In nine NBA seasons, Johnson averaged at least 16+ points and 13+ rebounds per game six times, was an All-Star five times, and was 2nd-Team All-NBA four times. In addition to his Finals trip in 1971, he helped the Bullets reach the Conference Finals in 1965, and the Conference Semifinals on four other occasions. Though an NBA title was never in the cards, Johnson did get a celebrate a championship at the end of his career. He joined the Pacers late in the ’72-’73 ABA season and came off the bench as they defeated the Kentucky Colonels for the title.  

18) George Yardley (1955, 1956)

A black cloud still hangs over the 1955 NBA Finals, which Yardley’s Fort Wayne Pistons lost to the Syracuse Nationals in a tight seven game series. The Pistons held a three-games-to-two lead, but blew double-digit second half advantages in games six and seven, which ended with a Pistons inbounds pass that seemed almost intentionally turned over to a Nationals defender to clinch it. Several Pistons players either retired or otherwise left the franchise after the season ended, which may have been a coincidence but Yardley saw it as suspicious. He openly indicted both teammates and officials, citing not just the suspect behaviors but also potential ties to former Piston Jack Molinas, who was now a known organized crime associate. The Pistons returned to the NBA Finals in 1956 but despite seemingly no funny business this time and Yardley averaging 24.8 points and 15.2 rebounds per game in the series, they lost in five games to the Warriors. The star player known as “Yardbird” played just seven seasons in the NBA, reaching the playoffs each time and as far as the Conference Finals on four occasions, but never broke through and won a title.

17) Lenny Wilkens (1961)

How cruel is it for a star player like Wilkens to reach the NBA Finals in his rookie year, then never return to the championship series? Adding insult to injury, his Hawks team made it as far as the Conference Finals four times in the next six seasons, including seven game losses to the Lakers in 1963 and 1966. His rookie year appearance in the NBA Finals was a trial by fire, matching up against the legendary Bob Cousy on the Celtics, and Wilkens struggled in a blowout game one loss, scoring just six points on 3-of-10 shooting. The Celtics put the series away in five and that was the end of Wilkens’ Finals experiences for the rest of his career. In fact, after a 1968 trade to Seattle, the nine-time All-Star never even made it back to the postseason in his final seven seasons with the Sonics, Cavaliers, and Blazers. He did eventually earn a championship ring as a coach, leading the Sonics to glory in ’78-’79.

16) Penny Hardaway (1995)

When the Magic selected him third overall in 1993 and slotted him directly into the starting lineup with Shaquille O’Neal, one or more titles for Hardaway in Orlando seemed like a matter of when, not if. Instead, it was basically all over three years later, as the Magic lost in the NBA Finals in 1995 to the Rockets in a sweep, were swept again in the Conference Finals in 1996 by the Bulls, and O’Neal then departed for Los Angeles. The rest of Hardaway’s career was marked by injuries, clashes with coaches, and playoff disappointments that always fell short of even a Conference Finals return engagement. In his final 11 seasons in the league, the closest Hardaway came to a title was in ’99-’00 with the Suns, when he helped lead a first round upset of the Spurs only to get cruelly swept by O’Neal’s Lakers in round two.

15) Shawn Kemp (1996)

With 23.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, 1.3 steals, and numerous feats of athletic prowess per game, Kemp cemented himself as an emerging superstar in the 1996 NBA Finals. Though his Sonics lost in six games to the Bulls, even Michael Jordan had to later admit that Kemp was an unstoppable force in the series. Even though the West was loaded at the time, Seattle just had to keep the Kemp and Gary Payton duo together and happy to stay title contenders for several years. Then, they screwed that up almost immediately, lavishing a ton of money on free agent stiff Jim McIlvaine rather than extending Kemp’s meager contract. This rightfully disgruntled the star forward and in 1997, after a second round playoffs exit, he was traded to Cleveland, where his career quickly started to fall apart. Ballooning in weight and declining in stats, the Reign Man made just three more postseason appearances in his career, all of them first round losses.

14) Kevin Johnson (1993)

Traded from the Cavaliers to the Suns as a rookie, Johnson missed the playoffs that year but never again in his remaining 11 seasons in Phoenix. There were Conference Finals appearances in 1989 and 1990 and an epic run to the NBA Finals in 1993, but never a title. In that ’92-’93 season, Johnson teamed up with Charles Barkley as a dynamic offensive duo but was quietly dealing with the effects of a hernia that hampered him down the stretch, most notably in the NBA Finals loss to Chicago. He totaled just 15 points and eight assists in the first two games of the series, both Suns defeats, then committed a crucial turnover late in a tight game four loss. Health issues would continue for the rest of his career, which Johnson spent entirely with Phoenix until his 2000 retirement. In those 11 seasons, Johnson and the Suns lost in the NBA Finals just that once (1993), the Conference Finals twice (1989 and 1990), the Conference Semifinals three times (1994, 1995, and 2000, every time against the eventual champion), and the Conference Quarterfinals five times.

13) Adrian Dantley (1988)

After 11 seasons in the NBA, it wasn’t the prolific scoring champ version Dantley that got to participate in the NBA Finals but rather the efficient veteran who gave up his own stats for the good of the team. That contender was the Pistons, who acquired him via trade in 1986, and though he fell well off from his league-leading pace of 30.6 points per game from ’83-’84, Dantley did lead Detroit in scoring in ’86-’87 and ’87-’88. His opponent in the 1988 NBA Finals was the Lakers, the team that had traded him away to the Jazz in 1979 just before the Showtime dynasty started. Despite his 21.3 points per game in the series, the Pistons fell in seven games. Then, he was once again traded by an impending champion, as Detroit shipped him off to the Mavericks during the ’88-’89 season for Mark Aguirre.

12) Nate Thurmond (1964, 1967)

Like Lenny Wilkens, Thurmond got to play in the NBA Finals as a rookie and could only assume he’d eventually return and win it all. But after 13 seasons and seven All-Star appearances, he retired without that elusive title. Forming a “twin towers” with Wilt Chamberlain, Thurmond was the starting power forward on the ’63-’64 Warriors that lost to Bill Russell’s Celtics in the NBA Finals. When Chamberlain was then traded to the 76ers, Thurmond shifted to his more natural center position and teamed up with Rick Barry to lead San Francisco back to the Finals again. This time they matched up against his former teammate Chamberlain and Philadelphia. Thurmond arguably went pound-for-pound with the reigning two-time MVP in the series but the rest of the Warriors just couldn’t keep up against a Sixers team that’s now considered one of the greatest of all time. After 11 seasons with the Warriors Thurmond was traded to the Bulls, only to then lose to his former Golden State teammates in the 1975 Western Conference Finals. 

“[Elgin] Baylor technically did win a championship ring for his contributions that season, but lest you think that meant much to him, consider that it was the centerpiece item in an auction of his personal effects that went on sale in 2013.”

11) George McGinnis (1977)

There certainly was no issue for McGinnis in winning ABA championships. His Pacers won the title in his rookie year, ’71-’72, then he was named Playoffs MVP when they repeated in ’72-’73. In ’74-’75, McGinnis was awarded league MVP and led Indiana back to the ABA Finals where they lost to the Kentucky Colonels. McGinnis then jumped ship for the NBA, joining the 76ers team that had drafted him two years prior. He eventually teamed up with former ABA rival Julius Erving as the best forward combo of the late ’70s and they reached the 1977 NBA Finals but lost to the Blazers. Nicknamed “Baby Bull” for his immaculate physique, McGinnis finally met his match in the Finals that year in the herculean Maurice Lucas and struggled in the series. After the Sixers lost in the 1978 Conference Finals to Washington, McGinnis made just one more playoff appearance in 1981, a first round loss with his original employers, the Pacers.

10) Tracy McGrady (2013)

If he had attended Kentucky as originally planned, McGrady would have been a freshman on the ’97-’98 NCAA title team. He opted to enter the 1997 NBA Draft straight out of high school instead and in his rookie season the Raptors lost 66 games. Things improved from there but in his first 15 seasons, not only did McGrady never play in an NBA Finals, he never even advanced to the second round of the playoffs. First round losses happened with the Raptors in 2000, then the Magic in 2001, 2002, and 2003, followed by disappointments with the Rockets in 2005, 2007, and 2008. When Houston finally broke through to the Conference Semifinals in 2009, it was without McGrady, who was sidelined after knee surgery. The former two-time scoring champion was never the same after that injury and seemed destined to join our list of greatest players without a Finals appearance during late career stints with non-contenders the Hawks, Knicks, and Pistons. But he finally got his chance in ’12-’13, signing late in the season with the Spurs and logging some garbage time minutes in the Finals as they lost a heartbreaking seven games series to Miami.

9) James Harden (2012)
8) Russell Westbrook (2012)

A 2012 NBA Finals loss to the Heat seemed like just a bump in the road at the time for the young and talented Thunder. But eight years later, former Oklahoma City teammates Harden and Westbrook are still being vexed in their quest for an elusive title. Things began to go south immediately after that Finals, when the Thunder front office opted to trade Harden to the Rockets rather than lose him a year later in free agency. While he was toiling away in Houston, carrying an otherwise mediocre roster until Chris Paul came along, Westbrook was trading off major injuries with his superstar teammate Kevin Durant, causing the Thunder to continually fall short in the postseason. Especially heartbreaking were Conference Finals losses to the Spurs in 2014 and the Warriors in 2016, blowing a 3-1 series lead in the latter, only to watch Durant join Golden State as a free agent the ensuing summer. Now the lead offensive weapon, Westbrook had an all-time great individual season for the Thunder in ’16-’17, earning MVP after becoming just the second player ever to average a triple-double. But Oklahoma City lost in the postseason first round for three consecutive years after Durant skipped town. Meanwhile, the Rockets re-shaped around Harden, who earned his own league MVP award in 2018, but kept coming up short against the Warriors in the playoffs, losing to them in the 2015 Conference Finals, 2016 Conference Quarterfinals, 2018 Conference Finals, and 2019 Conference Semifinals. Harden and Westbrook came full circle in ’19-’20, getting reunited on the Rockets only to taste postseason disappointment again, losing to the Lakers in the Conference Semifinals in the bubble.

7) Dwight Howard (2009)

Winning Defensive Player of the Year, finishing fourth in MVP voting, and leading the Magic to the 2009 NBA Finals seemed like the start of something big for Howard, who was still just 23 years old at the time. He averaged 20.3 points, 15.2 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game in that postseason and led Orlando to a stunning Conference Finals upset of LeBron James and the Cavaliers, seemingly setting up a rivalry for years to come. Though Howard was just as good in ’09-’10 and Orlando made it back to the Conference Finals, those two seasons would turn out to be the peak of his career, both individually and as part of a team. Orlando management was unable to maintain a contending roster around their star center, which led Howard to eventually demand a trade. He was dealt to the Lakers in 2012 and seemingly fell off a cliff over the next couple seasons, from once-in-a-generation talent to serviceable role player. There was a Conference Finals appearance with the Rockets in 2015, but Howard’s teams have otherwise lost in the first round or missed the playoffs altogether since 2010. With the former star seemingly finally embracing a secondary role on a title contender in ’19-’20 with the Lakers, he seems poised to possibly remove himself from the list in the bubble.

6) John Stockton (1997, 1998)

19 years, 19 playoff appearances, two NBA Finals trips, and 1,839 postseason assists, but no title for Stockton. For whatever reason, his best statistical seasons tended to coincide with short playoff runs for Utah. In ’88-’89 he averaged 27.3 points and 13.7 assists per game as the Jazz were upset in the first round as a #2 seed by the Warriors. Then, in ’89-’90 he compiled 75 assists in just five games as the Jazz were knocked out in the Conference Quarterfinals again, this time by Phoenix. Conference Finals losses followed in 1992, 1994, and 1996 before Stockton finally reached the NBA Finals in 1997. He got there in dramatic fashion, nailing a buzzer beater to eliminate the Rockets in the Conference Finals, and played well in the NBA Finals loss to Chicago. But at age 35 he had lost a step by then and averaged less than 11 assists per game in ’96-’97 for the first time in a decade. The veteran point guard was showing his age even more in ’97-’98 as the Jazz made a return trip and lost again to the Bulls in the Finals. Utah failed to advance past the second round in Stockton’s final five seasons and since his 2003 retirement, he still stands as the all-time leader in postseason assists and second in games played (behind his longtime teammate Karl Malone) without a championship.

5) Allen Iverson (2001)

It seems even more improbable in retrospect that Iverson was able to carry such a limited 76ers roster to the 2001 NBA Finals. After Iverson’s 32.9 points per game, the next leading playoffs scorer was Aaron McKie with 14.6 per game. The leading rebounder was a 34-year-old (though still effective) Dikembe Mutombo, while career role players like Eric Snow, Jumaine Jones, and George Lynch factored heavily into the rotation. But in a weird way, maybe it made the most sense, as later attempts to pair Iverson with a second All-Star like Chris Webber or Carmelo Anthony failed spectacularly. Undermanned and written off multiple times, the Sixers toppled the Raptors in seven games in the Conference Semifinals, upset the Bucks in the Conference Finals, then stole game one in Los Angeles in the NBA Finals, handing the Lakers their only loss of that postseason before the series was finished off in five games. Aside from ’00-’01, Iverson’s deepest playoff runs were all second round losses, in 1999, 2000, and 2003. He is tied with George Gervin for most scoring titles without winning a championship, with four.

4) Patrick Ewing (1994)

Michael Jordan dashing title hopes features heavily on this list, but especially for Ewing. His Knicks lost to Jordan’s Bulls in the Conference Quarterfinals in 1991, the Conference Semifinals in 1989, 1992, and 1996, and the especially difficult pill to swallow, a Conference Finals war in 1993 that ended with Charles Smith getting blocked four times by Chicago defenders. When Jordan wasn’t acting as Ewing’s foil, Reggie Miller and the Pacers filled the void, defeating New York in the Conference Semifinals in 1995 and 1998, and the Conference Finals in 2000. Between each of these disappointments, and his 1999 Achilles’ injury that left him sidelined for the Finals, Ewing had one run of revenge and glory in 1994. His Knicks defeated the (Jordan-less) Bulls in the second round, then Miller and the Pacers in the Conference Finals, setting up a showdown with the Rockets in the NBA Finals. Most people remember the series for Hakeem Olajuwon’s dominance and the O.J. Simpson police chase overshadowing game five, but Ewing held his own in a losing effort. One thing he did accomplish that no one else on this list did was an NCAA title, earned in 1984 with Georgetown (the same year he also won his first of two Olympics gold medals).

3) Charles Barkley (1993)

His is the career most people think of first when they consider players who tragically never won a ring, probably because his current co-workers on TNT love to not-so-subtly remind Barkley of that fact. Drafted in 1984 by a 76ers team just one year removed from an NBA title, Barkley was expected to be the turnkey in Philadelphia from the early ’80s dominance of Julius Erving. The team made it back to the Conference Finals in 1985 but things fell apart from there as Erving aged rapidly and Moses Malone left town for the Bullets. Barkley toiled for years carrying subpar Sixers rosters before finally getting traded to a contender in Phoenix in 1992. In his first season with the Suns, he won MVP and led the team to the NBA Finals, losing a tough six-game series against the Bulls. After Michael Jordan’s retirement, Phoenix seemed primed to break through and win a title but instead they lost heartbreaking Conference Semifinals series against the Rockets in 1994 and 1995. The latter was especially painful, as the Suns were the higher seed and held a 3-1 series lead, but lost games five and seven at home to be eliminated. Taking to the old adage of if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em, Barkley was traded to Houston in 1996 to team up with Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, but just found more heartbreak, with a Conference Finals loss to the Jazz in 1997.

2) Elgin Baylor (1959, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970)

Despite all the near-misses, including eight NBA Finals appearances without a title, perhaps the most crushingly bitter season of Baylor’s career was one in which he didn’t even appear in the playoffs. That would be Baylor’s final season, ’71-’72, when his ravaged knees forced him to retire nine games into the season, after a Halloween night loss to the Warriors. In their very next game, the Lakers embarked on a 33-game winning streak, still an NBA record, kicking off one of the greatest seasons in NBA history, which ended with the franchise’s first title in Los Angeles. Baylor technically did win a championship ring for his contributions that season, but lest you think that meant much to him, consider that it was the centerpiece item in an auction of his personal effects that went on sale in 2013. His eight NBA Finals appearances without a title is far-and-away the most in NBA history; next up is Larry Foust with five, followed by four players with four each, including Baylor’s longtime teammates Rudy LaRusso and Keith Erickson. It wasn’t just quantity with Baylor but also quality, most notably his incredible 1962 NBA Finals performance, one of the greatest all-time in a losing effort, averaging 40.1 points per game and setting a still-standing record by scoring 61 in game five.

1) Karl Malone (1997, 1998, 2004)

The ’03-’04 Lakers are quickly becoming a mere footnote in NBA history but they were easily one of the most interesting teams of the modern era. Moored by Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, whose deteriorating relationship infected the rest of the roster, they also featured two certified ring-chasers in the 40-year-old Malone and a 35-year-old Gary Payton. Malone missed half the season due to a knee injury but was effective when he did play, seemingly adjusting well to the triangle offense and averaging what were career low stats, but respectable ones for a player of his age. He also created his own set of distractions for the team by reportedly harassing Bryant’s wife right in the midst of Bryant dealing with the legal ramifications of being accused of sexual assault. Despite the carnival atmosphere and injury woes, Los Angeles cruised into the playoffs as the #2 seed, and held off the Spurs and Timberwolves en route to the NBA Finals, where they were the favorites against Detroit. Then the Lakers offense fell downright anemic in the series, as Detroit strolled to a five-game upset victory. Malone played limited minutes in the series and sat out game five as a coach’s decision. He attempted to play one more season with the Spurs but was forced to retire that summer due to complications from a knee surgery. He holds the records for most MVPs (two, tied with Steve Nash), All-Star appearances (14), 1st-Team All-NBA appearances (11), and playoff appearances (19, tied with John Stockton) without a championship.