22) Dikembe Mutombo (2001, 2003) 

Mutombo had an iconic moment in his 1994 postseason debut, leading the #8 seed Nuggets to a stunning upset of the SuperSonics. The shot blocking legend made it back to the playoffs 12 more times but that never included a title. He made two NBA Finals appearances, both as a hired gun in the back half of his career. First up was when Mutombo was traded mid-season from the Hawks to the 76ers in ’00-’01. He led all players in rebounds and blocks in the 2001 playoffs but was no match (who was?) for Shaquille O’Neal in the NBA Finals. A year later, the Nets made a trade for Mutombo’s services. He was part of the 2003 Finals run with New Jersey but only in a limited capacity due to a sprained wrist, and the Nets fell in the NBA Finals to the Spurs.

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

The ’99-’00 Pacers were a veteran bunch with seven players aged 30+. But for six of them it was an NBA Finals debut, including Miller and Mullin. Miller had been toiling away with Indiana for 13 seasons at that point, developing a legendarily clutch playoffs reputation but never in the championship round. Mullin was a relatively new addition to the roster, traded to the Pacers in 1997 after spending his first 12 seasons with the Warriors. Golden State won just three playoff series in that decade-plus for Mullin, and never past the second round. The Pacers made a valiant effort in the 2000 Finals but had no chance against the Lakers and their burgeoning dynasty. Neither Miller nor Mullin returned to the Finals again. Both players did at least earn Olympic gold medals during their career, Mullin in 1992 and Miller in 1996.

19) Gus Johnson (1971)

In a rare Red Auerbach misstep, he selected Bill Green in the first round of the 1963 draft over Johnson. Green never played an NBA game, quitting before his rookie season due to aerophobia. Johnson had a Hall of Fame career with the Bullets but missed out on what would have likely been multiple titles with Boston. Instead, he appeared in the NBA Finals just once, getting swept by the Bucks in 1971. That ’70-’71 season was Johnson’s last at an All-Star level, as years of wear-and-tear were beginning to deteriorate his knees. By the time the Bullets returned to the NBA Finals in 1975, Johnson was long gone. Though an NBA title was never in the cards, Johnson did finish his pro career helping the Pacers win the 1973 ABA title.

18) George Yardley (1955, 1956)

A black cloud hangs over the 1955 NBA Finals, which Yardley’s Pistons lost to the Syracuse Nationals in a tight seven game series. The Pistons held a 3-2 series lead but blew double-digit second half advantages in games six and seven, due to a series of preventable errors. Several Pistons players then either retired or otherwise left the franchise after the season ended. All of it seemed linked to former Pistons player Jack Molinas, who was serving a lifetime NBA ban for point shaving and had known ties to organized crime. Yardley himself called out the suspicious circumstances, but the result held. A repeat trip to the Finals in 1956 ended with a Pistons loss to the Warriors and no excuses for “Yardbird.” He retired in 1960 after just seven seasons and no title.

17) Lenny Wilkens (1961)

How cruel is it for a legend like Wilkens to reach the NBA Finals in his rookie year, then never return? Even worse, his Hawks team made it as far as the Conference Finals four times in the next six seasons without breaking through. That rookie Finals appearance was a trial by fire for Wilkens, matching up and struggling against the legendary Bob Cousy. He performed much better in the postseason thereafter, but his Hawks could never overcome the Lakers or Warriors when it mattered. After the Hawks traded him to Seattle in 1968, Wilkens never even made a playoff appearance again over his final seven seasons, let alone an NBA Finals one. He did finally earn a title ring in 1979, as head coach of the SuperSonics.

16) Penny Hardaway (1995)

One or championships seemed like an inevitability for the Magic when they teamed up rising stars Shaquille O’Neal and Hardaway. Instead, it lasted just three years and included nothing but heartbreak. Orlando entered the 1995 NBA Finals as favorites but the young core wilted in a sweep loss to the Rockets. Hardaway was just 23 years old at the time but would never play in the Finals again. After a Conference Finals loss to the Bulls in 1996, O’Neal departed for the Lakers and Hardaway’s struggles began. The rest of his career was marked by injuries, clashes with coaches, and first round playoff exits. In his one return to the second round of the postseason, Hardaway’s Suns were cruelly eliminated by O’Neal’s Lakers.

15) Shawn Kemp (1996)

Still only 26 years old at the time, Kemp showed superstar potential in the 1996 NBA Finals, battling for six games against the unstoppable Bulls. To remain title contenders for the foreseeable, the Sonics seemingly just had to keep their star duo of Kemp and Gary Payton together and happy. They screwed that up immediately, lavishing a huge contract on free agent stiff Jim McIlvaine rather than extended Kemp’s meager contract. Kemp spent the remainder of his career about as disgruntled as any NBA player has ever been. He skipped training camp, ballooned in weight, and was banished to the far reaches of Cleveland via trade. Following that incredible 1996 performance, Kemp made just four more playoff appearances in his career, three of them first round exits.

14) Kevin Johnson (1993)

For 11 straight seasons, Johnson was the Suns’ starting point and for 11 straight seasons, the Suns made the playoffs. It’s a singular run at the position that only John Stockton can overtake in terms of longevity and frustration. ’92-’93 was the peak, when Johnson teamed up with Charles Barkley to reach the NBA Finals. But the star point guard was quietly dealing with a hernia and struggled in that Finals loss to the Bulls. Johnson 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 game four loss. Health issues would continue for the rest of his career and in Johnson’s final five seasons, the Suns made five playoff appearances but won only one series.

13) Adrian Dantley (1988)

In the same summer the Lakers drafted Magic Johnson and the “Showtime” dynasty began, they also traded a young Dantley to the Jazz. They would reunite nine years later, when Dantley’s Pistons faced the Lakers in an intense NBA Finals. In between, Dantley spent seven seasons in Utah. Over that span, he collected as many scoring titles as he did playoff appearances, two. Traded to Detroit in 1986, Dantley was billed as a missing piece for the “Bad Boys,” a reliable wing scorer. Instead, Dantley found himself blamed when the Pistons suffered a crushing defeat in those 1988 Finals. In a full circle moment, he was once again traded by an impending champion, with the Pistons shipping Dantley to the Mavericks during the ’88-’89 season.

12) Nate Thurmond (1964, 1967)

For those keeping score at home, Thurmond is the second of three players on this list, along with Lenny Wilkens and Elgin Baylor, to start as a rookie for an NBA Finals team, lose, and ultimately never win a title. A rookie Thurmond played in the front court alongside Wilt Chamberlain in ’63-’64, when the Warriors lost to the Celtics in the Finals. Thurmond teamed up with Ricky Barry for a return Finals trip in 1967, this time facing off against Chamberlain’s 76ers. Thurmond put up a valiant fight against his former teammate but it wasn’t enough to overcome an all-time great Sixers team. In one of his final playoff appearances, Thurmond’s Bulls lost in the 1975 Conference Finals to the Warriors, which still featured many of his former teammates.

“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 a 2013 auction of his personal effects.”

11) George McGinnis (1977)

There certainly was no issue for McGinnis winning ABA championships. The Pacers won it all in his rookie season, ’71-’72, then repeated in 1973 with McGinnis earning Playoffs MVP. He jumped ship for the NBA in 1975 and soon found himself on another title contender. Teaming up with former ABA rival Julius Erving, McGinnis was a key part of Philadelphia’s 1977 NBA Finals run. But the man nicknamed “Baby Bull” for his incredible power met his match in those Finals, getting pushed around by Portland’s Maurice Lucas. McGinnis’ career never really recovered and he was jettisoned by the Sixers after a 1978 Conference Finals loss. He later returned to the Pacers but with much different results, making just one playoff appearance in three seasons, a first round loss.

10) Tracy McGrady (2013)

If he attended Kentucky as originally planned, McGrady would have been a freshman on the 1998 NCAA title team. He opted to enter the 1997 NBA Draft instead and in his rookie year, 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. Technically, he did so in 2009 with the Rockets but McGrady was sidelined that postseason after knee surgery. The two-time scoring champ was never the same after that injury and finished his career as a journeyman. He was a surprise addition to the 2013 Spurs playoff roster and would have retired a champion if not for Ray Allen’s miraculous basket that swung the NBA Finals that year.

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. Each has the same specific tormentor, Stephen Curry and the Warriors. Golden State eliminated Harden’s Rockets in the 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019 playoffs, often in heartbreaking fashion. Westbrook’s Thunder came up short against the Warriors in the postseason just once, but it was one of the most brutal losses in NBA history, blowing a 3-1 series lead in the 2016 Conference Finals. Harden and Westbrook reunited on the Rockets in ’19-’20 only to taste postseason disappointment again, losing a secod round series against the Lakers.

7) Dwight Howard (2009)

Few expected Howard and the Magic to defeat the Lakers in the 2009 NBA Finals, but it seemed like just the start of something big for the star center and his franchise. Only 23 years old at the time, Howard was already a Defensive Player of the Year winner and MVP contender and put on an all-around clinic in a Conference Finals upset of the Cavaliers. Orlando made it back to the brink of the Finals in 2010 but everything fell apart from there. After first round playoff losses in 2011 and 2012, Howard demanded a trade and got it. His individual performances have fallen off a cliff since that trade to the Lakers and he has seemingly continually made his teams worse. The former star does seem to be embracing a secondary role on a title contender in ’19-’20 with the Lakers and might be poised to remove himself from this list.

6) John Stockton (1997, 1998)

It was an odd fate for Stockton, making his NBA Finals debut at age 35 with his skills starting to falter. That 1997 Finals run came in Stockton’s 13th season and for the first time in over a decade, he had failed to lead the league in assists. But the Jazz finally broke through after three prior Conference Finals losses and Stockton sent them to the Finals in dramatic fashion, nailing a buzzer beater to clinch the Conference Finals. Utah was no match for the Bulls that year, nor in the return engagement in 1998. Stockton played for five more seasons after that and the Jazz failed to advance past the Conference Semifinals each time. He still stands as the all-time leader in postseason assists and second in games played without a championship.

5) Allen Iverson (2001)

Few players have carried their team to the NBA Finals so single-handedly as Iverson did in 2001. Both his 32.9 points per game and his 36.8% usage rate are the second highest single postseason post-merger totals for a player whose team lost in the Finals (trailing only LeBron James in both). It makes sense in a weird way, as later attempts to pair Iverson with a second All-Star like Carmelo Anthony failed spectacularly. Undermanned and written off multiple times, the Sixers survied the Raptors and Bucks in succession, then stole game one in Los Angeles in the NBA Finals, handing the Lakers their only loss of that postseason. 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)

As is the case for many on this list, Ewing’s ultimate championship impediment was Michael Jordan. Ewing’s Knicks lost to Jordan’s Bulls in one first round series, three Conference Semifinals, and most heartbreakingly in the 1993 Conference Finals. When Jordan wasn’t acting as Ewing’s foil, Reggie Miller and the Pacers filled the void, eliminating the Knicks three times between 1995 and 2000. Ewing had one run of revenge and glory in 1994. The Knicks defeated the (Jordan-less) bulls and the Pacers to reach the NBA Finals, only to lose in seven games to the Rockets. When New York returned to the Finals again in 1999, Ewing was sidelined by an Achilles’ injury, from which he never fully recovered. One thing Ewing does have that’s unique on this list is his NCAA title, earned with Georgetown in 1984, the same year he won his first of two Olympic gold medals.

3) Charles Barkley (1993)

Most people think of Barkley when they consider players who tragically never won a ring, probably because his current TNT co-workers love to not-so-subtly remind him. Drafted in 1984 by a 76ers team just one year removed from an NBA title, Barkley was expected to be the turnkey of a new era of dominance in Philadelphia. Instead, he 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. That was followed by heartbreaking Conference Semifinals series losses to the Rockets in 1994 and 1995, the latter of which included the Suns blowing a 3-1 series lead. Barkley joined forces with the Rockets in response but only found more anguish in a 1997 Conference Finals loss to the Jazz.

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

In a career that included eight NBA Finals appearances without a title, the most crushingly bitter postseason for Baylor was one in which he didn’t participate. After Baylor retired early in the ’71-’72 season, the Lakers immediately embarked on a historic 33-game win streak, en route to one of the greatest title runs in NBA history. 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 of a 2013 auction of his personal effects. Baylor’s eight NBA Finals appearances without a title is far-and-away the most in NBA history; next up is Larry Foust with five. But it wasn’t just about quantity but also quality. In the 1962 NBA Finals, he put one of the greatest all-time performances in a losing effort, averaging 40.1 points per game, including a record 61 in game five.

1) Karl Malone (1997, 1998, 2004)

After 18 years and no titles with the Jazz, Malone signed with the Lakers in 2003 to chase his elusive ring. Not only did the 40-year-old Malone walk away still ring-less, he embarrassed himself in the process. Malone was significantly sidelined with an injury for the first time in his career, reportedly sexually harassed Vanessa Bryant, and ended his career with a “DNP – Coach’s Decision” in the NBA Finals, which the Lakers lost in an upset to the Pistons. Malone had plans to play the ’04-’05 season with the title-contending Spurs but had to retire instead after knee surgery. He still stands as the all-time leader in MVPs (two, tied with Steve Nash), All-Star nods (14), 1st-Team All-NBA designations (11), playoff appearances (19, tied with John Stockton), playoff games, playoff rebounds, and playoff points without a championship.