List of NBA franchise post-season droughts

This is a list of National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise post-season appearance droughts. This list includes the all-time and the active consecutive non-playoffs. Aside from the NBA playoff appearance droughts, this list also includes droughts of series wins, appearances in the NBA Finals and NBA championship wins. The oldest such franchise is the Suns (51 seasons), while the Royals/Kings and the Hawks have even longer championship droughts (68 and 61 seasons, respectively). Six franchises have never been to the NBA Finals, the highest number among the major North American sports.[1] The oldest such team is the Braves/Clippers franchise (49 seasons); the Kings and the Hawks have appearance droughts that are even longer (69 and 59 seasons, respectively). The longest a franchise has gone without appearing in the playoffs at all is 15 seasons: the Braves/Clippers franchise from 1977 to 1991.

Of the 19 franchises that have won an NBA championship, 8 have droughts of 37 seasons or more, which is to say that the past 37 championships have been shared among only 11 franchises: the Lakers (9), Bulls (6), Spurs (5), Celtics (3), Pistons (3), Heat (3), Warriors (3), Rockets (2), Mavericks (1), Cavaliers (1), and Raptors (1). By contrast, the other three major North American sports have each had at least 17 franchises become champions over the same period of time.[2][3]

Active droughts

NBA Playoffs appearance droughts

Appearance droughts updated through September 27, 2020.

Playoff picture at NBA.com[4]

^	Longest drought in team history
†	Tied for longest drought in team history

Seasons	Team	Last appearance in NBA playoffs	Reference
14	Sacramento Kings ^	2006 First Round	[5]
10	Phoenix Suns ^	2010 Western Finals	[6]
7	New York Knicks †	2013 Eastern Semifinals	[7]
4	Charlotte Hornets	2016 First Round	[8]
3	Chicago Bulls	2017 First Round	[9]
3	Atlanta Hawks	2017 First Round	[10]
3	Memphis Grizzlies	2017 First Round	[11]
2	Minnesota Timberwolves	2018 First Round	[12]
2	Washington Wizards	2018 First Round	[13]
2	New Orleans Pelicans	2018 Western Semifinals	[14]
2	Cleveland Cavaliers	2018 NBA Finals	[15]
1	Detroit Pistons	2019 First Round	[16]
1	San Antonio Spurs †	2019 First Round	[17]
1	Golden State Warriors	2019 NBA Finals	[18]
2020 Playoff teams
0	Portland Trail Blazers	2020 First Round	[19]
0	Brooklyn Nets	2020 First Round	[20]
0	Orlando Magic	2020 First Round	[21]
0	Dallas Mavericks	2020 First Round	[22]
0	Indiana Pacers	2020 First Round	[23]
0	Philadelphia 76ers	2020 First Round	[24]
0	Utah Jazz	2020 First Round	[25]
0	Oklahoma City Thunder	2020 First Round	[26]
0	Milwaukee Bucks	2020 Eastern Semifinals	[27]
0	Toronto Raptors	2020 Eastern Semifinals	[28]
0	Los Angeles Clippers	2020 Western Semifinals	[29]
0	Houston Rockets	2020 Western Semifinals	[30]
0	Denver Nuggets	2020 Western Finals	[31]
0	Boston Celtics	2020 Eastern Finals	[32]
0	Los Angeles Lakers	2020 NBA Finals	[33]
0	Miami Heat	2020 NBA Finals	[34]

NBA Playoffs series win droughts

Droughts updated through October 11, 2020.

Playoff picture at NBA.com[4]

0^0	Longest drought in team history
0♦0	Most consecutive series losses in team history
0§0	Equals most consecutive series losses in team history

Current Playoff series loss streak
Seasons since win	Team	Last series win in NBA Playoffs	Losing streak	Series losses – teams	Ref
16^[a]	Charlotte Hornets ^	2002 Eastern First Round	4 ♦	2002 New Jersey Nets 2010 Orlando 2014 Miami 2016 Miami	[8]
16	Sacramento Kings	2004 Western First Round	3	2004 Minnesota 2005 Seattle 2006 San Antonio	[5]
16	Minnesota Timberwolves ^	2004 Western Semifinals	2	2004 Los Angeles Lakers 2018 Houston	[12]
12	Detroit Pistons	2008 Eastern Semifinals	4	2008 Boston 2009 Cleveland 2016 Cleveland 2019 Milwaukee	[16]
10	Orlando Magic	2010 Eastern Semifinals	5	2010 Boston 2011 Atlanta 2012 Indiana 2019 Toronto 2020 Milwaukee	[21]
10	Phoenix Suns ^	2010 Western Semifinals	1	2010 Los Angeles Lakers	[6]
9	Dallas Mavericks	2011 Finals	5 ♦	2012 Oklahoma City 2014 San Antonio 2015 Houston 2016 Oklahoma City 2020 Los Angeles Clippers	[22]
7	New York Knicks	2013 Eastern First Round	1	2013 Indiana	[7]
6	Brooklyn Nets	2014 Eastern First Round	4	2014 Miami 2015 Atlanta 2019 Philadelphia 2020 Toronto	[20]
6	Indiana Pacers	2014 Eastern Semifinals	6	2014 Miami 2016 Toronto 2017 Cleveland 2018 Cleveland 2019 Boston 2020 Miami	[23]
5	Chicago Bulls	2015 Eastern First Round	2	2015 Cleveland 2017 Boston	[9]
5	Memphis Grizzlies	2015 Western First Round	2	2015 Golden State 2016 San Antonio 2017 San Antonio	[11]
4	Atlanta Hawks	2016 Eastern First Round	2	2016 Cleveland 2017 Washington	[10]
4	Oklahoma City Thunder	2016 Western Semifinals	5 ♦	2016 Golden State 2017 Houston 2018 Utah 2019 Portland 2020 Houston	[17]
3	Washington Wizards	2017 Eastern First Round	2	2017 Boston 2018 Toronto	[13]
3	San Antonio Spurs	2017 Western Semifinals	3	2017 Golden State 2018 Golden State 2019 Denver	[17]
2	New Orleans Pelicans	2018 Western First Round	1	2018 Golden State	[14]
2	Utah Jazz	2018 Western First Round	3	2018 Houston 2019 Houston 2020 Denver	[25]
2	Cleveland Cavaliers	2018 Eastern Finals	1	2018 Golden State	[15]
1	Philadelphia 76ers	2019 Eastern First Round	2	2019 Toronto 2020 Boston	[24]
1	Portland Trail Blazers	2019 Western Semifinals	2	2019 Golden State 2020 Los Angeles Lakers	[19]
1	Golden State Warriors	2019 Western Finals	1	2019 Toronto	[18]
z	30002020 Playoff Series	0 Winners	3000	3000
0	Toronto Raptors	2020 Eastern First Round	1	2020 Boston	[28]
0	Milwaukee Bucks	2020 Eastern First Round	1	2020 Miami	[27]
0	Houston Rockets	2020 Western First Round	1	2020 Los Angeles Lakers	[30]
0	Los Angeles Clippers	2020 Western First Round	1	2020 Denver	[29]
0	Boston Celtics	2020 Eastern Semifinals	1	2020 Miami	[32]
0	Denver Nuggets	2020 Western Semifinals	1	2020 Los Angeles Lakers	[31]
0	Miami Heat	2020 Eastern Finals	1	2020 Los Angeles Lakers	[34]
0	Los Angeles Lakers	2020 Finals	0	4 series win streak	[33]
Seasons Since win	Team	Last series win in NBA Playoffs	Losing Streak	Series Losses – Teams	Ref

^a Charlotte was inactive for two years following the 2001–02 season.

NBA Division Championship droughts

Updated through the 2019–20 season.

0^0	Longest drought in team history
0♦0	2019–20 Division Champion

Left click once on Seasons since win column heading then once on Division column heading
to show teams listed in order of division championships.

Franchise	Most recent title	Division	Seasons since win
Charlotte Hornets ^	None	Southeast	30
Memphis Grizzlies ^	None	Southwest	25
Philadelphia 76ers ^	2000–01	Atlantic	19
Sacramento Kings	2002–03	Pacific	17
Minnesota Timberwolves	2003–04	Northwest	16
Brooklyn Nets	2005–06	Atlantic	14
Phoenix Suns	2006–07	Pacific	13
New Orleans Pelicans ^	2007–08	Southwest	12
Detroit Pistons	2007–08	Central	12
Dallas Mavericks	2009–10	Southwest	10
Chicago Bulls	2011–12	Central	8
New York Knicks	2012–13	Atlantic	7
Indiana Pacers	2013–14	Central	6
Los Angeles Clippers	2013–14	Pacific	6
Atlanta Hawks	2014–15	Southeast	5
Oklahoma City Thunder	2015–16	Northwest	4
Boston Celtics	2016–17	Atlantic	3
San Antonio Spurs	2016–17	Southwest	3
Utah Jazz	2016–17	Northwest	3
Washington Wizards	2016–17	Southeast	3
Cleveland Cavaliers	2017–18	Central	2
Portland Trail Blazers	2017–18	Northwest	2
Orlando Magic	2018–19	Southeast	1
Golden State Warriors	2018–19	Pacific	1
Toronto Raptors ♦	2019–20	Atlantic	0
Milwaukee Bucks ♦	2019–20	Central	0
Miami Heat ♦	2019–20	Southeast	0
Denver Nuggets ♦	2019–20	Northwest	0
Los Angeles Lakers ♦	2019–20	Pacific	0
Houston Rockets ♦	2019–20	Southwest	0

NBA Conference Finals appearance droughts

^	Longest drought in team history

Seasons	Team	Last appearance in Conference Finals	Result	Reference
50	Los Angeles Clippers ^	0Never	z —	[29]
41	Washington Wizards ^^[c]	1979	Won vs. San Antonio	[13]
30	Charlotte Hornets ^	0Never	z —	[8]
20	New York Knicks	2000	Lost vs. Indiana	[7]
19	Philadelphia 76ers ^	2001	Won vs. Milwaukee	[24]
18	Sacramento Kings	2002	Lost vs. Los Angeles Lakers	[5]
18	New Orleans Pelicans ^	0Never	z —	[14]
17	Brooklyn Nets ^[d]	2003	Won vs. Detroit	[20]
16	Minnesota Timberwolves ^	2004	Lost vs. Los Angeles Lakers	[12]
13	Utah Jazz	2007	Lost vs. San Antonio	[25]
12	Detroit Pistons	2008	Lost vs. Boston	[16]
10	Orlando Magic	2010	Lost vs. Boston	[21]
10	Phoenix Suns	2010	Lost vs. Los Angeles Lakers	[6]
9	Chicago Bulls	2011	Lost vs. Miami	[9]
9	Dallas Mavericks	2011	Won vs. Oklahoma0Won vs. Oklahoma City0	[22]
7	Memphis Grizzlies	2013	Lost vs. San Antonio	[11]
6	Indiana Pacers	2014	Lost vs. Miami	[23]
5	Atlanta Hawks	2015	Lost vs. Cleveland	[10]
4	Oklahoma City Thunder	2016	Lost vs. Golden State	[26]
3	San Antonio Spurs	2017	Lost vs. Golden State	[17]
2	Cleveland Cavaliers	2018	Won vs. Boston	[15]
2	Houston Rockets	2018	Lost vs. Golden State	[30]
1	Milwaukee Bucks	2019	Lost vs. Toronto0	[27]
1	Toronto Raptors	2019	Won vs. Milwaukee0	[28]
1	Golden State Warriors	2019	Won vs. Portland0	[18]
1	Portland Trail Blazers	2019	Lost vs. Golden State	[19]
.85	Z2020 Conference Finalists	2019.5	zzz
0	Miami Heat	2020	Won vs. Boston	[34]
0	Boston Celtics	2020	Lost vs. Miami	[32]
0	Los Angeles Lakers	2020	Won vs. Denver	[33]
0	Denver Nuggets	2020	Lost vs. Los Angeles Lakers	[31]

NBA Finals appearance droughts

Seasons	Team	Last appearance in NBA Finals	Result	Reference
69	Sacramento Kings^[a]	1951	Won vs. New York	[5]
60	Atlanta Hawks^[b]	1961	Lost vs. Boston	[10]
50	Los Angeles Clippers	0Never	yyyy —	[29]
46	Milwaukee Bucks	1974	Lost vs. Boston	[27]
44	Denver Nuggets	0Never	yyyy—	[31]
41	Washington Wizards^[c]	1979	Lost vs. Seattle	[13]
31	Minnesota Timberwolves	0Never	yyyy—	[12]
30	Charlotte Hornets	0Never	yyyy—	[8]
28	Portland Trail Blazers	1992	Lost vs. Chicago	[19]
27	Phoenix Suns	1993	Lost vs. Chicago	[6]
25	Houston Rockets	1995	Won vs. Orlando	[30]
25	Memphis Grizzlies	0Never	yyyy—	[11]
22	Utah Jazz	1998	Lost vs. Chicago	[25]
22	Chicago Bulls	1998	Won vs. Utah	[9]
21	New York Knicks	1999	Lost vs. San Antonio	[7]
20	Indiana Pacers	2000	Lost vs. Los Angeles Lakers	[23]
19	Philadelphia 76ers	2001	Lost vs. Los Angeles Lakers	[24]
18	New Orleans Pelicans	0Never	yyyy—	[14]
17	Brooklyn Nets^[d]	2003	Lost vs. San Antonio	[20]
15	Detroit Pistons	2005	Lost vs. San Antonio	[16]
11	Orlando Magic	2009	Lost vs. Los Angeles Lakers	[21]
10	Boston Celtics	2010	Lost vs. Los Angeles Lakers	[32]
9	Dallas Mavericks	2011	Won vs. Miami	[22]
8	Oklahoma City Thunder	2012	Lost vs. Miami	[26]
6	San Antonio Spurs	2014.52014	Won vs. Miami	[17]
2	Cleveland Cavaliers	2018	Lost vs. Golden State	[15]
1	Toronto Raptors	2019	Won vs. Golden State	[28]
1	Golden State Warriors	2019	Lost vs. Toronto	[18]
0	Z2020 Finalists	2018.5	zzz
0	Los Angeles Lakers	2020	Won vs. Miami	[33]
0	Miami Heat	2020.5 2020	Lost vs. Los Angeles Lakers	[34]

^a The Sacramento Kings last appeared in the 1951 NBA Finals as the Rochester Royals.
^b The Atlanta Hawks last appeared in the 1961 NBA Finals as the St. Louis Hawks.
^c The Washington Wizards last appeared in the 1979 Conference Finals and NBA Finals as the Washington Bullets.
^d The Brooklyn Nets last appeared in the 2003 Conference Finals and NBA Finals as the New Jersey Nets.

NBA championship title droughts

Seasons	Team	Last NBA championship	Reference
69	Sacramento Kings^[a]	1951	[5]
62	Atlanta Hawks^[b]	1958	[10]
52	Phoenix Suns	0Never	[6]
50	Los Angeles Clippers	0Never	[29]
49	Milwaukee Bucks	1971	[27]
47	New York Knicks	1973	[7]
46	Utah Jazz	0Never	[25]
44	Denver Nuggets	0Never	[31]
44	Brooklyn Nets	0Never	[20]
44	Indiana Pacers	0Never	[23]
43	Portland Trail Blazers	1977	[19]
42	Washington Wizards^[c]	1978	[13]
41	Oklahoma City Thunder^[d]	1979	[26]
37	Philadelphia 76ers	1983	[24]
31	Orlando Magic	0Never	[21]
31	Minnesota Timberwolves	0Never	[12]
30	Charlotte Hornets	0Never	[8]
25	Houston Rockets	1995	[30]
25	Memphis Grizzlies	0Never	[11]
22	Chicago Bulls	1998	[9]
18	New Orleans Pelicans	0Never	[14]
16	Detroit Pistons	2004	[16]
12	Boston Celtics	2008	[32]
9	Dallas Mavericks	2011	[22]
7	Miami Heat	2013	[34]
6	San Antonio Spurs	2014	[17]
4	Cleveland Cavaliers	2016	[15]
2	Golden State Warriors	2018	[18]
1	Toronto Raptors	2019	[28]
ZDefending NBA champion
0	Los Angeles Lakers	2020	[33]

^a The Sacramento Kings last won an NBA championship in 1951 as the Rochester Royals.
^b The Atlanta Hawks last won an NBA championship in 1958 as the St. Louis Hawks.
^c The Washington Wizards last won an NBA championship in 1978 as the Washington Bullets.
^d The Oklahoma City Thunder last won an NBA championship in 1979 as the Seattle SuperSonics.

All-time droughts

Closest approaches without winning

Updated through the 2020 playoffs.

Last team to leave list – Toronto Raptors 2019
Team	Conference Quarter-Final appearances	Conference Semi-Final appearances	Conference Final appearances	NBA Final appearances	Fewest wins short of NBA Championship
Brooklyn Nets	21	7	2	2	02 wins short : 2003
Indiana Pacers	27	10	8	1	02 wins short : 2000
Phoenix Suns	26	18	9	2	02 wins short : 1976, 1993
Utah Jazz	29	16	6	2	02 wins short : 1997, 1998
Orlando Magic	16	5	4	2	03 wins short : 2009
Denver Nuggets	24	10	4		06 wins short : 1978, 2009
Minnesota Timberwolves	9	1	1		06 wins short : 2004
Memphis Grizzlies	10	3	1		08 wins short : 2013
Los Angeles Clippers	13	8			9 wins short : 1975, 2006, 2015, 2020
New Orleans Pelicans	7	2			9 wins short : 2008
Charlotte Hornets	10	4			9 wins short : 2001

Longest post-season droughts in team history

Updated through the 2019–20 season.

0^0	Denotes active drought

Team	Longest streak with no post-season appearances	Seasons
Los Angeles Clippers	1976–77 through 1990–91	15
Sacramento Kings ^	2006–07 through 2019–20	14
Minnesota Timberwolves	2004–05 through 2016–17	13
Golden State Warriors	1994–95 through 2005–06	12
Dallas Mavericks	1990–91 through 1999–2000	10
Phoenix Suns ^	2010–11 through 2019–20	10
Utah Jazz	1974–75 through 1982–83	9
Washington Wizards	1988–89 through 1995–96	8
Memphis Grizzlies	1995–96 through 2002–03	8
Denver Nuggets	1995–96 through 2002–03	8
Atlanta Hawks	1999–2000 through 2006–07	8
New York Knicks^	1959–60 through 1965–66 2012–13 through 2019–20	7
Oklahoma City Thunder	1967–68 through 1973–74	7
Milwaukee Bucks	1991–92 through 1997–98	7
Philadelphia 76ers	1991–92 through 1997–98	7
Cleveland Cavaliers	1998–99 through 2004–05	7
Portland Trail Blazers	1970–71 through 1975–76	6
Detroit Pistons	1977–78 through 1982–83 2009–10 through 2014–15	6
Boston Celtics	1995–96 through 2000–01	6
Chicago Bulls	1998–99 through 2003–04	6
Orlando Magic	2012–13 through 2017–18	6
Los Angeles Lakers	2013–14 through 2018–19	6
Houston Rockets	1969–70 through 1973–74	5
Indiana Pacers	1981–82 through 1985–86	5
Brooklyn Nets	1986–87 through 1990–91 & 2007–08 through 2011–12	5
Charlotte Hornets	2004–05 through 2008–09	5
Toronto Raptors	2008–09 through 2012–13	5
Miami Heat	1988–89 through 1990–91	3
New Orleans Pelicans	2004–05 through 2006–07 2011–12 through 2013–14	3
San Antonio Spurs ^	1983–84 1986–87 1988–89 1996–97 2019–20	1

Team	Longest streak with no post-season series wins	Seasons
Los Angeles Clippers	1976–77 through 2004–05	29
Washington Wizards	1982–83 through 2003–04	22
Sacramento Kings	1981–82 through 1999–2000	19
Indiana Pacers	1976–77 through 1992–93	17
Brooklyn Nets	1984–85 through 2000–01	17
Milwaukee Bucks	2001–02 through 2017–18	17
Charlotte Hornets ^	2004–05 through 2019–20	16
Minnesota Timberwolves ^	2004–05 through 2019–20	16
New York Knicks	1953–54 through 1967–68	15
Cleveland Cavaliers	1976–77 through 1990–91	15
Golden State Warriors	1991–92 through 2005–06	15
Memphis Grizzlies	1995–96 through 2009–10	15
Denver Nuggets	1994–95 through 2007–08	14
Toronto Raptors	2001–02 through 2014–15	14
Detroit Pistons	1962–63 through 1974–75	13
Portland Trail Blazers	2000–01 through 2012–13	13
Dallas Mavericks	1988–89 through 1999–2000	12
Orlando Magic	1996–97 through 2006–07	11
Houston Rockets	1997–98 through 2007–08	11
Phoenix Suns	2010–11 through 2019–20	10
Utah Jazz	1974–75 through 1982–83	9
Boston Celtics	1992–93 through 2000–01	9
Atlanta Hawks	1999–2000 through 2007–08	9
New Orleans Pelicans	2008–09 through 2016–17	9
Philadelphia 76ers	1968–69 through 1975–76 & 2003–04 through 2010–11	8
Miami Heat	1988–89 through 1995–96	8
Chicago Bulls	1998–99 through 2005–06	8
Oklahoma City Thunder	1967–68 through 1973–74	7
Los Angeles Lakers	2012–13 through 2018–19	7
San Antonio Spurs	1983–84 through 1988–89	6

Longest NBA Playoffs appearance droughts

Appearance droughts updated through the 2019–20 season.

^	Denotes active drought

Streak	Team	NBA Playoffs appearance droughts	Reference
15 seasons	Los Angeles Clippers^[a]	1977–1991	[29]
14 seasons	Sacramento Kings ^	2007–2020	[5]
13 seasons	Minnesota Timberwolves	2005–2017	[12]
12 seasons	Golden State Warriors	1995–2006	[18]
10 seasons	Dallas Mavericks	1991–2000	[22]
10 seasons	Phoenix Suns	2011–2020	[6]
9 seasons	Utah Jazz^[b]	1975–1983	[25]
9 seasons	Golden State Warriors	1978–1986	[18]
9 seasons	Sacramento Kings	1987–1995	[5]
8 seasons	Washington Bullets	1989–1996	[13]
8 seasons	Denver Nuggets	1996–2003	[31]
8 seasons	Memphis Grizzlies^[c]	1996–2003	[11]
8 seasons	Los Angeles Clippers	1998–2005	[29]
8 seasons	Atlanta Hawks	2000–2007	[10]

^a Streak included Buffalo Braves 1977–78 seasons, and San Diego Clippers 1979–84 seasons.
^b Streak included New Orleans Jazz 1975–79 seasons.
^c Streak included Vancouver Grizzlies 1996–2001 seasons.

Longest Conference finals droughts

Appearance droughts updated through September 3, 2020. The current Conference Finals format was introduced in 1971.

^	Denotes active drought
†	Year the team joined the NBA

Seasons	Team	NBA Conference Finals appearance droughts	Reference
50	Los Angeles Clippers ^ ^[a]	001971 ^†0– present	[29]
44	Atlanta Hawks	1971 – 2014	[10]
41	Washington Wizards ^^[b]	1980 – present	[13]
38	Golden State Warriors	1977 – 2014	[18]
30	Charlotte Hornets ^ ^[c]	001989 ^†0– present	[8]
25	New Jersey Nets ^[d]	001977 ^†0– 2001	[20]
23	Denver Nuggets	1986 – 2008	[31]
20	Toronto Raptors	01996 ^† – 2015	[28]
20	Sacramento Kings ^[e]	1982 – 2001	[5]

^a Streak includes seasons as Buffalo Braves and San Diego Clippers.
^b Team last qualified for the Conference Finals as Washington Bullets.
^c Franchise inactive for two seasons between 2002 and 2004.
^d Current Brooklyn Nets; includes one season as New York Nets.
^e Includes four seasons as Kansas City Kings.

Finals droughts

NBA Finals in which neither team had previously won a championship

In these instances, the matchup ensured that one team would win the first NBA championship in its history.

0*0	Both Teams in 1st NBA Finals appearance

Season	Won	Lost	Number of years until drought ended
2006*	Miami Heat	Dallas Mavericks	5
1978	Washington Bullets	Seattle SuperSonics (OKC)	1
1971*	Milwaukee Bucks	Baltimore Bullets (WAS)	7
1957*	Boston Celtics	St. Louis Hawks (ATL)	1
1955	Syracuse Nationals (PHI)	Fort Wayne Pistons (DET)^	34
1951*	Rochester Royals (SAC)^	New York Knicks	19
1949*	Minneapolis Lakers (LAL)^	Washington Capitols†	defunct 2 years later
1947*	Philadelphia Warriors (GSW)	Chicago Stags†	defunct 3 years later

^- Team had previously appeared in the National Basketball League finals before said league was merged for the NBA's formation.
†- Defunct franchise.
Abbreviation in parentheses – Current location of NBA franchise.

NBA Finals in which neither franchise had won a championship in 20-plus seasons

Teams that had never won the NBA championship are included, even if they were less than 20 seasons old at the time.

Season	Won	Drought (seasons)	Lost	Drought (seasons)
2015	Golden State Warriors	39	Cleveland Cavaliers	44*
2006	Miami Heat	17*	Dallas Mavericks	25*
1999	San Antonio Spurs	22*	New York Knicks	25
1994	Houston Rockets	26*	New York Knicks	20
1978	Washington Bullets	16*	Seattle SuperSonics	10*
1971	Milwaukee Bucks	2*	Baltimore Bullets	9*
1957	Boston Celtics	10*	St. Louis Hawks	7*
1955	Syracuse Nationals	5*	Fort Wayne Pistons	6*
1951	Rochester Royals	2*	New York Knicks	4*
1949*	Minneapolis Lakers	*	Washington Capitols	2*
1947	Philadelphia Warriors	*	Chicago Stags	*

Numbers marked with * indicates that the number is counted from either the franchise's first year in the NBA or the first year of the league (1946, then known as the BAA).

Teams awaiting their first NBA championship

This list includes teams within the current NBA that have never won an NBA championship—sorted by the number of seasons played in the NBA.

Last team to leave list – Toronto Raptors 2019
Total seasons (NBA)	Franchise	Last NBA Finals appearance
52 seasons	Phoenix Suns (1969–present)	1993
50 seasons	Los Angeles Clippers§ (1971–present)	—
46 seasons	Utah Jazz§ (1975–present)	1998
44 seasons	Denver Nuggets (1977–present)	—
44 seasons	Indiana Pacers‡ (1977–present)	2000
44 seasons	Brooklyn Nets§‡ (1977–present)	2003
31 seasons	Minnesota Timberwolves (1990–present)	—
31 seasons	Orlando Magic (1990–present)	2009
30 seasons	Charlotte Hornets† (1989–2002; 2005–present)	—
25 seasons	Memphis Grizzlies§ (1996–present)	—
18 seasons	New Orleans Pelicans† (2003–present)	—

Notes

§ NBA teams that have relocated from their original city(s).
† NBA teams that have re-branded to/from their original concept.
‡ NBA teams that have won an ABA championship.

Cities awaiting first NBA championship

Listed according to seasons waited. Current NBA cities/regions only.

Last city to leave list: Toronto, 2019
City	Seasons waited	Conference Title(s)	NBA Team(s)
Phoenix	52	1976, 1993	Phoenix Suns (1969–present)
Atlanta	52	None	Atlanta Hawks (1969–present)
Denver	44	None	Denver Nuggets (1977–present)
Indianapolis	44	2000	Indiana Pacers (1977–present)
Salt Lake City	41	1997, 1998	Utah Jazz (1980–present)
Sacramento	35	None	Sacramento Kings (1986–present)
Orlando	31	1995, 2009	Orlando Magic (1990–present)
Charlotte	30	None	Charlotte Hornets (1989–2002; 2015–present) Charlotte Bobcats (2005–2014)
New Orleans	23	None	New Orleans Jazz (1974–1979) New Orleans Hornets (2003–2013) New Orleans Pelicans (2014–present)
Memphis	19	None	Memphis Grizzlies (2002–present)
Oklahoma City	14	2012	2 New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets seasons (2006–2007) Oklahoma City Thunder seasons (2008–present)

NBA Championship droughts by division

Division	Last NBA Championship	Seasons
Northwest Division‡	1979 — SuperSonics†	41
Southeast Division	2013 — Heat	7
Southwest Division	2014 — Spurs	6
Central Division	2016 — Cavaliers	4
Atlantic Division	2019 — Raptors	1
Pacific Division	2020 — Lakers	0

Notes

‡ The last time a team playing in the present-day Northwest Division won an NBA Championship.
† The SuperSonics won this NBA Championship as part of the Pacific Division. The team has relocated to Oklahoma City as the Oklahoma City Thunder.

References

General

"Team Index". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved October 11, 2009.

Specific

Newberry, Paul (May 10, 2015). "NBA: NFL has most parity, NBA is most exclusive club when it comes to winning titles". Associated Press. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
Major League Baseball has 22 different franchises that have won championships and have droughts of less than 37 years; the National Football League has 18 such franchises, and the National Hockey League has 17 such franchises.
Aldridge, David (June 6, 2015). "Warriors close in on title ... and keep NBA history afloat". NBA.com. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
"Playoff picture". NBA.com. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
"Sacramento Kings". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
"Phoenix Suns". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
"New York Knicks". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
"Charlotte Hornets". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
"Chicago Bulls". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
"Atlanta Hawks". basketball-reference.com. Archived from the original on January 19, 2009. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
"Memphis Grizzlies". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
"Minnesota Timberwolves". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
"Washington Wizards". basketball-reference.com. Archived from the original on June 25, 2012. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
"New Orleans Pelicans". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
"Cleveland Cavaliers". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
"Detroit Pistons". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
"San Antonio Spurs". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
"Golden State Warriors". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
"Portland Trail Blazers". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
"Brooklyn Nets". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
"Orlando Magic". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
"Dallas Mavericks". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
"Indiana Pacers". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
"Philadelphia 76ers". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
"Utah Jazz". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
"Oklahoma City Thunder". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
"Milwaukee Bucks". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
"Toronto Raptors". basketball-reference.com. Archived from the original on July 28, 2012. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
"Los Angeles Clippers". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
"Houston Rockets". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
"Denver Nuggets". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
"Boston Celtics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
"Los Angeles Lakers". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
"Miami Heat". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.

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[1] Newberry, Paul (May 10, 2015). "NBA: NFL has most parity, NBA is most exclusive club when it comes to winning titles". Associated Press. Retrieved June 19, 2016.

[2] Major League Baseball has 22 different franchises that have won championships and have droughts of less than 37 years; the National Football League has 18 such franchises, and the National Hockey League has 17 such franchises.

[3] Aldridge, David (June 6, 2015). "Warriors close in on title ... and keep NBA history afloat". NBA.com. Retrieved June 19, 2016.

[Playoffs-4] "Playoff picture". NBA.com. Retrieved March 19, 2018.

[SAC-5] "Sacramento Kings". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.

[PHO-6] "Phoenix Suns". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.

[NYK-7] "New York Knicks". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.

[CHA-8] "Charlotte Hornets". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.

[CHI-9] "Chicago Bulls". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.

[ATL-10] "Atlanta Hawks". basketball-reference.com. Archived from the original on January 19, 2009. Retrieved July 1, 2012.

[MEM-11] "Memphis Grizzlies". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.

[MIN-12] "Minnesota Timberwolves". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.

[WAS-13] "Washington Wizards". basketball-reference.com. Archived from the original on June 25, 2012. Retrieved July 1, 2012.

[NOP-14] "New Orleans Pelicans". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.

[CLE-15] "Cleveland Cavaliers". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.

[DET-16] "Detroit Pistons". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.

[SAS-17] "San Antonio Spurs". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.

[GSW-18] "Golden State Warriors". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.

[POR-19] "Portland Trail Blazers". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.

[BKN-20] "Brooklyn Nets". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.

[ORL-21] "Orlando Magic". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.

[DAL-22] "Dallas Mavericks". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.

[IND-23] "Indiana Pacers". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.

[PHI-24] "Philadelphia 76ers". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.

[UTA-25] "Utah Jazz". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.

[OKC-26] "Oklahoma City Thunder". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.

[MIL-27] "Milwaukee Bucks". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.

[TOR-28] "Toronto Raptors". basketball-reference.com. Archived from the original on July 28, 2012. Retrieved July 1, 2012.

[LAC-29] "Los Angeles Clippers". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.

[HOU-30] "Houston Rockets". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.

[DEN-31] "Denver Nuggets". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.

[BOS-32] "Boston Celtics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.

[LAL-33] "Los Angeles Lakers". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.

[MIA-34] "Miami Heat". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.

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