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 36 seasons or more, which is to say that the past 36 championships have been shared among only 11 franchises: the Lakers (8), 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 16 franchises become champions over the same period of time.[2][3]

Active droughts

NBA Playoffs appearance droughts

Appearance droughts updated through 2018-19 regular season.

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

All-time droughts

Closest approaches without winning

Updated through the 2019 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	20	7	2	2	02 wins short : 2003
Indiana Pacers	26	10	8	1	02 wins short : 2000
Phoenix Suns	26	18	9	2	02 wins short : 1976, 1993
Utah Jazz	28	16	6	2	02 wins short : 1997, 1998
Orlando Magic	15	5	4	2	03 wins short : 2009
Denver Nuggets	23	9	3		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	12	7			9 wins short : 1975, 2006, 2015
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 August 14, 2020.

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 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 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	[30]
14 seasons	Sacramento Kings ^	2007–2020	[5]
13 seasons	Minnesota Timberwolves	2005–2017	[13]
12 seasons	Golden State Warriors	1995–2006	[22]
10 seasons	Dallas Mavericks	1991–2000	[8]
10 seasons	Phoenix Suns	2011–2020	[6]
9 seasons	Utah Jazz^[b]	1975–1983	[32]
9 seasons	Golden State Warriors	1978–1986	[22]
9 seasons	Sacramento Kings	1987–1995	[5]
8 seasons	Washington Bullets	1989–1996	[14]
8 seasons	Denver Nuggets	1996–2003	[31]
8 seasons	Memphis Grizzlies^[c]	1996–2003	[12]
8 seasons	Los Angeles Clippers	1998–2005	[30]
8 seasons	Atlanta Hawks	2000–2007	[11]

• ^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 the 2018-19 regular season. 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	[30]
44	Atlanta Hawks	1971 – 2014	[11]
41	Washington Wizards ^^[b]	1980 – present	[14]
38	Golden State Warriors	1977 – 2014	[22]
30	Charlotte Hornets ^ ^[c]	001989 ^†0– present	[9]
25	New Jersey Nets ^[d]	001977 ^†0– 2001	[17]
23	Denver Nuggets	1986 – 2008	[31]
20	Toronto Raptors	01996 ^† – 2015	[24]
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 till 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
Pacific Division	2018 — Warriors	2
Atlantic Division	2019 — Raptors	1

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.

See also

• List of NBA franchise post-season streaks
• List of National Basketball Association longest losing streaks
• List of National Basketball Association longest winning streaks
• List of Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise post-season droughts
• List of National Football League (NFL) franchise post-season droughts
• List of National Hockey League (NHL) franchise post-season droughts
• List of Major League Soccer (MLS) club post-season droughts

References

General

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

Specific

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 18 different franchises that have won championships and have droughts of less than 32 years; the National Football League has 16 such franchises, and the National Hockey League has 15 such franchises.
3. Aldridge, David (June 6, 2015). "Warriors close in on title ... and keep NBA history afloat". NBA.com. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
4. "Playoff picture". NBA.com. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
5. "Sacramento Kings". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
6. "Phoenix Suns". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
7. "New York Knicks". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
8. "Dallas Mavericks". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
9. "Charlotte Hornets". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
10. "Chicago Bulls". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
11. "Atlanta Hawks". basketball-reference.com. Archived from the original on January 19, 2009. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
12. "Memphis Grizzlies". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
13. "Minnesota Timberwolves". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
14. "Washington Wizards". basketball-reference.com. Archived from the original on June 25, 2012. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
15. "New Orleans Pelicans". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
16. "Cleveland Cavaliers". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
17. "Brooklyn Nets". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
18. "Orlando Magic". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
19. "Detroit Pistons". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
20. "San Antonio Spurs". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
21. "Portland Trail Blazers". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
22. "Golden State Warriors". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
23. "Milwaukee Bucks". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
24. "Toronto Raptors". basketball-reference.com. Archived from the original on July 28, 2012. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
25. "Los Angeles Lakers". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
26. "Boston Celtics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
27. "Miami Heat". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
28. "Indiana Pacers". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
29. "Philadelphia 76ers". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
30. "Los Angeles Clippers". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
31. "Denver Nuggets". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
32. "Utah Jazz". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
33. "Oklahoma City Thunder". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
34. "Houston Rockets". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.