Every NBA team's most successful era that didn't result in a title

The Mike Budenholzer era in Atlanta was special. The peak came in the 2014-15 season: The Hawks won 60 games, had the best record in the Eastern Conference, and sent Al Horford, Paul Millsap, Jeff Teague, and Kyle Korver to the All-Star game. Their deepest postseason run came that year, when they made the Eastern Conference Finals but got swept by LeBron James and the Cavaliers.

Under coach Brad Stevens, the Celtics transformed from one of the NBA's worst teams to one of its best. Imported stars Isaiah Thomas, Kyrie Irving, Al Horford, and Kemba Walker defined the era, but so too did the rise of homegrown talent Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Before Stevens made his move to Boston's front office, he led the team during a four-year stretch where they made the conference finals three times.

In 2002, Jason Kidd was a close second in MVP voting behind Tim Duncan. His Nets were on fire during that season and the next one, reaching the Finals in both years. Despite a strong supporting cast featuring Kenyon Martin, Richard Jefferson, and Kerry Kittles, the Nets couldn't overcome the challenges presented first by the Lakers and then the Spurs to go all the way.

The Hornets don't have a prosperous history full of success stories. They did hit a high point, though, shortly before moving to New Orleans, built on a core of Baron Davis, Jamal Mashburn, and P.J. Brown. These teams were competitive, but they ultimately never made it beyond the conference semifinals.

Third-year guard Derrick Rose reached a new level in 2011, becoming the youngest player in NBA history to win the MVP trophy. The Bulls, under coach Tom Thibodeau, were great for that year and the next few that followed, too. They made the Eastern Conference Finals in 2011, but after that, thanks in part to Rose's knee issues, they remained competitive but never got that far before Chicago fired Thibs in 2015.

LeBron James was perhaps the most hyped NBA prospect ever while still in high school and Cleveland placed a lot of hope in Ohio's own. LeBron immediately made the Cavs one of the league's most exciting teams, but LeBron's NBA journey mirrored that of Michael Jordan in that it took years to win his first championship. He didn't do it in Cleveland, either, but in his second season after relocating to Miami.

After getting drafted in 1999, it took a few years for Dirk to blossom into the perennial All-Star he would eventually become. Once that happened, though, the Mavericks were one of the most consistently excellent teams in the NBA. 2007 was a particular highlight, as the team won 67 games and Nowitzki was the league's MVP, but they suffered a shocking upset to the No. 8-seeded Warriors in the first round of the playoffs. It wouldn't be until a few years later, in 2011, that the Mavs would go all the way.

During Carmelo Anthony's time in Denver, he was one of the league's best scorers and the Nuggets were routinely one of the best teams in the West. That said, they rarely made deep playoff runs, except for in 2009. They went all the way to the Western Conference Finals but had the misfortune of running into the eventual-champion Lakers.

The Pistons won it all in 2004, but even though they remained great in the years that followed, they couldn't quite pull off a second title. They made it back to the conference finals in each of the next few years, even returning to the Finals in 2005, where they lost a tough 7-game series against the Spurs. Coach Flip Saunders was fired after the 2008 season, Chauncey Billups was traded in 2009, and by 2010, Detroit was one of the league's worst teams.

Steve Kerr has been the coach of the Warriors for over a decade, but for three years before him, it was Mark Jackson's show. That era coincided with the emergence of Stephen Curry as a star and subsequent improved records year after year. They never made a deep playoff run, though, saving those for when Kerr took over.

The "Twin Towers" duo of Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson was menacing in the mid-'80s. The Rockets were good, reaching the Finals in 1986 but losing to the Celtics in six games. In the 1988 season, though, Sampson was traded and it would be a few more years until the Rockets would go all the way, winning in 1994 and '95.

Reggie Miller never managed to win a title, but he had his best chances around the latter half of the '90s. Under coaches Larry Brown and Larry Bird, the Pacers reached the conference finals in 1994, 1998, and 2000. They had their best shot in the 2000s when the reached the Finals, but they ultimately couldn't overcome Shaq and Kobe's dominant Lakers.

The Clippers had a pair of big-time stars together for a few years with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, and they even added James Harden in 2024. These teams were routinely solid, making it as far as the conference finalsin 2021. They never reached the heights they hoped to, though, with regular injuries to Leonard and George playing a significant role.

Before Phil Jackson took over as coach of the Lakers in the 2000 season and led the team to all those championships, Shaq and Kobe were on the team for three years together under coach Del Harris. That Lakers iteration didn't quite break through during this era, as Kobe had yet to develop into a star. They had 56- and 61-win seasons, though, including a conference finals appearance in 1998, but never went all the way until Phil grabbed the reins.

The "Grit and Grind" Grizzlies of the 2010s got by on their tough, physical defense, which was enough to make them a consistent playoff threat. Led by guys like Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph, Mike Conley, and defensive star Tony Allen, Memphis upset the Thunder in 2013 before getting swept by the Spurs in the conference finals. This run remains the Grizzlies' best-ever shot at a title, as they haven't claimed one before or since, having not advanced past the conference semifinals since that 2013-14 campaign.

The Jimmy Butler-led Heat were routinely one of the biggest underdogs of the early 2020s. Despite relatively middling records in 2020 and 2023, the teams somehow managed to reach the Finals in both of those seasons. They lost both times, but these squads remain one of the biggest surprises of the era.

The '80s were full of stars, so Sidney Moncrief has perhaps been overlooked historically. Not only was he a 20-a-game All-Star for much of the decade, but he won Defensive Player Of The Year back-to-back in 1983 and '84. While he didn't claim a title, he did have the Bucks in either the conference finals or semifinals every year from 1981 to '86.

For over a decade, Kevin Garnett was the face of the Timberwolves, winning the MVP award in 2004. For the majority of his time with the team, though, Minnesota either didn't make the postseason or was ousted in the first round. That changed in KG's MVP season, though, when they made it all the way to the conference finals before the Lakers took care of them in six games.

The then-Hornets got a shot in the arm with the arrival of Chris Paul, who quickly became one of the NBA's best point guards. Their best shot was in '08, when Paul was a close second in MVP voting behind Kobe Bryant and he powered New Orleans to 56 wins. They got stopped, though, in seven games by the Spurs in the Conference Semifinals.

Patrick Ewing was one of the most dominant centers of the '90s and he made his Knicks pretty great, too. In the '90s, those teams made the conference finals four times and the Finals twice. They ran into unstoppable teams in both Finals appearances, though, first Hakeem's Rockets and then Shaq and Kobe's Lakers.

In the early 2010s, the Thunder had one of the best one-two punches in league history with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook (as well as a still-developing James Harden for a few years). They were young, too, poised to be a regular contender in the West, and before Durant left to seek greener pastures, they were. They never went all the way, though, with their best look at a championship being a Finals appearance in 2012.

For a few years, it looks like Shaq and Penny Hardaway were going to be one of the defining duos of the '90s. But, Shaq left for LA and injuries cut Penny's prime short not long after that. In 1995, though, the two managed to make the Finals... where Hakeem and the Rockets promptly swept them.

Iverson is one of the best players to never win a championship, but that wasn't due to him falling short in winnable opportunities. In 2001, he dragged a thin, thin 76ers team to the Finals, where they got one game on the Lakers but lost in five. That was the first and final time Iverson played in the Finals.

The "Seven Seconds or Less" Suns played a new brand of basketball in the 2000s, propelling them to become one of the most explosive offensive teams in NBA history. They were one of the best teams of the era, but the pieces to win a title, or even reach the Finals, just never came together. They played in the conference finals in 2005 and 2006, but that was about it.

Clyde Drexler is perhaps one of the most historically underrated players of the '90s. He had his Blazers competitive in a tough era, especially in the early '90s, when they reached the Finals twice. They failed to convert both times, though, losing to the Pistons in 1990 and the Bulls in 1992.

The Kings of the early 2000s had a memorable core of Chris Webber, Peja Stojaković, Mike Bibby, Vlade Divac, and Doug Christie. It was a successful group, most notably when they squared off against the Lakers in the 2002 Western Conference Finals. That's an infamous series, though, as it's believed by many that the officiating leaned towards favoring L.A., robbing Sacramento of a significant shot at the title.

David Robinson was the NBA MVP in 1995 and a contender for the award in the years preceding and following. He ended his career with two titles, but both came towards the end of his playing days. Before that, the closest he got was the West Finals in 1995.

After some up-and-down years, the Raptors became one of the East's best teams built around a core of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. They made Toronto's first-ever Eastern Conference Finals in 2016 but lost to the Cavaliers in six games. For the 2019 season, of course, they traded DeRozan for Kawhi Leonard and finally claimed the trophy.

John Stockton and Karl Malone played together in Utah for nearly two decades. The Jazz were one of the NBA's strongest squads for the bulk of that time, and they even made back-to-back Finals in 1997 and 1998. Both times, though, they had to contend with Michael Jordan and just couldn't get past him.

Save for a stretch in the 1970s, the Wizards haven't exactly racked up stories of playoff success. They had a compelling team in the late 2000s, though, led by Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison, and Caron Butler. Even during that era, though, those teams never crossed the 50-win mark or got all that far in the postseason.