The 25 greatest NBA players to never win a championship

Only a handful of players have played in more NBA games than Malone. He's near the top of the all-time leaderboard in postseason games played, too. Despite that, in 18 years in Utah and one season with the Lakers, "The Mailman" never managed to deliver a championship.

Barkley has been at the top of the league in many ways. He led in rebounds per game in 1987 and was the league MVP in 1993. The closest he came to winning a title, though, was losing to Michael Jordan's Bulls in the 1993 Finals.

Stockton's career overlapped nearly perfectly with Malone's. Stockton didn't manage to win a title with or without his big-man running mate, though. That doesn't diminish, however, that Stockton was one of the most effective facilitators in basketball history, leading the league in assists per game for nine consecutive seasons.

The Lakers have done a lot of winning and Baylor is one of the franchise's most iconic players. The problem, however, was that his career coincided with the dominant Celtics teams of the 1960s. During Baylor's career, from 1959 to 1970, the Celtics won 10 out of 12 championships, not leaving much room for Baylor to snag a ring of his own.

Ewing was an 11-time All-Star for the Knicks and the face of the franchise for a long time. He had one real good crack at a title, too, losing a seven-game series against the Rockets in the 1994 Finals. That was as close as Ewing ever got to the big win.

Iverson was another longtime franchise star who had one real shot at getting a championship. In 2001, his 76ers were matched up against the Lakers in the Finals, but they lost the series 4-1. Still, Iverson can rest easy knowing he led the league in scoring four times and in steals three times, and won an MVP trophy.

Nash, unfortunately, ran into some of his era's best teams in the postseason and never made it past the Western Conference Finals. Most notably, it was the Spurs in 2003 and 2005, the Mavericks in 2006, and the Lakers in 2010. Still, those two consecutive MVP trophies are surely looking good on Nash's shelf.

In nearly two decades in the NBA, Harden has been a scoring leader and an MVP, but not yet a champion. Towards the start of his career, he had a good opportunity to win alongside Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City. In 2012, the young team made it to the Finals but lost to the Heat in five games.

Like Harden, Westbrook's closest approach to a Larry O'Brien Trophy was with that 2012 Thunder squad. His deepest playoff run since then was with the 2025 Nuggets, who lost in the Western Conference semifinals. Also like Harden, though, Russ' tremendous personal success ought to soften the blow.

Not only has Paul never won a championship, but he has also only made it to the Finals one time. That came in 2021 on a Phoenix Suns team led by Paul and Devin Booker. They didn't have what it took, though, to overcome Giannis' Bucks.

'Nique was undeniably one of the most explosive offensive forces of the late '80s and early '90s, winning a scoring title in 1986. His teams never had much success in the postseason, though. Wilkins didn't even sniff the Finals during his career, not once making it past the conference semis.

Gervin had a five-season stretch where he led the league in scoring average every year but one. He was a serious MVP candidate during that run, but his Spurs never proved to be a real Finals threat. Gervin ultimately only made it past the first round of the playoffs a couple of times.

T-Mac was a dynamite scorer in the 2000s, but whether in Toronto, Orlando, or Houston, he wasn't a big-time postseason winner. His best shot was with the 2013 Spurs, with whom he signed extremely late in the season. McGrady wasn't influential in that year's Finals, though, playing 14 total minutes in a series San Antonio lost to the Heat in seven games.

Like his cousin McGrady, Carter was also a regular-season phenom who didn't tend to stick around too long during playoff time. In 2010, though, his Magic took the Celtics to six games in the Eastern Conference Finals. Ultimately, though, that was as close as Carter ever got to the Finals.

Whether as a star in Detroit and Orlando or as a reliable late-career veteran in Phoenix, Hill rarely made it out of the first round. His 2010 Suns put up the best fight. That postseason, the team, led by Steve Nash and Amar'e Stoudemire, made it as far as the Western Conference Finals.

Lillard is one of the most potent offensive guards of the modern era, but he's still hunting for his first championship. Historically, his teams haven't made impactful postseason runs. Their best shot was in 2019, when they made the conference finals but lost to the Warriors in four games.

Anthony is a scoring champion, a multi-time All-Star, and a Hall Of Famer. One thing he is not is an NBA champion. In his 19 years, his closest approach was in 2009, when the Nuggets lost the Western Conference Finals to the Lakers in six games.

Embiid is still waiting to make his first trip to the conference finals. Facing the eventual champion Raptors in 2019 certainly didn't help things. Neither had Embiid's injury history, which has frequently seen him missing time and unable to contribute to Philly's regular-season success.

Dončić is still in his mid-20s, so it's not yet worrying that he is on this list. He has also demonstrated his ability to lead a team to the Finals, achieving this with the Mavericks in 2024, although they ultimately lost to the Celtics in five games. With fresh scenery in Los Angeles, though, perhaps his luck will change in the near future.

In 2001, Mutombo picked up his fourth Defensive Player Of The Year award. That same season, he made his first Finals appearance with Allen Iverson's 76ers. With that roster, it was a miracle Iverson got Philadelphia that far in the first place, so it wasn't a huge shock that the Lakers defeated them in five games.

In the 2000s, Webber's Kings were one of the best teams in the league. They never made it to the Finals, though. Infamously, they lost to the Lakers in the 2002 Western Conference Finals, a series that has long been subject to conspiracy theories about biased officiating.

Injuries ultimately cut 7'6" Ming down in his prime, when he was one of the league's most effective big men. His Rockets made the playoffs a few times from 2004 to 2009, but ultimately never advanced far into the postseason. Yao's legacy remains, though, as one of the most impactful international players in league history.

George is still waiting to even make his first Finals. At this point, he's entering the twilight of his career, but significant postseason success has eluded him. Between his many injuries, though, George has been a regular All-Star and a huge offensive weapon.

King tragically suffered a horrific on-court injury as he was in the prime of his career with the Knicks. He was never quite the same after that, but even before, his teams didn't have a major postseason presence. Still, for a spell in the '80s, Bernard was the toast of New York.

Miller's Pacers were often threatening in the '90s, making a good handful of deep playoff runs. In 2000, he even led Indiana to the Finals and they gave the Lakers a hard time. However, they didn't have enough firepower to topple Shaq and Kobe, losing in six games.