Tell us the best team to never win an NBA title
We need your help in picking one NBA non-champion to rule them all.
Last week, we at SB Nation began our quest to uncover the best NBA team to never win a title. We laid out some critical ground rules — one team per era, and teams that won a title in the same era were not permitted to enter. We came up with 64 teams in NBA history and split them into four different “divisions,” each classifying (to the best of our ability) the way in which they fell short.
If you missed all that, take some time to check it out by clicking on these links. We put a lot of work into these pieces. Chances are they’ll answer any question you have about why your favorite historical team is or isn’t involved in this exercise.
But we’re far from done. Now, we need your help in picking one non-champion to rule all the non-champions. Click this link to sign up for SB Nation FanPulse and vote on each matchup in our final 32-team Titleless tournament.
We’ll be running this all week before crowning a final “champion” Friday.
How we got here:
We asked each of our 30 SB Nation NBA team communities to nominate one team from the original list of 64 to be their franchise’s representative in this final tournament of non-champions. (It’s an even 30 because a) Seattle is its own franchise, and b) Charlotte has no team to nominate.)
Here are the teams they chose:
ATLANTA HAWKS: 2014-15 team (Coach Bud era)
BOSTON CELTICS: 2001-02 team (Pierce/Walker era)
CHICAGO BULLS: 2010-11 team (Derrick Rose era)
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS: 2008-09 team (LeBron Pre-Decision era)
DALLAS MAVERICKS: 2006-07 team (Dirk pre-Carlisle era)
DENVER NUGGETS: 1984-85 team (Doug Moe era)
DETROIT PISTONS: 1996-97 team (Grant Hill pre-injuries era)
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS: 1963-64 team (Young Wilt)
HOUSTON ROCKETS: 2017-18 team (current Rockets era)
INDIANA PACERS: 1997-98 team (Reggie Miller era)
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS: 2013-14 team (Lob City era)
LOS ANGELES LAKERS: 1997-98 team (Pre-Phil Jackson era)
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES: 2014-15 team (Grit ‘N Grind era. Grizzly Bear Blues’ preference)
MIAMI HEAT: 1996-97 team (Alonzo Mourning/Pat Riley era)
MILWAUKEE BUCKS: 2018-19 team (current era)
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES: 2003-04 team (KG era)
NEW JERSEY NETS: 2002-03 team (Jason Kidd era)
NEW ORLEANS HORNETS: 2007-08 team (CP3 era)
NEW YORK KNICKS: 1992-93 team (Patrick Ewing era)
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER: 2011-12 team (Pre-James Harden trade era)
ORLANDO MAGIC: 1994-95 team (Shaq/Penny era)
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS: 1981-82 team (Dr. J pre-Moses Malone era)
PHOENIX SUNS: 2004-05 team (Steve Nash era)
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS: 1990-91 team (Clyde Drexler era)
SACRAMENTO KINGS: 2001-02 team (Chris Webber and friends era)
SAN ANTONIO SPURS: 1994-95 team (David Robinson pre-Tim Duncan era)
SEATTLE SUPERSONICS: 1993-94 team (Payton/Kemp/Karl era)
TORONTO RAPTORS: 2017-18 team (Pre-Kawhi Leonard era)
UTAH JAZZ: 1996-97 team (Stockton/Malone era)
WASHINGTON WIZARDS/BULLETS: 1968-69 team (Wes + Earl Monroe era)
To get to an even 16 in the East, I chose the two highest-ranked remaining clubs from that conference. They were:
- 2009-10 Orlando Magic. (I had 2008-09 originally from the Dwight/Stan Van Gundy era, but our Magic site and J.J. Redick himself convinced me the 2009-10 team was better.)
- 1985-86 Milwaukee Bucks. (Sidney Moncrief era)
Then, I re-seeded each remaining team in each conference.
And now, here is the bracket:
Again, here’s the link to vote on the matchups.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
(1) 1996-97 Utah Jazz vs. (16) 2014-15 Memphis Grizzlies
(8) 2004-05 Phoenix Suns vs. (9) 1997-98 Los Angeles Lakers
(5) 2017-18 Houston Rockets vs. (12) 2003-04 Minnesota Timberwolves
(4) 1993-94 Seattle Supersonics vs. (13) 1994-95 San Antonio Spurs
(6) 1990-91 Portland Trail Blazers vs. (11) 2013-14 Los Angeles Clippers
(3) 2011-12 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (14) 2007-08 New Orleans Hornets
(7) 2006-07 Dallas Mavericks vs. (10) 1963-64 San Francisco Warriors
(2) 2001-02 Sacramento Kings vs. (15) 1984-85 Denver Nuggets
EASTERN CONFERENCE
(1) 1994-95 Orlando Magic vs. (16) 2001-02 Boston Celtics
(8) 2009-10 Orlando Magic vs. (9) 2008-09 Cleveland Cavaliers
(5) 1981-82 Philadelphia 76ers vs. (12) 2002-03 New Jersey Nets
(4) 1992-93 New York Knicks vs. (13) 2017-18 Toronto Raptors
(6) 1997-98 Indiana Pacers vs. (11) 2014-15 Atlanta Hawks
(3) 2010-11 Chicago Bulls vs. (14) 1968-69 Washington Bullets
(7) 1985-86 Milwaukee Bucks vs. (10) 1996-97 Miami Heat
(2) 2018-19 Milwaukee Bucks. vs. (15) 1996-97 Detroit Pistons
So what happens now?
Each day, we’ll ask you to vote on the matchups using our FanPulse survey. There are five rounds and five days this week, so each day will bring a new round. We’ll update you all with the results on this page.
To prevent ballot-box stuffing by more popular fanbases or other shenanigans, we have added two checks to the system. In addition to fan voting, we will also do the following:
- Run a simulation of a seven-game series for each matchup on WhatifSports.com. The higher seed will have home-court advantage.
- I’ll make my own picks for each matchup without looking at the survey results.
If — and ONLY if — both contradict the FanPulse vote, the result will be overturned. Otherwise, the FanPulse vote carries the day.
Ready? Let’s pick our non-champion champion!