best team NOT to win an nba championship

[gonygo]

I started following nba in the early 90's, once the knicks won the ewing sweepstakes. Im biased cause i am a knicks fan and will vote for the knicks teams. Specifically, the 94' knicks, who were the better team , but hey they lost , so it is what it is.. The knicks team that had the brawl in miami would have given the bulls a run for there money n probably would have won the title.. Imo, the knicks best squad during the run. Lastly, the knicks team who were beating the bulls in there playoff series, until doc rivers went down with the injury to his thumb i believe and then it was over after that... Aside from the knicks, i couldnt beleive that the trailblazers lost that series to the lakers a bunch of yrs back. I think robert horry hit a huge 3 that killed Portland. Also, Dallas should have beaten the Heat a few yrs back. They were clearly the better team, but had a meltdown and a few really awful calls by the refs and the rest is history.. Also, if shaq, penny n the rest of the orlando magic players stayed healthy n together, i wonder the damage they could have done. What are your thoughts?

[rmiller1k]

93/94 suns imo

[gonygo]

93/94 suns imo

o yea, good call, they were awesome n i was really pulling for them against the bulls in that series. Also, those jazz teams gave the bulls a run for there moeny

[WillC]

The early/mid 1980s Milwaukee Bucks: They had Sidney Moncrief, Bob Lanier, Marques Johnson, Terry Cummings, Paul Pressey, Ricky Pierce, etc (albeit not at the same time). Those teams were real deep. They did very well in the regular season (e.g. 57 wins in 1985-86) but never made it to the Finals because of the dominance of Boston and Philadelphia in the East.

The mid/late 1990s Utah Jazz: John Stockton and Karl Malone would have won a couple of championships if it wasn't for Jordan's Bulls.

[burke23]

93/94 suns imo

Do you mean the '92-'93 Suns (Barkley's first year in Phoenix)? That is my answer for post 1990. I hearted that team. I was devastated when they lost to the Bulls. I am sure some Celtics/76ers/Lakers team of the 80's was better, but couldn't tell you which.

[WillC]

Others that come to mind...

Early 2000s Sacramento Kings (Chris Webber, Peja Stojakovic, Vlade Divac, Brad Miller, Jason Williams/Mike Bibby, etc).

Mid-1990s Seattle Supersonics (Shawn Kemp, Gary Payton, Detlef Scrempf, etc).

Pre-Wilt Chamberlain 1960s LA Lakers (Jerry West and Elgin Baylor).

[burke23]

Others that come to mind...

Early 2000s Sacramento Kings (Chris Webber, Peja Stojakovic, Vlade Divac, Brad Miller, Jason Williams/Mike Bibby, etc).

Mid-1990s Seattle Supersonics (Shawn Kemp, Gary Payton, Detlef Scrempf, etc).

Pre-Wilt Chamberlain 1960s LA Lakers (Jerry West and Elgin Baylor).

Good call on the Sonics...that team was awesome with that trio along with Sam Perkins, Dale Ellis, etc.

[boombaby_rm31]

97-2000 Pacers - (miller, jackson, smits, rose, mullin, ddavis, adavis, mckey)

[rmiller1k]

Do you mean the '92-'93 Suns (Barkley's first year in Phoenix)? That is my answer for post 1990. I hearted that team. I was devastated when they lost to the Bulls. I am sure some Celtics/76ers/Lakers team of the 80's was better, but couldn't tell you which.

ah yea my bad on that...yep that's the team. barkley earned it that year!

[gonygo]

i saw a special on nba tv n they interviewed a few of the dallas mavs. Specifically, d harper, m aguire, s perkins and ro blackman. They all were talking about the love they had for eachother , especially R Tarpley. I never really saw Tarpley play or recall to much about him, but "they" say he could have been one of the greatest. All the guys on the special said it killed them to see tarpley throw his career and life away and that they should have and could have won it all and to this day, it haunts them...

[PDawson21]

The mid/late 1990s Utah Jazz: John Stockton and Karl Malone would have won a couple of championships if it wasn't for Jordan's Bulls.

[IamRalpho]

Which NBA teams deserve the biggest addendum to their trophy? - Grantland (http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7883334/the-footnote-title)

Good article by the useless Sportsguy on this very topic

[murrke03]

i agree with the jazz

and just to throw it out there the year the suns got screwed over by big shot bobs hip-check and stupid ruling...
that was there year to win it all...

[murrke03]

Which NBA teams deserve the biggest addendum to their trophy? - Grantland (http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7883334/the-footnote-title)

Good article by the useless Sportsguy on this very topic

not a fan of the sportsguy even though he's the biggest homer ever? haha

[SportsItUpCards]

1960's Lakers for the win! Elgin Baylor...

[crazymj]

How about Gary payton, karl malone lakers, lol.

[EMD34]

Which NBA teams deserve the biggest addendum to their trophy? - Grantland (http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7883334/the-footnote-title)

Good article by the useless Sportsguy on this very topic

That is so much bullsh!t. The Rockets ALWAYS beat the Bulls when they played, and they would have beaten them in the finals. I dont see how you can say the 95 championship is tained at all, Jordan was back, he played that season and he lost to the Magic who the Rockets destroyed in the finals, and if you are going to call the 94 title tainted, what about every other championship that was won when Jordan didnt play? Do all the championships from 49-84, from 98-02, and from 03-XX, not count either?

[Bulls]

That is so much bullsh!t. The Rockets ALWAYS beat the Bulls when they played, and they would have beaten them in the finals. I dont see how you can say the 95 championship is tained at all, Jordan was back, he played that season and he lost to the Magic who the Rockets destroyed in the finals, and if you are going to call the 94 title tainted, what about every other championship that was won when Jordan didnt play? Do all the championships from 49-84, from 98-02, and from 03-XX, not count either?

I think I just threw up in my mouth reading that. You can't be serious are you?

[murrke03]

That is so much bullsh!t. The Rockets ALWAYS beat the Bulls when they played, and they would have beaten them in the finals. I dont see how you can say the 95 championship is tained at all, Jordan was back, he played that season and he lost to the Magic who the Rockets destroyed in the finals, and if you are going to call the 94 title tainted, what about every other championship that was won when Jordan didnt play? Do all the championships from 49-84, from 98-02, and from 03-XX, not count either?

uh your point about the championships from 49-84, 98-02, 03-XX doesn't make sense because jordan wasn't at his prime in those years...

[IamRalpho]

Yes, all the championships are tainted before Jordan was born.

LOL

[WillC]

That is so much bullsh!t. The Rockets ALWAYS beat the Bulls when they played, and they would have beaten them in the finals.

That's flat out wrong.

In the two years that Jordan was playing baseball, the Rockets and Bulls played 4 times and won 2 games each.

1993-94

Houston 100, Chicago 93
Chicago 82, Houston 76

1994-95

Houston 106, Chicago 83
Chicago 100, Houston 81

[EMD34]

That's flat out wrong.

In the two years that Jordan was playing baseball, the Rockets and Bulls played 4 times and won 2 games each.

1993-94

Houston 100, Chicago 93
Chicago 82, Houston 76

1994-95

Houston 106, Chicago 83
Chicago 100, Houston 81

I wasnt talking about just two years

From 85-97(the years both Jordan and Hakeem were at their primes)

Rockets 11-3
Bulls 3-11

Rockets-Bulls History | ClutchFans (http://www.clutchfans.net/opponent_history.cfm?TeamID=24)

[WillC]

I wasnt talking about just two years

From 85-97(the years both Jordan and Hakeem were at their primes)

Rockets 11-3
Bulls 3-11

Rockets-Bulls History | ClutchFans (http://www.clutchfans.net/opponent_history.cfm?TeamID=24)

Don't believe everything you read. Your statistics are wrong.

1984-85: Bulls 0, Rockets 2
1985-86: Bulls 1, Rockets 1
1986-87: Bulls 0, Rockets 2
1987-88: Bulls 2, Rockets 0
1988-89: Bulls 1, Rockets 1
1989-90: Bulls 1, Rockets 1
1990-91: Bulls 0, Rockets 2
1991-92: Bulls 1, Rockets 1
1992-93: Bulls 0, Rockets 0
1993-94: Bulls 1, Rockets 1
1994-95: Bulls 1, Rockets 1
1995-96: Bulls 2, Rockets 0
1996-97: Bulls 1, Rockets 1

Total between 1984 and 1997: Bulls 11, Rockets 13.

So your statement "The Rockets ALWAYS beat the Bulls when they played" is hyperbole.

[sunsfan8]

05-06 suns they scored so much they made you scared sad to see kerr kill the organization:(

[SportsItUpCards]

Check out this vid! There's Will right there talking about Baylor and the 1960's Lakers... lol also, see Rareair at the end of the vid :)!

The Finisher Ep 1: The Godfather Elgin Baylor - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTfK0Wxi3_0)

[pingbling23]

lol, even shows it in his own link, good try.

[screamingdc]

Off topic, just wanted to echo how great Olajuwon was. The footwork, fades, spins. He made HOF'ers like Ewing and the Admiral look foolish. Jordan would have made some difference, but it's hard to say that the Rockets wouldn't have still won.

[WillC]

lol, even shows it in his own link, good try.

Yeah, I noticed that after I corrected him. Not sure where he got his made up facts from.

[EMD34]

lol, even shows it in his own link, good try.

Yeah, I noticed that after I corrected him. Not sure where he got his made up facts from.

I really wasnt trying to provide any false information that is just the only place I found the records and i assumed them to be correct. I suppese they didnt always win as it appeared before, but they did still win more often than not.

[Oilngo]

90's Utah Jazz and also have to agree with the Supersonics with Kemp.

[GrangerCollectr]

97-2000 Pacers - (miller, jackson, smits, rose, mullin, ddavis, adavis, mckey)

Definitely agree.

[gonygo]

Definitely agree.

i wonder if the pacer fans hated the knicks, as much as we couldn't stand the pacers? If the pacers ever won w reggie miller, omg, that would have been the worst. Regardless, they had some intense battles with the knicks tthroughout the yrs. Those pacer teams were solid and deep.

[skycat]

last year Heaters.
Clyde Drexler led Portland team that lost to Jordan Bulls.
The 2004-05 Lakers that lost to the Piston were loaded too.
The Boston Celtics in 2009-10 team that lost to the Lakers in 7 games.
1994-95 NYK.

[Mattsurewood]

Agreed on the Jazz teams and that Barkley-led Suns team.

I always thought the Dominique-Tree Rollins-Doc Rivers Hawks were good but had it real bad in the East in the 80's. Larry Legend always had their number.

[Randomcards]

1992-95 New York Knicks

They had some great chances there ;(

[murrke03]

Run TMC!!!!!

[CP3toOKC]

88-89 Cavs

Then Jordan came and they never reached the finals again

[BAMBAM]

I see someone already mentioned the old Bucks teams that couldn't get past the Celtics or Sixers. Surprised nobody said the '80s Atlanta Hawks teams ? They were real solid but couldn't beat the tremendous Celtic or Piston teams back then when they were winning championships.

Nique, Doc Rivers, Willis, Rollins, Spud, Roundfield and the Czar of the Telestrator, Mike Fratello coaching.

[burke23]

Run TMC!!!!!

oddly enough they were only together 2 years I believe...then they stupidly started a series of trades that killed them for years starting with trading away Richmond for what I believe was the DP that become Billy Owens. Sad. Sportsguy wrote a big article about the bad moves that team has made over the last 35 years or so...pretty sad.

[hairyangryfella]

Kinda have to laugh at the Pacers homers, other than Reggie the team was solid but not great.
For the 90s definitely the Jazz, but also have a soft spot for the Magic - Shaq, Penny, Scott, Anderson - they were talented but just couldn't get it done.
As a Kings fan I'm still bitter about losing to the refs (sorry, Lakers) in that series.
I then went into hibernation until about 07 so I couldn't really say about any of those possible teams.

[gonygo]

Kinda have to laugh at the Pacers homers, other than Reggie the team was solid but not great.
For the 90s definitely the Jazz, but also have a soft spot for the Magic - Shaq, Penny, Scott, Anderson - they were talented but just couldn't get it done.
As a Kings fan I'm still bitter about losing to the refs (sorry, Lakers) in that series.
I then went into hibernation until about 07 so I couldn't really say about any of those possible teams.

refs did kill em... there were some pretty obvious and god awful calls that didn't go the kings way.. nothin u can do...

[gomiamigo]

1984 Sixers:

Moses, Doc, Barkley, Toney, Cheeks, Bobby Jones off the bench - that's 3 MVPs, the best SG in the league at the time and one of the best PGs in the league, with Sixth Man winner coming off the bench.

[skycat]

How about the Portland team with Sheed, Sabonis, Briant Grant that lost to the Lakers in 7 games. I wonder what happens if the Lakers did not win that series. That Portland team is loaded too.

[mcgahee21nfl]

my vote goes to the dream team

[brandonlec]

03/04 Lakers was hellllll of a team. Shaq, Kobe, Gary Payton, Karl Malone, Horace Grant, Byron Russell, Derrick Fisher, Devean George, Rick Fox...

-Brandon

[GrangerCollectr]

Kinda have to laugh at the Pacers homers, other than Reggie the team was solid but not great.
For the 90s definitely the Jazz, but also have a soft spot for the Magic - Shaq, Penny, Scott, Anderson - they were talented but just couldn't get it done.
As a Kings fan I'm still bitter about losing to the refs (sorry, Lakers) in that series.
I then went into hibernation until about 07 so I couldn't really say about any of those possible teams.



Pacer homers :)! Pacers were legit back then with Reggie, Rik Smits, Dale Davis, Antonio Davis, Chris Mullin, Derrick McKey, Mark Jackson and Jalen Rose. It's funny when people use the word "homer"....of course we are going to root for the city we live in :devil: But if you would like some facts.....they made it to the Eastern Conference Finals 6 times in a 10 year span (93/94 - 03/04) making it to the Finals once. Definitely one of the best teams to never win it!

[boombaby_rm31]

maybe he thinks the knicks deserved it more in 98-00 :p