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Who are the 10 best players never to win the NBA Championship?

NBA legend Charles Barkley

From Charles Barkley to Patrick Ewing, who are the 10 best players never to win the NBA Championship?

Being a great player does not always mean that success and trophies will also follow, especially in the world of American sports where there can only be one winner every season.
That's true of the NFL, MLB, NHL and in the NBA, when a host of top basketball stars have never managed to go on to win the NBA Championship - with some not even making it to the Championship Finals.
It just shows you that while individuals can carry teams to glory, it's still a team game and one man by himself can't win it all. Here's our pick of the best players never to win the NBA Championship.

Vince Carter

Carter enjoyed a 22-year NBA career and played in four different decades, but he never got his hands on the NBA championship.
Towards the end of his career, Carter opted to join the likes of the Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks instead of signing for a contender - in other words: ring chasing - to spend a lot of time on the bench, which is something he has been praised for.
To win a championship, you must reach the Finals, which Carter failed to do. Losing in six with the Orlando Magic against the Boston Celtics in the 2010 Eastern Conference Finals; the closest he came to getting a ring.

John Stockton

Stockton is one of the greatest point guards in NBA history; an excellent defender, playmaker and shooter.
He left a terrific legacy, but will regret not winning a title in the 1990s whilst playing alongside Karl Malone for the Utah Jazz. He can thank Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls for that one.
Without them, Utah would 100 percent have won a championship in the 90s. On a positive note, Stockton has the most steals in NBA history (3,265), nearly 600 more than Jason Kidd in second place.
It will take some doing to break this record.

Charles Barkley

11-time All-Star and one-time MVP Barkley was a terrifically unique power forward. In the 1992/93 season, he averaged 25.6 PPG and guided the Phoenix Suns to a 62-20 record on his way to winning MVP as they lost to Jordan and the Bulls in the Finals.
This was his only trip to that stage of the post-season with the Houston Rockets reigning supreme in the Western Conference in 1994 and 1995.
Barkley tried to strike up a winning formula in Houston alongside two of the greatest to play the game: Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler.
The closest that team came to the Finals was in 1997 when they lost to the Jazz 4-2 in the WCF.

Allen Iverson

00/01 was Iverson's best season, being named as league MVP as he carried an average Philadelphia 76ers team to the Finals, only to lose in five games to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Winning a single game against that star-studded Lakers team was an incredible achievement in itself, to be honest.
Iverson averaged 35.6 PPG in the Finals after dropping 48 points in the Game 1 victory.
The 11-time All-Star is one of the most iconic and influential guards in NBA history and despite having no rings, he will always remain an icon in the sporting world.

Steve Nash

Nash was named in the All-NBA 1st Team three times and won MVP twice, but failed to reach the Finals, let alone win a championship.
Nash made the conference finals numerous times, but could never get over that hurdle.
There was perhaps a bit of ring chasing towards the end of his career after Nash joined the Lakers in 2012 but despite Sports Illustrated believing that his time in LA was 'going to be fun', it was not.

Reggie Miller

A straight shooter, Miller lost in his sole NBA Finals experience in 2000 against the Lakers.
Miller and the Indiana Pacers proved to be a very difficult opponent for the Bulls in '98, but lost Game 7 of the ECF by five points.
He spent his whole 18-year career in Indiana, and could have won a ring in 2004 or 2005, but the Pacers were just short of the Detroit Pistons, and the Malice at the Palace didn't help either...
The Pacers have not won an NBA title as a franchise. Elgin Baylor Baylor is regarded as one of the greatest players in NBA history after averaging 27.4 PPG and 13.5 rebounds per game in his career.
Remarkably, Baylor failed to win a single Finals series despite making it to that stage seven times in his career. He won 16 games out of 44, averaging 26.4 PPG in the Finals and holds the NBA record for most points (61) in an NBA Finals match.

Pete Maravich

Pistol Pete was ahead of his time as arguably the best shooter in the league during his playing days.
The three-point line was introduced in 1979, one year before Maravich's retirement.
In his ten-year career, Maravich reached the Playoffs four times and only made it past the first round once, losing in five to the 76ers in the ECF whilst in Boston.
He retired prematurely due to knee troubles and averaged 24.2 PPG over the course of 658 games.

Patrick Ewing

Ewing was a terrific centre who was an offensive and defensive juggernaut, averaging 21 PPG, 9.8 RPG and 2.4 blocks per game in his career.
The New York Knicks legend made the Finals once in his career, losing in seven games to Olajuwon's Rockets in '94.
They lost in Game 7 after guard John Starks shot 2-18 from the field, missing all 11 of his three-point attempts.

Dominique Wilkins

Wilkins is another name on this list to never reach the Finals.
Actually, Wilkins never made it past the Conference Semi-Finals, making him arguably the best player to never play in a Conference Finals.
A nine-time All-Star, Wilkins averaged close to 25 PPG and was an electrifying player who entertained fans with his stupendous dunking ability.
The Hall of Famer played for the Los Angeles Clippers, Celtics, San Antonio Spurs and Orlando Magic after a 12-year stint with the Hawks.
READ MORE: Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Magic Johnson: Who is the NBA GOAT?

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