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Best regular-season NBA teams not to win a championship
The 1995-96 Seattle SuperSonics lost in the NBA Finals to the Chicago Bulls. Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images

Best regular-season NBA teams not to win a championship

The record-setting 73-9 Golden State Warriors are on the brink of elimination. Just a month ago, who could have imagined saying that?

But here we are in the Western Conference Finals, where the Oklahoma City Thunder finds itself with a three games to one series advantage over the Dubs and a chance to end the Golden State's season tonight in Oakland. It would be a stunning and bitter end to a season in which the Warriors steamrolled their NBA competition.

So with that in mind, here are the best regular-season NBA teams not win a championship.

1) Utah Jazz, 1997

The 1996-97 Utah Jazz was spearheaded by the offensive attack of Hall of Fame players Karl Malone and John Stockton. “The Mailman” averaged 27.4 points per game, while Stockton averaged a double-double on the year in points and assists. Along with the talents of Malone and Stockton, Jerry Sloan’s squad had one of the best defenses in the NBA and posted a regular-season record of 64-18.

After losing just three games through the first three rounds of the playoffs, the Jazz found itself up against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls dispatched Utah in six games and won their fifth championship of the Jordan era. Meanwhile, the Jazz became the second team to win 64 regular-season games but not an NBA title. The other team …

2)  Seattle SuperSonics, 1996

One of the unfortunate realities on professional sports is that some teams inevitably have to relocate, crushing the hearts of entire fan bases. If the Thunder had not relocated to Oklahoma City, the team would still be in Seattle and still be the Sonics.

Flash back to 1996, when the SuperSonics were at their very best. The team, led by the ferocious defense of point guard Gary Payton, the thundering dunks of Shawn Kemp, and sharpshooting from Hersey Hawkins and Detlef Schrempf, posted a regular-season record of 64-18.

After defeating the Utah Jazz in seven games in the Western Conference Finals, the SuperSonics faced off against the then record-setting 72-10 Chicago Bulls. Jordan and company proved to be just a little bit too much for “The Glove” and “Reign Man,” as they defeated Seattle in six games.

3) Utah Jazz, 1998

Tell me if you’ve heard this script before?

A Jazz team, led by John Stockton and Karl Malone, roll through the regular season and finish with over 60 wins. Then in the playoffs, Utah loses just three games in the first three rounds of the playoffs, only to be matched up against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the Finals, where they would fall in six games. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

Truth be told, the 1997-98 Jazz wasn’t quite as good a team as it was the year before (the defense wasn’t even one of the 10 best in NBA), but the Jazz still won 62 regular-season games nonetheless. Unfortunately for Jazz fans, the 1998 NBA season would forever be remembered as the year Jordan made “the shot” in the Game 6 of the 1998 Finals to give Chicago its sixth title of the 1990s.

4) Seattle SuperSonics, 1994

With Michael Jordan in the midst of his first retirement, it appeared the 1993-94 SuperSonics had a legitimate shot at winning their first NBA title in 15 years. After George Karl’s squad recorded a regular-season record of 63-19, the best in the Western Conference, it appeared Seattle was well on its way to championship glory.

Unfortunately for SuperSonics fans, their playoff run would end before it really ever got started.

Back when the first round of the NBA playoffs were a best-of-five series, underdogs had a better chance of pulling upsets. This is exactly what happened, in the form of Dikembe Mutombo and the Denver Nuggets. For the first time in NBA history, an eight seed knocked off a one, as the Nugs took down Sonics in five games. After winning 63 regular-season games, Gary Payton and his Sonics had been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

5) Portland Trail Blazers, 1991

The Portland Trail Blazers, coached by Rick Adelman, had a few fantastic years back in the early 1990s. Their best came in the 1990-91 campaign, when the team won a West best 63 regular-season games. Seven different Blazers, including Clyde Drexler, Buck Williams and Danny Ainge, averaged over 10 points per game that regular season.

Despite having such a wide range of options on offense, the Trail Blazers fell to Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers in six games in the Western Conference Finals. Magic's Lakers would fall to Jordan and the Bulls.

6) Los Angeles Lakers, 1990

As the 1980s were coming to a close, the Los Angeles Lakers were still one of the most dominant franchises in the NBA. With Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Byron Scott all still in the prime years of their careers, the Lakers finished the 1989-90 regular season with a record of 63-19.

Shockingly, however, in the second round of the playoffs, the Lakers were upset by the Phoenix Suns in five games. Kevin Johnson, Tom Chambers and Jeff Hornacek all averaged over 20 points per game for the Suns, as the Lakers failed to advance to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in nine years.

Head coach Pat Riley resigned from Los Angeles that offseason.

7) San Antonio Spurs, 1995

Believe it or not, there was a time when the San Antonio Spurs were good before the arrivals of Gregg Popovich and Tim Duncan. In fact, really good. Led by the dominant play on both sides of the floor by center David Robinson, the Spurs posted a then franchise-best 62-20 regular season-record. “The Admiral,” who averaged 27.6 points, 10.8 rebounds and over three blocks per game, was named NBA MVP that year.

The Spurs made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals, where they fell in six games to their Texas rivals, the Houston Rockets. After defeating the Spurs in six games, Hakeem Olajuwon and the Rockets would win their second straight NBA title, sweeping the Orlando Magic.

8) Phoenix Suns, 1993

To cap off our list of Western Conference powerhouses to lose to Jordan’s Bulls in the Finals, we have the 1992-93 Phoenix Suns. Led by NBA MVP Charles Barkley, the Suns rolled through the regular season, finishing with a 62-20 record.

After three competitive Western Conference playoff series wins, Barkley and his Suns actually gave M.J. and his Bulls a real run for their crown. But in Game 6 of the Finals, with the Suns up by two with 14 seconds remaining, role player John Paxson stepped up and hit a three-pointer to give Chicago a one-point lead with just a few seconds remaining on the clock. Kevin Johnson then had his game-winning buzzer-beater blocked by Horace Grant, and the Bulls won their third championship in a row.

Charles Barkley is now the world’s favorite NBA commentator on TNT.

Can you name every member of the Utah Jazz's back-to-back Finals teams?

The Utah Jazz reached back-to-back NBA Finals in 1996-97 and 1997-98 but failed to win either time. The Jazz valued continuity, as every member of the 96-97 squad came back and played in 97-98 Finals, with only one addition. The addition is denoted by an asterisk (*).

SCORE:
0/12
TIME:
3:00
SG
Shandon Anderson
PF
Antoine Carr
PG
Howard Eisley
C
Greg Foster
SG
Jeff Hornacek
C
Adam Keefe
PF
Karl Malone
SF
Chris Morris
C
Greg Ostertag
SF
Bryon Russell
PG
John Stockton
PG*
Jacque Vaughn

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