In the NBA, there are plenty of factors that go into winning championships. In fact, for a franchise to call themselves champion, all stars have to align. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case most of the time. In fact, some teams never seem to have things go their way. Here are the 10 unluckiest NBA franchises in the past few years, ranked.
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1. Philadelphia 76ers
Ever since The Process Era, the Sixers have never been able to materialize their championship hopes. From lottery picks that turned to busts all the way to an ugly divorce with three-time NBA All-Star Ben Simmons. Right now, the Sixers are led by Joel Embiid, the remaining holdover from that disappointing era.
Although he has elevated into an MVP-caliber player, the Sixers have yet to taste championship success with him at the helm, especially with his struggles to stay healthy. And even if the Sixers managed to acquire Paul George during the offseason, the team has a better chance of winning the draft lottery than an NBA title anytime soon.
2. Washington Wizards
The Wizards made some noise with Gilbert Arenas and John Wall as the faces of the franchise. Fast-forward to 2022, the team made the gamble by having Jordan Poole and Kyle Kuzma lead the franchise. While there was promise to unleash these two championship-winning players, by now, they’ve realized that both Kuzma and Poole are incapable to lead a team. It’s also not helping that 2024 NBA Draft second-overall pick Alex Sarr isn’t living up to the bill.
3. New Orleans Pelicans
Drafting Anthony Davis seemed like a positive move for the franchise. But without the ability to build around him, Davis grew tired in New Orleans and requested a trade. Afterwards, the team drafted college sensation Zion Williamson with the first-overall pick. Unfortunately, things haven’t panned out. Williamson is often injured.
On the other hand, the core of youngsters they acquired from the Los Angeles Lakers in return for Davis didn’t break out the way they expected with exception of Brandon Ingram, who the Pelicans recently traded to the Toronto Raptors for a modest return.
4. Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns looked like a team poised to win a championship, especially after making an NBA Finals appearance in 2021. However since then, they fired coach Monty Williams. The team also parted ways with cornerstones Chris Paul and DeAndre Ayton, as they acquired Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal to form a big three with Devin Booker.
In line with a change in ownership, the Suns franchise haven’t seen bright days since Mat Ishbia took over. So far, Phoenix has been forced to settle with early playoff exits despite plenty of star power. Currently, they are just fighting to have a chance in the Play-In Tournament.
5. Brooklyn Nets
Since relocating to Brooklyn, things haven’t gone well for the Nets franchise. They tried to make a splash by bringing over Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett but failed in their gamble. While the front office was successful in bringing over Durant, Kyrie Irving, and even James Harden, it wasn’t enough to get over the championship hump. Then the team was stuck with Ben Simmons, who didn’t play like a star at all before the Nets gave up and bought Simmons out.
6. Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls tried to make some noise by bringing together a big three of their own in Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic, and DeMar DeRozan. Although that seems like a solid big three, it was a head scratcher the team somehow never made a deep playoff run. Fast-forward to today, the Bulls have moved on from DeRozan and LaVine and are dealing with a massive headache on how to unload Vucevic in order to usher in another rebuild.
7. Charlotte Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets are rarely contenders in the East. While LaMelo Ball has injected some electricity and excitement back into the franchise, the team is nowhere near the playoff conversation. At best, they’ve been in the Play-In Tournament conversation. Whether it’s injuries to their main guns or lottery picks that just never panned out in Charlotte, it doesn’t look like there’s light at the end of the tunnel even in the near future for the franchise.
8. Minnesota Timberwolves
Although the Minnesota Timberwolves are fresh from a Western Conference Finals appearance, an ugly ownership spat arrived at the worst time possible. The collateral damage saw one of the vital cogs in Karl-Anthony Towns get traded to New York for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, etc.
Since then, KAT has been dominant with the Knicks, while Randle and DiVincenzo have struggled with injuries and inconsistent performance. With these circumstances, it makes sense why Minnesota isn’t looking like the same team that nearly earned a trip to the Finals last year, which would have been a first for the franchise.
9. Los Angeles Clippers
In order to land Kawhi Leonard, the Los Angeles Clippers gambled away their future in order to pair the two-time NBA Finals MVP with Paul George. The package included Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has emerged as the face of the Oklahoma City Thunder. On the other hand, the Clippers duo failed to win a championship. For several seasons, the duo was never consistently healthy. On the bright side, this current core led by James Harden is staying competitive even with Leonard still batting injuries.
10. Los Angeles Lakers
With exception to the 2020 NBA championship and the 2023 NBA Cup title, the Lakers’ past few seasons have been painted with disappointment. From injuries to the terrible Russell Westbrook acquisition, the Purple and Gold have yet to replicate their dominant run outside of the NBA Bubble. However, luck might be changing after Luka Doncic fell into their lap.
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