The Thunder is a team of the future with their talent, youth and future draft picks. There’s something to work with in Orlando (Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs, Wendell Carter Jr., Cole Anthony) but contention isn’t right around the corner.īest finish: Runner-up to the Lakers in five games in 2009. With Shaquille O’Neal first and later Dwight Howard, they were not ready to win a title in those seasons. The Magic have been close, losing in the 19 Finals. The rebuild seems headed in the right direction post-Donovan Mitchell, but like the Magic, the Jazz are still behind too many teams in the West to make a push for a title, at least as the roster stands now.īest finish: Runner-up to the Bulls in 19, losing both Finals in six games. The Timberwolves have Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert, Mike Conley and capable contributors in Naz Reid, Kyle Anderson, Jaden McDaniels and Taurean Prince, and as ownership changes hands from Glen Taylor to Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez, there should be an infusion of spending and promises to improve.īest finish: Reached the Western Conference finals in 2004, losing to the Lakers in six games. Before joining the NBA in 1976, the Pacers won three ABA titles. But there’s some patience, too.īest finish: Lost to the Lakers in the 2000 Finals. The mindset among ownership and the front office is to make moves that elevate the Pacers to contenders. The Pacers are amid an accelerated reboot with the emergence of Tyrese Haliburton, 23, and Bennedict Mathurin, 20, plus veterans Myles Turner and Buddy Hield. Like the Pacers, the Nets won titles (1974, 1976) in the ABA prior to joining the NBA in 1976. Money doesn’t always buy a title.īest finish: Lost to Los Angeles Lakers in the 2002 Finals and San Antonio Spurs in the 2003 Finals. Harden was traded last season, and Irving and Durant were traded this season. The Nets have taken chances to win a championship since moving to Brooklyn from New Jersey − trying first with Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett about a decade ago and then recently with Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and James Harden. Michael Jordan’s Hornets have a ways to go to become a title contender.īest finish: They have reached the conference semifinals four times. The Hornets have never been to the conference finals, haven’t won a postseason series since 2002 and have just three playoff appearances since and none since 2016. SPORTS NEWSLETTER: Sign up to get daily news and features sent directly to your inboxĮYE ON THE FUTURE: Here are the best NBA player and team future bets 12. Here’s our rankings of the teams closest to winning their first NBA championship: The Nuggets have been the best team in the postseason with a 12-3 record, and they have the best playoff performer in two-time MVP Nikola Jokic. The Denver Nuggets, who have never won an NBA championship, are in the Finals for the first time with a great chance of capturing their first title. ![]() The Nuggets own their first round pick their second-round pick was traded to Minnesota via Philadelphia.Twelve NBA teams have never won a championship.Ī few who haven’t − such as the Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz, Orlando Magic, Indiana Pacers, Oklahoma City Thunder − have been close, reaching the NBA Finals at least once. They joined the San Antonio Spurs as the only former ABA franchises to win a championship in the NBA, although neither team had won a title in the old league. On June 12, 2023, Denver won their first championship in franchise history after a 94–89 win against the Miami Heat, defeating them in 5 games. ![]() The Nuggets made the Finals for the first time in history by sweeping the 7th seeded Los Angeles Lakers in the Conference Finals to advance to the 2023 NBA Finals. In the conference semifinals, they defeated the 4th seeded Phoenix Suns in six games to advance to the Western Conference Finals for the second time in four years. In the first round of the playoffs, the Nuggets eliminated their division rivals, the Minnesota Timberwolves, in five games. On April 5, 2023, the Nuggets clinched the top seed in the Western Conference for the first time in franchise history. The season culminated in a win in the NBA Finals, their first title in franchise history, including their time in the ABA. The 2022–23 Denver Nuggets season was the 47th season for the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
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