Great NBA players are often judged by how many titles they've won in their careers, but there are a few great players that haven't won it all, and are often criticized for it. Here are the best players that have never held the Larry O'Brien Trophy at the end of the season:
9) Reggie Miller
Miller is regarded as one of the best pure shooters in NBA history, but he was never able to carry his Indiana Pacers to a championship. He did play in two Finals, but lost to the Houston Rockets in 1995 and Los Angeles Lakers in 2000.
He ranks 14th on the NBA's all-time leaderboard for points scored (25,279), 39th in steals (1,505), 91st in assists (4,141), and second in career three-pointers made (2,560).
8) Dominique Wilkins
Wilkins was known for his high-flying dunks, and is considered to be the best player in Atlanta Hawks history. He ranks 11th on the NBA's all-time scoring leaderboard (26,668 points), 50th all time in steals (1,378), and 86th in total rebounds (7,169).
7) Steve Nash
Nash, who announced his retirement yesterday, ended his career as the third-leading assist man in NBA history (10,335) and has the highest career free throw percentage ever (90.4). The two-time MVP owns the title as the best player to never play a single game in the Finals, but the up-tempo, run-and-gun style his Phoenix Suns teams ushered into the NBA changed the league forever.
6) Allen Iverson
Iverson, an 11-time All-Star, is arguably the best pound-for-pound NBA player of all time. He finished his career ranking 12th in career steals (1,983), 19th in points (24,368), and 38th in assists (5,624) despite being listed at 6'0" and 165 pounds.
5) Patrick Ewing
Ewing managed to carry the Knicks to the Finals in 1994 and 1999, but his chances at a title were foiled by the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs. He finished his career ranked sixth all time in blocks (2,894), 18th in points (24,815) and 24th in rebounds (11,607). Ewing is also one of only six players in NBA history to record at least 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 2,500 blocks in his career.
3) Karl Malone / 4) John Stockton
We're grouping Stockton and Malone together since their Jazz teams are arguably the best that never won a championship. The two Hall of Famers lost the 1997 and 1998 Finals to Michael Jordan's Bulls, and then Malone fell to the Detroit Pistons as a member of the Lakers in 2004.
Stockton still sits atop the career assists (15,806) and steals (3,265) list, and no one is really close to topping him on either list. Malone has an equally impressive resume, ranking second all time in total points scored (36,928), sixth in total rebounds (14,968), 10th in steals (2,085), 48th in assists (5,248) and 58th in blocks (1,145).
2) Charles Barkley
Barkley is one of the best power forwards in history, even though he only stood 6'6". His best season came in 1993 when he won the MVP and carried the Suns to his only trip to the NBA Finals, where he lost to Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls.
Barkley is 18th all-time in rebounds (12,546), 21st in steals (1,648) and 23rd in points (23,757), and is one of only four players to record at least 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 1,500 steals in his career.
1) Elgin Baylor
Baylor led the Los Angeles Lakers to eight NBA Finals, but he was never able to bring home a title thanks to Bill Russell's Boston Celtics. He did receive a ring even though retired during the 1971-72 season when the Lakers won a championship, but he wasn't on the roster and sold the ring at an auction.
Baylor's numbers a still eye-popping, averaging 27.4 points and 13.5 rebounds per game over his 14-year career. He was an 11-time All-Star and was a 10-time All-Pro, but just played during the wrong era.
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