The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers are in a constant battle for the most championships in NBA history. In 2024, the Celtics won their 18th NBA title, breaking a tie with the Lakers. While Boston and Los Angeles duke it out at the top, 10 active franchises are still striving for their first titles.
In 2023, the Denver Nuggets became the latest team to join the list of all-time NBA champions, defeating the Miami Heat in the Finals and winning the franchise's first title. In the 2025 NBA Finals, the Indiana Pacers lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder, as they sought their first championship.
Here's a look at the 10 NBA teams that remain in search of their first championship, along with their number of Finals appearances. Three of the 10 qualified for the 2026 Playoffs, with only the Magic and Timberwolves remaining in the field after the Suns were eliminated.
Brooklyn Nets (2)
The Nets won two ABA championships with Julius Erving leading the way but have fallen short of winning an NBA title since selling Erving to the Philadelphia 76ers at the ABA-NBA merger in 1976. The then-New Jersey Nets, led by Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin, came close with back-to-back Finals appearances in 2002 and 2003. The Nets ran into Shaquille O'Neal and the Lakers one year and Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs in the other.
Charlotte Hornets (0)
Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls eliminated the Hornets in the Eastern Conference semifinals in 1998 on their way to winning their sixth NBA title in eight seasons. While Jordan was one of the greatest winners in NBA history as a player, he failed to get it done as the owner in Charlotte. Jordan sold his majority stake in the Hornets in 2023, but his string of bad draft selections before then - Emeka Okafor, Adam Morrison, Michael-Kidd Gilchrist and Cody Zeller were all top-10 picks - kept the Hornets from making deep postseason runs.
Indiana Pacers (2)
Like the Nets, the Pacers were one of the best franchises in the ABA, winning three championships before the 1976 merger. Also like the Nets, the Pacers ran into Shaq and the Lakers in the Finals. Reggie Miller looked primed to finally win that elusive NBA title in 2000. But Shaq, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers stopped Miller's Indiana squad in six games, winning their first of three straight championships. The Pacers took the Oklahoma City Thunder to seven games in the 2025 NBA Finals but lost in the finale.
LA Clippers (0)