Favorite cores that never won anything

[sp6r=underrated]

The Doncic/THJ/DFS/Brunson/Powell/Kleber Mavs will probably end up with just one playoff series win in four years, but these teams were fun and I'll always appreciate them. I think this is the right archetypes of players to put around Doncic, just not talented enough. What are some of your favorite cores from your teams that never got any shine?

Also shoutouts to Budenholzer Hawks and that one year of Nuggets with Iguodala.

What is the standard for never won anything?

[Owly]

The Doncic/THJ/DFS/Brunson/Powell/Kleber Mavs will probably end up with just one playoff series win in four years, but these teams were fun and I'll always appreciate them. I think this is the right archetypes of players to put around Doncic, just not talented enough. What are some of your favorite cores from your teams that never got any shine?

Also shoutouts to Budenholzer Hawks and that one year of Nuggets with Iguodala.

What is the standard for never won anything?

My assumption is people mean a title unless stated otherwise.
Whilst some are tilting more towards the literal question of favorite, those tilting to best (or at least partially looking at best) seem [at first glance] to be answering on the same assumption.

OP might of course want something else though.

[Texas Chuck]

early 00's Kings, Davis brothers, Smits, Jackson, Reggie, Detlef Pacers, JailBlazers

[Lou Fan]

Moncrief/Marques/Lanier Bucks were absurdly good, but they faced even better competition.

NvL/Sloan/Walker/Love Bulls were also amazing, but they couldn't get to the top due to stellar competition.

I think these two cores are the best ever among teams that never won the title.

what about westbrook/durant and some harden thunder and harden/chris paul rockets?

those two teams put up insane seasons and failed to all time tier teams in 16 and 18 or to injuries in 2013

I think it depends at the margins if talking absolute best, though these teams are up there, whether you are talking what actually happened or what could have been. Don't get me wrong young Harden was, especially in that last year in OKC, really really good but he does get better (as do the others).


One angle
In terms of best 3 consectutive year cores, by SRS, up to 2019, with no titles in that span *= title with same/similar/overlapping core.
Seattle 94-96 (Kemp, Schrempf, Payton, McMillan, Perkins, Pierce, Gill/Hawkins ...) 7.996666667
* 15-17 Spurs
Seattle 93-95 duplicate (now with Barros, Eddie Johnson, no Hawkins)
OKC 12-14: 7.416666667
Seattle 95-97 duplicate
Utah 95-97 7.326666667
Portland 90-92 7.296666667
Seattle 96-98 duplicate (now extending into the Baker era)
Clippers 13-15 6.833333333
Suns 89-91 6.806666667
Kings 01-03 6.786666667
* 16-18 Spurs duplicate
* 2000-02 Spurs
Jazz 96-98 duplicate
*89-91 Lakers
Suns 05-07 6.613333333
* 11-13 Spurs
Kings 02-04 duplicate
The two 84-87 Bucks spans just occur under my arbitrary point where I decided to stop at 6.5, after them the next new/unique arguably non-title winning team is Dallas 05-07.

Obviously this is just one angle, 3 year choice is arbitrary, this is only RS, requirement for consecutiveness punishes non-adjacent runs (e.g. injury hit year), overall spread of teams may differ in different years/eras and some might be inclined to adjust for that etc.

Lol every MJ finals opponent appears on this list though its surprising the pre-Barkley Suns get the nod over the Barkley Suns

[Owly]

what about westbrook/durant and some harden thunder and harden/chris paul rockets?

those two teams put up insane seasons and failed to all time tier teams in 16 and 18 or to injuries in 2013

I think it depends at the margins if talking absolute best, though these teams are up there, whether you are talking what actually happened or what could have been. Don't get me wrong young Harden was, especially in that last year in OKC, really really good but he does get better (as do the others).


One angle
In terms of best 3 consectutive year cores, by SRS, up to 2019, with no titles in that span *= title with same/similar/overlapping core.
Seattle 94-96 (Kemp, Schrempf, Payton, McMillan, Perkins, Pierce, Gill/Hawkins ...) 7.996666667
* 15-17 Spurs
Seattle 93-95 duplicate (now with Barros, Eddie Johnson, no Hawkins)
OKC 12-14: 7.416666667
Seattle 95-97 duplicate
Utah 95-97 7.326666667
Portland 90-92 7.296666667
Seattle 96-98 duplicate (now extending into the Baker era)
Clippers 13-15 6.833333333
Suns 89-91 6.806666667
Kings 01-03 6.786666667
* 16-18 Spurs duplicate
* 2000-02 Spurs
Jazz 96-98 duplicate
*89-91 Lakers
Suns 05-07 6.613333333
* 11-13 Spurs
Kings 02-04 duplicate
The two 84-87 Bucks spans just occur under my arbitrary point where I decided to stop at 6.5, after them the next new/unique arguably non-title winning team is Dallas 05-07.

Obviously this is just one angle, 3 year choice is arbitrary, this is only RS, requirement for consecutiveness punishes non-adjacent runs (e.g. injury hit year), overall spread of teams may differ in different years/eras and some might be inclined to adjust for that etc.

Lol every MJ finals opponent appears on this list though its surprising the pre-Barkley Suns get the nod over the Barkley Suns

Barkley came at a cost. Not that it wasn't worth it and that team attracted more pieces (Manning, Tisdale, Ainge maybe Green) and drafted solid players at later spots (Ceballos, Miller, Dumas later Person and Finley). Put it this way I'm sure there was youtube video touting the trade as one of maybe the top 2 most lopsided ever. Even if one doesn't buy that Barkley's less than model pro attitude hurt the culture (and I've heard that argued) Hornacek is an all-star caliber player, who spaces the floor, passes and can offer cover at the point (somewhat of a soft spot if/when KJ went down later ... Negele Knight, Frank Johnson).

Earlier team has the outlier peak years of Tom Chambers, more healthy KJ, a more athletic more defense inclined Majerle, Hornacek (generally underrated I think), Eddie Johnson. I think they were healthier (the Barkley-era teams' upside thus may be underrated by SRS) and had less turnover. My decidedly non-expert opinion (and I really rate Westphal as a player) is that Fitzsimmons is probably the better coach.

One other crazy rumor from around that time. In '93 Richard Dumas (hot off a very strong finals) plus extras were said to have been set to be dealt to Detroit for Rodman but it may have been nixxed by Dumas's relapse.

[SK21209]

Nash, Stoudemire, Marion, Raja Bell, Barbosa and the rest of those 7 sec or less Suns coached by Mike D'Antoni were the most entertaining thing i had seen in a while. They were one flagrant, one Duncan desperation 3 away from winning imho.

You think the 08 Suns would have won the title? That was the year with Duncan's three pointer in Game 1. The Suns had already traded Marion for Shaq by then.

[SK21209]

Probably McGrady/Yao on the Rockets, I loved McGrady when I was a kid.

[Johnlac1]

Among lesser known ones, I'd like to give a mention to 1964-65 Hawks team. Their core was incredibly talented:

Lenny Wilkes
Richie Guerin
Cliff Hagan
Bob Pettit
Zelmo Beaty

With Bill Bridges off the bench and Paul Silas/Jeff Mullins as rookies.

They did beat West/Baylor Lakers in 1964 playoffs and lost very close series against Wilt-led Warriors, but then they got upset by Bullets team in the next season and it was over. Pettit retired in 1965 and the team finished with only 36 wins next season. They had their last big moment in 1966 playoffs, sweeping Bullets team in rematch and losing very close 7 games series vs West/Baylor Lakers. They got sophomore Joe Caldwell that season, so I can imagine them being a serious threat for the title with Pettit still playing.

While like many teams of the sixties, the Hawks were probably short one real good player against the Celtics, another problem was timing.
As Wilkens, Beatty, Bridges were maturing and coming into their own, the great one-two punch of Pettit-Hagan was coming to an end. Joe Caldwell came along a few years after Pettit retired. If those players could have played together for five years or more, they very possibly could have beaten the Celtics once or twice.
The Celtics usually had three really good players in the fifties and sixties and a lot of good role players to help. Other teams that had great one-two punches like the Royals with Robertson and Lucas, the Hawks with Pettit and Hagan, the Lakers with West and Baylor didn't come up with that great threesome like the Celtics had with Russell-S. Jones-Havlicek.

[Jaivl]

Probably McGrady/Yao on the Rockets, I loved McGrady when I was a kid.

That Battier/MWP/Lowry/Scola/Brooks/Hayes core when McGrady AND Yao got injured is, literally, my favourite team ever. Yay to 71-64 basketball!

[TheGOATRises007]

Thibs and Rose's Bulls with Noah, Deng, Boozer, Brewer, Korver, Asik, Watson, etc.

My favorite sports team ever honestly. We just lacked another superstar or high all star level player.

I thought we played the Heat really well in 2011, but Rose was still raw and the team was too.

But the grit and heart that team had was a joy to watch.