With two of the NBA’s “greatest players who have never won a title” still alive this postseason — LeBron James and Dirk Nowitzki — here is a list of top guys who never won and — because they’re retired — never will.
1. Elgin Baylor » Baylor’s Lakers lost eight times in the NBA Finals, seven of them to Bill Russell’s Boston Celtics. Four different times the Lakers lost in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. He retired just nine games into the 1971-72 season and watched from the sidelines as Los Angeles won its first title without him.
2. Charles Barkley » The 11-time All-Star and 1993 MVP came closest to winning a title that season. He averaged 25.6 points and 12.2 rebounds a game, but the Suns lost in six games to — who else — Michael Jordan and the Bulls. Barkley only made it as far as the conference finals two other times.
3. John Stockton and Karl Malone » Wouldn’t be right to separate these two. The duo led the Jazz to the playoffs 18 straight seasons. They lost three times in the Western Conference finals and then back-to-back in the NBA Finals in 1996 and 1997 to Jordan’s Bulls.
4. George Gervin » Gervin could never quite get the San Antonio Spurs over the top. A four-time NBA scoring champion and two-time MVP runner-up, Gervin’s best team was upset by Washington in 1978 and blew a 3-1 lead to the Bullets in the 1979 Eastern Conference finals.
5. Allen Iverson » No one played harder. Iverson willed the 2000-01 76ers to the NBA Finals. Philadelphia won two Game 7s before falling short against the Lakers. Otherwise, Iverson’s teams never made it past the second round.
