The Best to Never Win It All and Why I’m Rooting for the Mavs

With Dirk, Kidd, and LeBron all going to the finals, the question begs: who is the best active player to never win an NBA title? Of course, “best” is hard to define. So, why don’t we look at it like this: which active players that haven’t won a title have had the most productive careers; in other words, who has produced the most wins throughout their careers and never won it?

So there you have it. Four players in the top five are in the finals. Additionally, it is certain that one of the top three will win a title this year. As a quick note, before anyone complains that Shawn Marion has more wins produced than LeBron, keep in mind these numbers are a total of all these players’ seasons. LeBron is #1 per season.

What about before this year? The media keeps saying that Dirk and the Mavs decided this season that it would be “NBA Title or Bust.” So why don’t we look at the numbers for career wins produced of active NBA players to have never won a title before this season (after all, adding this season’s numbers is pointless since one of the top 3 will have a title for this season):

Now that makes for a great story. The three players with the most career wins produced and no title…all on the same team. All of them are aging. And they may never have this good of a shot again. So they decide it’s title or bust. Now all they have to do is beat the super team from South Beach. It’s always a shame to see great players not win a title. Some of the best ever – Barkley, Stockton & Malone, and Patrick Ewing – never won the title and consequently, have lost a great deal of respect from the media and fans as a consequence. And this phenomenon is not limited to basketball. In all sports, a player has to win a championship to get the ultimate respect (See Dan Marino). On the other hand, a number of mediocre players who won titles have received more respect than they deserve. It’s tough to watch great players have their legacy tarnished because they never had a good enough team to win a championship. Accordingly, it’s hard not to root for the Mavs in this one, especially since LeBron will have plenty more opportunities with this Heat team.

Just for fun, here is the top 10 of all time to have never won it all: