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The San Antonio Spurs haven't been to the NBA Finals in six years and have yet to win back-to-back titles. But they're still a dynasty. The Miami Heat have made two consecutive Finals appearances, winning last year. Tonight Miami looks to send Indiana fishing and try their hand at becoming a dynasty. Whether the Spurs play the Heat or the Pacers, neither team will ever make this list. With two dynasties possibly meeting up in this year's Finals, we figure we take a look back at the teams that weren't supposed to play for a championship. There's the 2001 Philadelphia 76ers that took advantage of a weak Eastern Conference and got waxed by the Lakers in five games. You also have a couple teams like the '57 St. Louis Hawks and the '59 Minneapolis Lakers that reached the mountaintop despite being below .500. Check out the rest of the Worst Teams to Make the NBA Finals.
Written by Angel Diaz (@ADiaz456)
12. New Jersey Nets
Season: 2002-2003
Regular Season Record: 49-33
Opponent: San Antonio Spurs
Key Players: Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson, Kenyon Martin
Coach: Byron Scott
Won Finals?: No
Sucks that it took Dikembe 10 years to reach the promised land. But at least he made the most of it in the early Aughts. After helping the Sixers get to the Finals in 2001, he helped the Nets get there for a second straight year in '03. However, the East was weaksauce in those days. Everyone and their mama knew whoever won the West would've been crowned champs. The 49-win Nets actually made this a series, losing in six games to a 60-win Spurs team.
11. Baltimore Bullets
Season: 1970-1971
Regular Season Record: 42-40
Opponent: Milwaukee Bucks
Key Players: Earl Monroe, Wes Unseld, Gus Johnson
Coach: Gene Shue
Won Finals?: No
The Bullets were a high scoring bunch but they also gave up a lot of points. That's not a recipe for success when you're going up against Kareem and the Big O. Baltimore suffered a bunch of injuries during the end of the season and the playoffs, and the Bucks took advantage. Spearheaded by Kareem, Milwaukee shut down the Bullets in four straight games. Baltimore only shot better than 40 percent in one game.
10. New York Knicks
Season: 1998-1999
Regular Season Record: 27-23
Opponent: San Antonio Spurs
Key Players: Allan Houston, Patrick Ewing, Latrell Sprewell
Coach: Jeff Van Gundy
Won Finals?: No
This year was a little weird because it was a lockout season. In hindsight, the Knicks had a nice little squad consisting of Latrell Sprewell, Allan Houston, Marcus Camby, Larry Johnson, and an aging Patrick Ewing. But with Pat a shell of himself and their inexperience, they fell to a veteran-filled Spurs team that boasted a second-year Tim Duncan in five games. The '99 Knicks are the only eighth seed to reach the Finals.
9. New Jersey Nets
Season: 2001-2002
Regular Season Record: 52-30
Opponent: Los Angeles Lakers
Key Players: Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson, Kenyon Martin
Coach: Byron Scott
Won Finals?: No
The Nets won 52 games, but that number is a tad inflated due to the dreadful East of the early 2000s. After beating the Celtics in six games, everyone knew the Lakers would run through New Jersey and that they did. Los Angeles swept the Nets for their third straight title. The Lakers had Kobe and Shaq, the Nets had Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin. No explanation needed.
8. Phoenix Suns
Season: 1975-1976
Regular Season Record: 42-40
Opponent: Boston Celtics
Key Players: Paul Westphal, Alvan Adams, Curtis Perry
Coach: John MacLeod
Won Finals?: No
The Suns surprised folks towards the end of the '76 season. They started two rookies and after they traded for Paul Westphal, their season began to turn around. The 42-40 Suns battled all the way through the playoffs until they got the Finals and battled there some more. They lost to a far superior Boston team in six games, which included a triple-OT Game 5 lost—the only triple-overtime in Finals history.
7. St. Louis Hawks
Season: 1956-1957
Regular Season Record: 34-38
Opponent: Boston Celtics
Key Players: Bob Pettit, Ed Macauley, Jack Coleman
Coach: Red Holzman, Slater Martin, Alex Hannum
Won Finals?: No
It's almost always better to get hot at the right time, and that's just what the 34-38 Hawks did. They beat the Pistons and the Lakers (both teams also finished the season 34-38) in the playoffs so they could face Bob Cousy and a young Bill Russell in the Finals. Earlier that year, the Hawks traded Russell to Boston on draft day. Boy, was that a mistake. Although, the Hawks finished four games under .500, they matched up with the Celtics. Bob Pettit, Cliff Hagan, Ed Macauley, and Slater Martin were no Cousy, Russell, KC Jones, or Tommy Heihnson, but Hall of Famers none the less. With that being said, the Celtics survived a grueling seven game series that featured two overtime games.
6. Cleveland Cavs
Season: 2006-2007
Regular Season Record: 50-32
Opponent: San Antonio Spurs
Key Players: LeBron James, Larry Hughes, Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Coach: Mike Brown
Won Finals?: No
At least 30 of Cleveland's wins in 2007 were courtesy of LeBron. Just take a look at that roster. Larry Hughes was the second best player and we all know how inconsistent he was. Needless to say the Spurs wiped the floor with them. We're still amazed as to how a 22-year-old with no college experience was able to carry a team to the NBA Finals in his fourth year.
5. New York Knicks
Season: 1951-1952
Regular Season Record: 37-29
Opponent: Minneapolis Lakers
Key Players: Harry Gallatin, Connie Simmons, Max Zaslofsky
Coach: Joe Lapchick
Won Finals?: No
After making it to the Finals the previous year, New York found themselves there again. But this time that had the pleasure of facing George Mikan's Lakers, who were on their way to run off three straight championships. The Knicks fought valiantly but Mikan proved to be too strong for them.
4. Philadelphia 76ers
Season: 2000-2001
Regular Season Record: 56-26
Opponent: Los Angeles Lakers
Key Players: Allen Iverson, Eric Snow, Dikembe Mutombo
Coach: Larry Brown
Won Finals?: No
This was essentially Larry Brown, Allen Iverson, and an aging Dikembe Mutombo against a dynasty. The Answer was able to will Philly to a stunning victory in Game 1 with a 48 point, 6 assist, 5 rebound, and 5 steal performance. And that's where it stopped. The Lakers took four straight with relative ease to win their second of three consecutive titles.
3. New York Knicks
Season: 1950-1951
Regular Season Record: 36-30
Opponent: Rochester Royals
Key Players: Vince Boryla, Connie Simmons, Harry Gallatin
Coach: Joe Lapchick
Won Finals?: No
In a 66-game regular season, the '51 Knicks managed to make it to the Finals with a 36-30 record. The Bob Davies led Rochester Royals beat the "Tricky" Dick McGuire led Knicks in seven games. The Royals were second in the league with a 41-27 record and were heavily favored. However, the 1951 Knickerbockers are credited with being the only team to push a Finals series to a Game 7 after being down 3-0.
2. Fort Wayne Pistons
Season: 1955-1956
Regular Season Record: 37-35
Opponent: Philadelphia Warriors
Key Players: George Yardley, Larry Foust, Mel Hutchins
Coach: Charles Eckman
Won Finals?: No
Fort Wayne's George Yardley carried the Pistons to a second consecutive Finals, but that wouldn't cut it against Neil Johnston, Paul Arizin, and the rest of the Warriors. However, Fort Wayne did have the best defense in the league that year, but other than Yardley, they had no one that could score with Johnston and Arizin. Philly disposed of Fort Wayne in five games.
1. Minneapolis Lakers
Season: 1958-1959
Regular Season Record: 33-39
Opponent: Boston Celtics
Key Players: Elgin Baylor, Larry Foust, Vern Mikkelsen
Coach: John Kundla
Won Finals?: No
No one knows how the 33-39 Lakers made it to Finals, but they did. George Mikan had been retired for two seasons and with that went their dynasty. However, they had drafted a guy by the name of Elgin Baylor that would eventually revolutionize the small forward position. Baylor's talent couldn't overcome his experience once Minneapolis ran into their arch nemesis Celtics in the Finals. Russell and the boys swept them in four.