This is a list of National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise post-season appearance droughts.
Five franchises have never been to the NBA Finals, tied with the National Hockey League for the highest number among the major North American sports.
Of the 20 franchises that have won an NBA championship, 7 have droughts of 41 seasons or more, which is to say that the past 40 championships have been shared among only 13 franchises: the Lakers (9), Bulls (6), Spurs (5), Warriors (4), Pistons (3), Celtics (3), Heat (3), Rockets (2), Mavericks (1), Cavaliers (1), Raptors (1), Bucks (1), and Nuggets (1).
By contrast, the other three major North American sports have each had at least 18 franchises become champions over the same period of time.
In these instances, the matchup ensured that one team would win the first NBA championship in its history.