3 NBA teams with the longest current playoff droughts

After a long season, the NBA is finally heading towards the most exciting time of the year. The 2019 playoffs will begin on April 13, and the annual postseason tournament run until the much anticipated NBA Finals in June. Most of the participants for this year's playoffs have long been established, although four Eastern Conference teams remain in a battle to secure one of the final three spots.

The Clippers and Nuggets are among the teams to qualify this year after missing out in 2018, and due to the NBA's use of a salary cap and draft lottery, most teams do not go long without a postseason appearance.

However, despite the NBA incorporating rules to make the league a level playing field, some teams have now struggled to contend for a number of seasons. So, ahead of this year's playoffs, here are the three teams with the longest active postseason droughts.

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#3 Orlando Magic - Last Postseason Appearance: 2012

Since Dwight Howard's departure in 2012, the Orlando Magic have failed to make the playoffs

With just a few games of the 2018/19 season remaining, the Orlando Magic remain in contention to reach the playoffs. The team currently sit 9th with a 38-40 record, and while the Magic still have work to do, they could finish as high as 6th.

If the Magic were to reach this year's playoffs, it would represent the first time that the franchise has reached the postseason since Dwight Howard exited the team way back in 2012. The former All-Star guided Orlando to six consecutive postseason appearances between 2007 and 2012, and the Magic even reached the NBA Finals in 2009, losing 4-1 to the Los Angeles Lakers.

However, since 2012, the Magic have failed to break 40 wins in a season, and their current six-season drought is the longest in franchise history.

#2 Phoenix Suns - Last Postseason Appearance: 2010

Despite the recent efforts of Devin Booker, the Suns have still failed to make any inroads towards the playoffs

Back in 2010, a talented Phoenix Suns team made it all the way to the West Finals before going down 4-2 to a Kobe Bryant inspired Lakers team. However, the series defeat to the Lakers remains the teams most recent trip to the playoffs, and if Suns fail to reach the 2020 playoffs, they will become just the fifth team in history to record a 10-year postseason drought.

Despite drafting DeAndre Jordan with the first pick of the 2018 draft, and the continued brilliance of Devin Booker, the Phoenix Suns have once again been among the NBA's worst performing teams. The Suns' record for the season stands at 18-60, and only the woeful New York Knicks have a worse win percentage.

The 15th placed Suns also sit a huge 13 wins behind the 14th placed Dallas Mavericks, and even with the addition of another lottery pick this year, it is hard to see Phoenix competing for a playoff spot anytime soon.

#1 Sacramento Kings - Last Postseason Appearance: 2006

The Kings have not reached the postseason for more than a decade

The Sacramento Kings have been an exciting team to watch this season, although the current crop of talent has once again failed to ensure a postseason appearance. The Kings are on course to record their best win ratio for more than a decade, but most importantly, the team has missed on on the playoffs for a 13th straight year.

The Kings last reached the playoffs during the 05/06 season, with a roster consisting of the likes of Ron Artest, Mike Bibby, and Brad Miller. However, Sacramento's subsequent 13 years of misery is the second longest streak in NBA history, only trailing the 15 seasons that the Buffalo Braves and Los Angeles Clippers missed on the playoffs between 1977 and 1991. With the Western Conference tougher than ever before, the Kings face an uphill battle to avoid one of the NBA's most unwanted records.