NBA: 5 Longest Playoff Appearance Streaks EVER

The goal for the overwhelming majority of NBA franchises, as they begin the season is to make the Playoffs. Some go into the season with other goals, young player development and ensuring a good draft pick or a championship or bust mentality, but for most getting to the Playoffs and being competitive there, is enough to mark the season as a successful one.

With only 3-6 true contenders in any given year, it is important for franchises to have realistic expectations, lest they start making panic moves that set the franchise back years.

Many fans may disagree, but a streak of 20+ playoff appearances is the mark of a total franchise that makes sound, process over results, decisions and is highly successful. This may mean they win multiple titles and sometimes they just have an extended run of good play that doesn't result in the ultimate prize.

But giving your fanbase a competitive, entertaining product year after year is what every franchise should strive for.

#5 Boston Celtics 1951-1969, 19 seasons

Bill Russell and Red Auerbach presided over the Celtics run of dominance.

The only streak on this list that doesn't hit 20+ season, but inarguably the most successful. The early part of this streak was led by Bob Cousy but the diminutive point guard could never quite lead the Boston Celtics to the promise land. For six seasons, the Celtics kept coming up short as they tried to advance to the Finals, losing in the East Division Finals three times.

Enter, one Bill Russell, whom the Celtics traded for immediately after he was selected 2nd in the 1956 draft by the St. Louis Hawks. Russell, fresh off winning two NCAA championships brought his winning ways across the coast and the Celtics proceeded to roll off 11 championships in 13 seasons that Russell was with the team. First led by the legendary Red Auerbach and then by Russell himself for the last three seasons, the Celtics personified excellence and winning.

It's only fitting that this streak came to an end when Russell retired from both playing and coaching after the 1969 season. While many greats helped contribute to this streak, such as Sam Jones, Cousy, John Havlicek, Tom Heinsohn, and Auerbach, this streak is truly defined by Russell's greatness. He transformed them from a good team to one that became near unstoppable for more than a decade.

#3 Utah Jazz 1984-2003, 20 seasons

This duo prowess at the pick and roll led the Jazz to many playoff appearances. — This duo prowess at the pick and roll led the Jazz

Another streak that can be strongly associated with iconic players for a franchise. The first year they made the Playoffs, saw them make a 15-win improvement under the lead of crafty low post scorer Adrian Dantley, but beginning in the second and third seasons of this streak the Jazz drafted John Stockton and Karl Malone, respectively.

These two formed the basis of the iconic pick-and-roll that led the Utah Jazz to Playoff appearance after Playoff appearance. They may have been two of the more mundane starters in the league, not overly demonstrative, but they got results year in and year out, especially beginning in the 1988-89 season when Jerry Sloan became the coach mid-year. With this trio leading the way, the Jazz made five Conference Finals and two Finals appearances.

However, the ultimate glory continued to elude the franchise, as they were stopped in six games twice by Michael Jordan's Bulls - 1996,1997. They also lost the 1996 Conference Finals in a heartbreaking seven games and were upset in the 1995 Playoffs in round one despite winning 60 games. But this team proves why you can't simply judge by championships won, as any fanbase would take a team that consistently played deep into May.

Similar to the Celtics, when Karl Malone left after the 2003 season, the Jazz streak came to an end.

#3 San Antonio Spurs 1998-Present, 20 seasons

With arms outstretched, Tim Duncan seems to say "We did it again."

This steak will almost assuredly hit 21 and tie the next team on the list, even though they are only two games out of ninth currently, I am not betting against them. The San Antonio Spurs are the modern example of excellence for an NBA franchise, sustaining success even as the game has changed dramatically from an isolation-heavy, grind it out pace to a free-flowing, space-and-pace game. The coach for every one of these playoff appearances has been Gregg Popovich, who is well on his way to becoming the best coach in the history of the game.

Unlike the first two streaks, the Spurs did not fall from the Playoffs when their franchise star, Tim Duncan, left as they built one of the best franchise infrastructures the league has ever seen. Popovich fully empowered the team's next superstar, Kawhi Leonard, to be ready to lead the new Spurs upon Duncan's retirement two years ago.

Unlike the Jazz, the Spurs have also been a title-winning machine for the modern times, reeling off five titles, including the first and the last being 15 years apart. The Spurs franchise has taken on the mold of a team that is even greater than the sum of their parts, as Popovich consistently puts his players in tough positions in the game that allows them to build on their skills and prepare for the Playoffs.

Now let's hope they clinch a playoff spot so the prediction at the top of this page proves true.

#2 Portland Trail Blazers 1983-2003, 21 seasons

Clyde Drexler was a very good player but couldn't lead the Blazers to a Finals victory in his two appearances.

What's crazy about this streak is the Blazers were one season away from having the all-time record at 22 straight playoff appearances. Another interesting factoid is the Blazers accomplished this streak while going through six coaches. Usually, when a franchise has a streak like this, you will see two, maybe three coaches max. This, however, can be seen as a testament to ownership and management, as they were able to select the correct players and coaches to lead their teams time after time.

Portland, like the Jazz, never ended up reaching the ultimate mountaintop, as they fell short of winning the Finals in their two appearances (1990 & 1992) during this streak. In addition to these finals appearances, they made the Conference Finals thrice. Oddly, compared with other streaks, they were eliminated a whopping 14 times, 66% of their appearances in this streak.

This could be due to the fact that there was not one iconic player who defined this franchise over their 21 years of excellence. Players such as Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter, Rasheed Wallace, and Damon Stoudemire were apart of the franchise during these seasons, but none were ever the best at their position or even top 5 NBA players, ones who could lead them over the hump and to the title.

Instead, the fans in the Pacific Northwest had to settle for watching their team make the Playoffs year-after-year but fall short of the ultimate goal.

#1 Syracuse Nationals 1950-1963/Philadelphia 76ers 1964-1971, 22 seasons

Wilt Chamberlain and the Sixers celebrate their historic season and Finals win.

The original streak by one of the original teams in the NBA happens to still be the longest. The Nationals/76ers franchise was able to withstand a move from New York to Pennsylvania and keep their consistency rolling. The Nationals made the Finals in the first year of existence and the streak kept rolling until all the early stars that had led all faded away and left the team with a bunch of role players.

This streak was particularly defined by three players, Dolph Schayes, one of the early stars of the NBA, followed by Hal Greer, a preeminent shooting guard in the 1960s, who eventually teamed up with the great Wilt Chamberlain. Schayes led the Nationals to a Finals win in 1955, and then Greer and Chamberlain led the 76ers to 68 wins and the title in 1967, a wins record that stood until 1972.

Just like the Trail Blazers after them, the Nationals/76ers were led by six different coaches during their streak, and, coincidentally, the great Jack Ramsey presided over the end of this streak and the beginning of the Blazers streak. Most unfortunate for the 76ers is they kept running into the Bill Russell-led Celtics in the 60's, only being able to beat them in that magical season of 1967.