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Winning the NBA Finals is very difficult. Several basketball greats finished their careers without getting the chance to lift the Larry O’Brien Trophy as a player.
Having a losing record in the NBA Finals could also be an entirely different level of heartache regardless of individual accomplishments. Championships matter and sometimes it is the barometer by which players are judged by both fans and basketball experts.
The league has seen some of the most illustrious careers in its 76-year history with several championship-filled resumes. The legendary Bill Russell easily comes to mind here. On the other hand, there have also been less-than-desirable records in championship rounds where the names on this list would have gladly changed.
Here are five players who suffered the most losses in the NBA Finals:
#5 Rudy LaRusso
Three players in league history went to the NBA Finals four times and lost their chances to win the title every single time. Steve Mix, Max Max Zaslofsky and Rudy LaRusso never earned a championship ring in their respective careers.
LaRusso, however, gets the unfortunate nomination here as he was the most accomplished. He played only 11 years in the NBA, suiting up for the Minneapolis Lakers, the LA Lakers and then the San Francisco Warriors. LaRusso made the All-Star team in five of his 11 seasons.
Nicknamed the “Deuce,” he was one of the forerunners of the bruising power forwards who made a name for themselves in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Although an interior operator for most of his career, he was also quick enough to play as a small forward.
“Roughhouse Rudy” would have had a more glittering basketball resume had he converted even just half of those four NBA Finals trips. He was just unfortunate to play in the same era as Bill Russell.
#4 Larry Foust
![Larry Foust could have made the Hall of Fame if he did not go 0-4 in the NBA Finals. [photo: Hoops Habit]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2022/10/b6a5a-16651296277224-1920.jpg)
Larry Foust is another name that basketball fans will have a hard time remembering. Many may not have even heard of him.
Several basketball experts asserted that had Foust won just one of his five NBA Finals appearances, he would have been in the Hall of Fame.
Going 0-5 in field-goal attempts doesn’t look good. Failing to win a championship in five trips to the championship rounds is even worse. From 1955 to 1961, Foust was in the NBA Finals five times and unfortunately lost in all of them.
Larry Foust was an All-Star in eight of his 12 seasons in the NBA. He made the All-Star selection in his first six years during an era where the centers were usually the best players on most basketball teams. Foust was in the All-NBA team twice and was the rebounding champ during the 1951-52 season.
Maybe the Hall of Fame would have been more accommodating of him had he managed to convert his chances of winning titles.
#3 LeBron James
LeBron James, one of the greatest players in the league's history, also has one of the worst records in the Finals. He’s 4-6 when playing for all the marbles.
“King James” appeared in the championship rounds for eight straight seasons, from 2011 to 2018, winning three times.
James was the biggest reason the Miami Heat appeared in four consecutive title series. After winning two championships, he left South Beach and made the Cleveland Cavaliers a staple in the NBA Finals.
“King James” was just unfortunate to be pitted against the dynastic Golden State Warriors, who ruled the league during Cleveland’s four-year trip to the Finals. However, the GOAT candidate authored perhaps the biggest comeback in Finals history in 2016 when he led the Cavs to a stunning upset of the 73-9 Warriors.
LeBron James added a fourth ring to his resume by leading the LA Lakers to the 2020 title. James is a guaranteed first-ballot Hall of Famer and will become the league’s all-time leading scorer.
But had his championship record been better, the GOAT debate between him, Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would have long been settled. Championships really matter and in the greatest player ever discussions, LBJ’s less-than-stellar win-loss slate in title rounds has always been used against him.
#2 Elgin Baylor
![Elgin Baylor (right) went 0-7 in the NBA Finals. [photo: NBA.com]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2022/10/d6832-16651308472439-1920.jpg)
Perhaps the player with the most heartbreaking resume on this list is LA Lakers legend Elgin Baylor.
The “Big E” came up short in seven trips to the Finals. One of the game’s most unstoppable scorers played in 44 games in the Finals, averaging 26.4 points and 13.5 rebounds.
Out of those 44 games, 37 were played against Bill Russell and the Lakers' bitter rivals, the Boston Celtics. Baylor’s Lakers lost to Russell’s Celtics in 1959, 1962, 1963, 1966, 1968 and 1969. His best series against Boston was in 1962 when he averaged a jaw-dropping 40.6 points, 17.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists.
It was in Game 5 of the 1962 NBA Finals that “The Big Hurt” dropped 61 points on the Celtics to go with 22 rebounds. The points he scored that night remain a record to this day.
Russell, Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, and Oscar Robertson were considered the Big Four of the ‘60s. Somehow, Baylor didn’t get the recognition he so thoroughly deserved. Had he won at least one of those championship rounds, he would have also become a household name.
Elgin Baylor was not on the roster of the 1972 champion LA Lakers, who beat the New York Knicks, though he did play at the start of that season.
#1 Jerry West
The NBA logo also happens to have the worst mark in Finals history.
Jerry West won the title just once in nine championship appearances. Like his teammate Elgin Baylor, he faced the Boston Celtics six times and came close on a few occasions but lost each time.
“Mr. Clutch” played 38 games in the Finals against the Celtics and averaged 33.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.9 assists. The LA Lakers suffered another heartbreaking loss to Boston in 1969 but West was named the Finals MVP. He was the first and only player to win the award from a losing team.
Jerry West also had an impeccable seven-game series in 1969, averaging 37.9 points, 7.4 assists and 4.7 rebounds. The Lakers had West and Wilt Chamberlain, but still couldn’t get past the aging Bill Russell, who played his last season with the Celtics.
“The Logo” ultimately bagged basketball’s ultimate team prize in 1972 against the New York Knicks. Jerry West’s resume is impeccable, but history could have been so much different had he won more titles.
Guess the Lakers players!
