Ranking the 5 Best Players to never play in the NBA Finals

History remembers the greatest players as the ones who have done it all, both statistically as well as in terms of personal achievements. But for a player to go from great to legendary, he needs a ring on his finger. Not just any ring, but the one you get after winning the NBA title.

History though, keeps everyone in mind and thus there is a place for those, the ones who are considered among the greatest players in the history of the NBA but have never reached the NBA Finals, let alone winning the title. So, without further ado, here are the 5 best players who have never played in the NBA Finals.

#5 Grant Hill

Grant Hill was considered one of the brightest recruits in the 1994 draft

Injury is one of the many reasons why a great player does not end up achieving the amount of success he deserves and the story of Grant Hill is along these lines. Hill was drafted #3 by the Detroit Pistons in the 1994 NBA Draft and entered the league with sky-high expectations.

He delivered on his promise, winning the Rookie of the Year jointly with Jason Kidd, averaging just under 20 points, 6.4 rebounds and 5 assists in his rookie season and Hill never looked back. He stepped it up in each season after that and became a household name in the NBA.

He is a 7-time NBA All-Star, a 4-time NBA second team nominee, an NBA first team nominee and was also a Co-Rookie of the Year award winner. Yet, his stellar performances with Pistons in the regular season did not translate to the postseason, where they never made it past the first round.

After an ankle injury in the year 2000, Hill moved to the Orlando Magic and his career was never the same again. He had become very injury prone and nagging injuries had kept him out season after season until he finally left for the Phoenix Suns in 2007.

Here is where Hill rediscovered himself. Alongside stars Steve Nash and Amar'e Stoudemire, he led the Phoenix Suns to the Western Conference Finals in 2010, where they lost to eventual champions, the Los Angeles Lakers.

He signed with Los Angeles Clippers in 2012 and ended up retiring on June 1st, 2013. Due to injuries, Hill could never reach the potential that he definitely had. One can always wonder how different his career may have been if Hill never suffered that ankle injury.

#4 Chris Paul

Chris Paul is the only player on the list who is still playing

Chris Paul is considered to be one of the best point guards to ever grace the game of basketball, even if you go by his nickname, which is "Point God". Yet, he is on the list of players who simply have never played in the NBA Finals, which seems to be out of his grasp.

Paul was drafted 4th in the 2005 NBA Draft by the New Orleans Hornets and made an instant impact, finishing the season averaging 16.1 points, 7.8 assists and 5.1 rebounds. He won the Rookie of the Year too and was on his way to big things.

Chris Paul just kept getting better each season with the Hornets and despite all of Paul's heroics, they could never do well in the postseason, leading to Paul's eventual trade to the Los Angeles Clippers, post the trade saga with the Los Angeles Lakers.

He rejuvenated the Clippers franchise, along with emerging star Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, developing a fast-paced tempo and put the Clippers on the map. They became one of the deadliest teams in the NBA and yet, injuries and loss of form led to the Clippers never getting to the NBA Finals.

Paul was then traded to the Houston Rockets and teamed up with the league's latest phenomenon, James Harden, with whom the Rockets finished as the #1 seed in the regular season for the first time ever but still fell short against the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals in 2018 and in the Western Conference Semifinals in 2019.

Paul might still reach the NBA Finals, as he is still an active player. However, at 34 years of age, he's not getting any older and time is certainly running out.

#3 Chris Webber

Chris Webber too has never won the NBA title

Chris Webber is another player who has had a lot of "what-if" moments in his career. Drafted #1 in the 1994 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic, he was traded almost immediately to the Golden State Warriors for Penny Hardaway and 3 future first round picks.

He established himself as a star on the Golden State Warriors and was then traded to the Washington Wizards/Bulltets, where he continued on his path to stardom. In 1997, he led the Bullets to the playoffs for the first time in 9 years but lost out to the Chicago Bulls.

He joined the Sacramento Kings in 1998 and that began the best part of his career. Kings became one of the best franchises in the league and Webber established himself as one of the best power forwards in the NBA.

Webber's best season was in 2000-01, where he averaged a superb 27.1 points, 11.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists. In the following season, he led the Kings to a league best record of 61-21. They faced the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals but a controversial Game 7 in overtime led to heartbreak for Webber as the Lakers triumphed.

Injuries in the next few seasons hampered Webber's chances to push for another chance at the NBA Finals and his career came to an end with unremarkable stints at the Philadelphia 76ers, Detroit Pistons and the Golden State Warriors. We can never tell, just as with Grant Hill, how his career could have panned out if the series against the Lakers had gone differently.

#2 Dominique Wilkins

Wilkins is considered as one of the most athletic players ever

Dominique Wilkins, commonly known as the "Human Highlight Reel" was one of the most athletic players to ever step foot in the NBA. Drafted at #3 in the 1982 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz, he was traded to Atlanta Hawks before he even played for the Jazz.

He was a true entertainer, with 9 All-Star team selections, an All-NBA first team selection, 4 All-NBA second-team selections, 2 All-NBA third team selections and 2 NBA Slam Dunk Contest wins. Wilkins was considered unlucky to never reach the NBA Finals as he played in a loaded Eastern Conference.

The Hawks did not make the playoffs in 1984-85 despite Wilkins' best efforts and in 85-86, Wilkins won the NBA scoring title and led the Hawks to the postseason, where they were knocked out by the eventual champions Boston Celtics in the Conference Semifinals.

Wilkins could not lead the Hawks past the 2nd round of playoffs and eventually moved on to the EuroLeague and his career came to a slow standstill. He is one of the all-time greats who could never reach the NBA Finals despite an amazing individual career.

#1 Steve Nash

Arguably the best player to never win an NBA title

Steve Nash is probably the best player to have never played in the NBA Finals throughout his storied career. After being drafted at #15 by the Phoenix Suns, who booed him on being selected, he was behind Jason Kidd and Kevin Johnson in his first stint with the Suns.

He was traded in 1998 to the Dallas Mavericks, where he became one of the fan favorites and had a breakout season in 2000-01, averaging 15.6 points and 7.3 assists, from where there was no looking back. He became an All-Star and wanted to stay with the Mavericks but they decided otherwise, which resulted in his return to the Suns.

Here is when he played some of his best basketball, alongside upcoming stars in Shawn Marrion, Joe Johnson and Amar'e Stoudemire. Nash was known for his ability to set up his teammates, but was an elite shooter, regularly shooting at a 50-40-90 average (50% from the field, 40% from 3-point range, 90% from the free throw line).

Under Nash, the Phoenix Suns reached the Western Conference Finals in 2005 and 2006 but lost out to San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks respectively. Nash won the MVP title twice in 2005 and 2006 as well, but they were unable to repeat their postseason runs again, only reaching the 2nd round of the playoffs.

Nash then joined the Los Angeles Lakers in 2012, in a bid to finally win a ring, but the experiment was a colossal failure and full of injuries. Despite not reaching the NBA Finals even once, Nash is considered to be one of the best point guards ever, who revolutionized the game of basketball with the fast-paced Suns.