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The NBA regular season begins in October with 30 teams. Over the course of the season, the field is thinned out, leaving 16 teams to duke it out by the time the playoffs start in April. During the two-month post-season, the wheat is separated from the chaff, leaving one team to lift the Larry O'Brien trophy in June.
There are over 450 players attempting to win a ring every season but only around 15 succeed. If you are playing on a team that consistently makes the playoffs then it is likely that you will win a ring in one of those seasons.
Looking at the players with the most NBA playoff appearances, you'll see legends who had long careers like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan. There are also role players such as Derek Fisher and Robert Horry, who played on perennial championship contenders.
Now that the 2023 NBA season is moving towards its business end, let's take a look at the five players who played in the most playoff games without a ring:
#5. James Harden - 160 playoff games
James Harden was drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2009. Since then, his team has reached the playoffs in every single season, allowing him to rack up a lot of playoff game appearances.
His three year stint with the Thunder involved a trip to the NBA finals in 2012, where they fell to the Miami Heat. That remains his only finals appearance. Harden was traded by the Thunder to the Houston Rockets in the subsequent offseason. He hit his stride at Houston, racking up individual honors including the 2018 MVP award.
However, he was unlucky that his prime co-incided with the Golden State Warriors dynasty. Harden's best chance to win a ring was probably in 2018, when they were up 3-2 against the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals. An injury to his co-star Chris Paul hurt the Rockets' chances and they ultimately failed to finish the job.
#4. Al Horford - 161 playoff games
Al Horford was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in 2007. He spent his first nine years in the league with the Hawks, during which he racked up four All-Star appearances.
The Hawks were perennial playoff contenders during Horford's stint with the team. In 2015, the Hawks finished with a 60-22 record and secured the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Horford led his team to the their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance. But the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers proved too much for them and they ended up getting swept.
Horford signed with the Celtics in 2016, with whom he played three seasons. The Celtics made two ECF appearances during Horford's first stint there, only to lose to the LeBron-led Cavaliers both times.
After brief stints with the Philadelphia 76ers and the Oklahoma City Thunder, Horford returned to the Celtics in 2021, with whom he reached the finals in 2022. The Celtics took a 2-1 lead in that series against the Golden State Warriors but lost the next three games.
Despite making the finals once and the conference finals three other times, Horford is yet to win a ring. The Celtics are the favorites to win it all in the 2023 playoffs and it's possible that Horford will have a ring in just over a month.
#3. Sam Perkins - 167 playoff games
Perkins was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks in 1984, with whom he reached one Western Conference Finals. This was in 1988 where they lost to the eventual champions Los Angeles Lakers in a hard-fought seven-game series.
Of the five players on this list, Perkins has the dubious distinction of having made the finals with three different teams, yet never managing to win one. The first of these was with the Lakers in 1990 where they fell to Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls.
Switching to Seattle did not help as the same fate befell him in 1996, when the Supersonics were vanquished by the Bulls. His last finals appearance was with the Indiana Pacers in 2000, who were unlucky to run into the burgeoning Lakers dynasty led by Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.
#2. John Stockton - 182 playoff games
John Stockton spent the entirety of his 19-year NBA career with the Utah Jazz. A true ironman, Stockton played all 82 games in the regular season in 16 years. They made the playoffs in every season but never managed to get over the hump.
Stockton and his longtime teammate Karl Malone, were one of the best duos in the NBA throughout the 90s. Like many other greats of that era, they were no match for the Chicago Bulls. Stockton's two finals appearances came in 1997 & 1998, both times losing to the Bulls.
#1. Karl Malone - 193 playoff games
Karl Malone racked up several individual accolades during his 19-year NBA career. This included two MVP awards, fourteen All-Star appearances and fourteen All-NBA selections. However, he never managed to lift the Larry O'Brien trophy.
After spending his first 18 years with the Jazz, Malone made a last-ditched attempt to win a ring by joining Shaq & Kobe in L.A. That season resulted in a finals appearance, where the Lakers were upset by the Detroit Pistons. It was an injury riddled season for the 40-year old Malone, who couldn't contribute the way he was expected to.
Malone, Steve Nash and Nikola Jokic are the only two-time MVPs who have never won a ring. However, Jokic still has a chance to rewrite the script this year.
