5 Champions Stuck on Non-Championship Teams

Kobe Bryant: Stuck on the below avergae Lakers teamLeBron James made “the decision” to leave Cleveland for South Beach in 2010 because he no longer believed he could win it all with the Cavs’ sub-par cast. The King bolted to South Beach, where a Big Three was assembled with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. LeBron brought the Heat two championships, along with four NBA Finals appearances before returning home last summer. This time around, the Cavs’ brass has shown a much higher commitment to forming a championship team.Some players have opted to stay true to their original squad despite consistently finishing in the bottom half of the standings. It’s a shame that we’re not able to see these players on the grand stage that is the NBA playoffs. You wonder just how much longer these players will hold on with their respective teams before either asking for a trade, or bolting via free agency.When winning is no longer an option in one city, superstars will attempt to chase a ring, like Garnett and Love did, and like some of the players on this list might eventually do. Until then, they’ll continue to put their respective teams on their backs, and attempt to singlehandedly achieve greatness.Here are the 5 best players stuck on losing teams.

#5 Andre Drummond

The Pistons have been struggling these past seasons. Things sure look better now, but they are no championship contenders. Losing 50 games last season and finishing last in the Central Division didn’t help their playoff chances. They look better this year with Drummond assuming the alpha dog role and Reggie Jackson helping him out. They have a good start too with five wins already, but we know that it’s not going to last long.

Drummond is a beast on court getting 20+ rebounds along with 20+ points a few games but the likelihood of his team coming together against tougher teams is bleak. If only the giant was on a better team… Imagine how his toughness could help the Warriors maybe. With him getting those offensive rebounds, the Warriors may start defeating most teams by 50.

#4 Kobe Bryant

The Black Mamba has nothing left to prove really. He’s pretty much done it all and reserved his spot in the NBA Hall of Fame. Even though he’s past his prime, Bryant occasionally shows glimmers of his old self when he makes 30-feet clutch threes or drives between fully set defenses and dunks it home. Since Kobe has vowed to always be a Laker, the organization has tried to build the team around him for the past 15-18 years.

Kobe is extremely competitive and that means he asks a lot from himself and his teammates. He’s been stuck on a team that doesn’t even have a chance to make the playoffs in the tougher Western Conference. If he had a better team around him, Bryant would comfortably assume a ‘Paul Pierce’ type role on his team knowing it’s in good hands.

This is how Kobe’s teammates play sometimes:

#3 DeMarcus Cousins

Immaturity issues on the hardwood have hampered the talented big man’s career. Cousins has led the league in technical fouls twice, and has finished in the top five of that discomforting category in each of his first five seasons. When Cousins has managed to remain levelheaded, he’s blossomed into an unstoppable force in the paint, averaging 24 points in 2015 while shooting just under 50% from the field.

The Kings have tried to build a contending team around the championship caliber star who has been loyal to them so far but they’re far from getting there. If they aren’t careful, DeMarcus (being the young player he is) will take his potential elsewhere to get a few rings.

This is how well Cousins can play:

#2 Carmelo Anthony

Gone are Carmelo Anthony’s relatively glorious Nuggets days along with his early years in the Knicks with Stoudemire. Anthony, with his Knicks, is no longer a serious threat to anyone. Anthony is one of the players who define this countdown.

He has been a part of the All-Star team for 8 of his 12 years in the league. However, he has never won a championship. Being a part of the same draft class as LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, he’s only achieved a fraction of the glory those two have. Mello’s talent has never been in question and he should consider getting into a better roster to get at least one championship to his career.

This is the kind of All-Star Anthony is:

#1 Anthony Davis

The 22-year-old Pelican Forward definitely has the makings to be a champion and a Finals MVP. Being larger and more explosive than most of his competition, Davis’ aims should be higher than barely making into the Playoffs. He has more than a decade of his career in front of him and the potential to dominate those years. His New Orleans team, however, may not be the best place to achieve that potential.

We already know that he can be the best player on a below average team; we now need to find out how he would fare under a really good team’s pressure.

Here’s how the Brow dominated last season: