I'm going to start micro, focusing on the NBA, then I'm going a little more macro, looking at first title droughts among the four major sports, and then I'm going a little more macro, looking at the longest overall and current championship droughts for major sports franchises, and finally I'm going even more macro, looking at major sports droughts for cities overall.
NBA Droughts
Longest Droughts Before Winning First NBA Title
This year's losing team, the Suns, played their first season in the NBA in the 1968-1969 season, and they got up to a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals, so it looked like they were about to win their franchise's first title. Giannis had other thoughts, and the Suns will have to wait at least another year. The Suns' 53 years is the longest an NBA franchise has gone before winning its first title. Here are the other NBA franchises that took (or are currently taking) more than 25 years to win an NBA title after joining the league (some franchises won ABA titles prior to joining the NBA, which is noted). For the years, I'm counting the year in which the season ended (i.e., the 1996-1997 season would be considered 1997), and for the teams that have never won, I'm making the countdown from 2022, since that's the first year any of these teams can win a title. Anyway, here you go (I'm leaving the Charlotte Hornets out, since they've had a strange franchise history):
Phoenix Suns: 53 years (1969-present)
Los Angeles Clippers/San Diego Clippers/Buffalo Braves: 51 years (1971-present)
Detroit Pistons: 49 years (1950-1989)
Utah Jazz/New Orleans Jazz: 47 years (1975-present)
Cleveland Cavaliers: 45 years (1971-2016)
Brooklyn Nets: 45 years (1977-present; but won two ABA titles prior to joining NBA)
Denver Nuggets: 45 years (1977-present)
Indiana Pacers: 45 years (1977-present; but won three ABA titles prior to joining NBA)
Minnesota Timberwolves: 32 years (1990-present)
Orlando Magic: 32 years (1990-present)
Dallas Mavericks: 30 years (1981-2011)
Memphis/Vancouver Grizzlies: 26 years (1996-present)
Houston Rockets/San Diego Rockets: 26 years (1968-1994)
Longest Current NBA Title Droughts
Now that the Bucks have erased 50 years of relative futility, let's take a look at the ten teams with the longest current NBA title droughts. This will include teams that have never won a title, and it will also exclude ABA titles. For those Suns fans out there, at least you're not first on this list. Those teams with an * have never won a title
1. 71 years: Sacramento Kings/Kansas City Kings/Kansas City–Omaha Kings/Cincinnati Royals/Rochester Royals (1951)
2. 64 years: Atlanta Hawks/St. Louis Hawks (1958)
3. 53 years: Phoenix Suns (1969)*
4. 51 years: Los Angeles Clippers/San Diego Clippers/Buffalo Braves (1971)*
5. 49 years: New York Knicks (1973)
6. 47 years: Utah Jazz/New Orleans Jazz (1975)*
7 (tie): 45 years: Portland Trailblazers (1977); Brooklyn Nets (1977)*; Denver Nuggets (1977)*; Indiana Pacers (1977)*
Major Sports First Title Droughts
With the Suns still in search of their first title, as I've done in years past, I'm going to take a look at the longest first-championship droughts in each of the four major sports leagues –- that is, the longest it has taken a franchise to win its first title since joining its league. Here are a couple caveats and clarifications:
- I'm not counting AFL, ABA, or WHA championships.
- I'll be starting a former ABA and WHA team's clock from the year it began playing in the NBA and NHL, respectively.
- For former AFL teams, I'll be starting from the first Super Bowl season (1966-1967), even though the NFL and AFL didn't merge for another few years.
- For the NBA, NFL, and NHL, I'm counting the year the season ended as the season, so for instance, Super Bowl XX was played after the 1985 season, but it was played in 1986, so that counts as 1986.
- For MLB, I am counting 1903 as the first year possible, since that was the year the first World Series was played.
- For the NHL, I am counting 1927 as the first year possible, since that was the year of the first official NHL playoffs and the year Lord Stanley's Cup became a permanent fixture in the NHL, although that really didn't come into play, since the Original Six all won titles pretty soon after 1927.
- Since the NBA, NFL, and NHL seasons have ended this year, I've added another year to any current droughts, since obviously a team that hasn't won the title this year cannot win one until 2022.
I'm going to list the following: (1) ten longest current droughts; (2) ten longest droughts for teams that actually won a championship; and (3) the combined list for each league. With that, here you go:
Ten Longest Current Droughts for Teams Without Any Championship
1. 61 years
-Minnesota Vikings, NFL (1961-present)
2. 60 years
-Texas Rangers/Washington Senators, MLB (1961-present)
3 (tie). 55 years
-Atlanta Falcons, NFL (1967-present)
-Buffalo Bills, NFL (1967-present)
-San Diego Chargers, NFL (1967-present)
-Tennessee Titans/Houston Oilers, NFL (1967-present)
7 (tie). 53 years
-Cincinnati Bengals, NFL (1969-present)
-Phoenix Suns, NBA (1969-present)
10 (tie). 52 years
-Milwaukee Brewers/Seattle Pilots, MLB (1969-present)
-San Diego Padres, MLB (1969-present)
Ten Longest All-Time Droughts For Franchises That Won a Championship (from founding to first championship)
1. 77 years
-Philadelphia Phillies, MLB (1903-1980)
2. 63 years
-Baltimore Orioles/St. Louis Browns, MLB (1903-1966)
3. 55 years
-Houston Astros/Houston Colt .45s, MLB (1962-2017)
4. 52 years
-Los Angeles Dodgers/Brooklyn Dodgers/Brooklyn Robins/Brooklyn Superbas, MLB (1903-1955)
5. 51 years
-St. Louis Blues, NHL (1968-2019)
6. 50 years
-Washington Nationals/Montreal Expos, MLB (1969-2019)
7. 49 years
-Detroit Pistons/Ft. Wayne Pistons, NBA (1950-1989)
8. 45 years
-Cleveland Cavaliers, NBA (1971-2016)
9. 44 years
-Los Angeles Kings, NHL (1968-2012)
10. 43 years
-Washington Capitals, NHL (1975-2018)
MLB Overall
1. 77 years: Philadelphia Phillies (1903-1980)
2. 63 years: Baltimore Orioles/St. Louis Browns (1903-1966)
3. 60 years: Texas Rangers/Washington Senators (1961-present)
4. 55 years: Houston Astros/Houston Colt .45s (1962-2017)
5. 52 years: Los Angeles Dodgers/Brooklyn Dodgers/Brooklyn Robins/Brooklyn Superbas (1903-1955)
6 (tie). 52 years: San Diego Padres (1969-present); Milwaukee Brewers/Seattle Pilots (1969-present)
8. 50 years: Washington Nationals/Montreal Expos (1969-2019)
9. 44 years: Seattle Mariners (1977-present)
10. 41 years: Los Angeles Angels/Anaheim Angels/California Angels (1961-2002)
NBA Overall
1. 53 years: Phoenix Suns (1969-present)
2. 51 years: Los Angeles Clippers/San Diego Clippers/Boston Braves (1971-present)
3. 49 years: Detroit Pistons/Ft. Wayne Pistons (1950-1989)
4. 47 years: Utah Jazz/New Orleans Jazz (1975-present)
5 (tie). 45 years: Cleveland Cavaliers (1971-2016); Brooklyn Nets/New Jersey Nets/New York Nets (1977-present)*; Denver Nuggets (1977-present); Indiana Pacers (1977-present)**
9 (tie). 32 years: Minnesota Timberwolves (1990-present); Orlando Magic (1990-present)
*The Nets won ABA titles in 1974 and 1976 prior to joining the NBA
**The Pacers won ABA titles in 1970, 1972, and 1973 prior to joining the NBA
NFL Overall
1. 61 years: Minnesota Vikings (1961-present)
2 (tie). 55 years: Atlanta Falcons (1967-present); Buffalo Bills (1967-present)*; San Diego Chargers (1967-present)**; Tennessee Titans/Houston Oilers (1967-present)***
6. 53 years: Cincinnati Bengals (1969-present)
7 (tie). 42 years: Pittsburgh Steelers/Pittsburgh Pirates (1933-1975); New Orleans Saints 1968-2010)
9. 37 years: Seattle Seahawks (1977-2014)
10. 36 years: San Francisco 49ers (1946-1982)
*The Bills won AFL titles in 1964 and 1965 prior to joining the NFL
**The Chargers won the AFL title in 1963 prior to joining the NFL
***The Oilers won AFL titles in 1960 and 1961 prior to joining the NFL
NHL Overall
1 (tie). 51 years: St. Louis Blues (1968-2019); Buffalo Sabres (1971-present); Vancouver Canucks (1971-present)
4. 44 years: Los Angeles Kings (1968-2012)
5. 43 years: Washington Capitals (1975-2018)
6. 42 years: Arizona Coyotes/Phoenix Coyotes/Winnipeg Jets (1980-present)*
7. 31 years: Dallas Stars/Minnesota North Stars (1968-1999)
8. 30 years: San Jose Sharks (1992-present)
9. 29 years: Ottawa Senators (1993-present)
10. 28 years: Florida Panthers (1994-present)
*The Jets won WHA titles in 1976, 1978, and 1979 prior to joining the NHL
Major Sports Droughts Between Titles
With a half a century between titles, the Bucks take the cake when it comes to longest droughts between NBA titles, but no one can touch the Chicago Cubs and their 108 years between World Series titles. Here are the ten longest overall droughts between championships across all four major sports, and the ten longest current championship droughts (including teams that have never won titles). For purposes of this, I'm counting ABA, AFL, AAFC, and WHA titles.
Overall Droughts Between Championships
1. 108 years: Chicago Cubs, MLB (1908-2016)
2. 88 years: Chicago White Sox, MLB (1917-2005)
3. 86 years: Boston Red Sox, MLB (1918-2004)
4. 63 years: Minnesota Twins/Washington Senators (1924-1987)
5. 58 years: Philadelphia Eagles, NFL (1960-2018)
6. 56 years: San Francisco/New York Giants, MLB (1954-2010)
7. 54 years: New York Rangers, NHL (1940-1994)
8 (tie). 50 years: Milwaukee Bucks, NBA (1971-2021); Kansas City Chiefs, NFL (1970-2020)
10 (tie). 49 years: St. Louis/Los Angeles/Cleveland Rams, NFL (1951-2000); Chicago Blackhawks, NHL (1961-2010)
Current Longest Championship Droughts
1. 75 years: Arizona/Phoenix/St. Louis/Chicago Cardinals, NFL (1947)
2. 73 years: Cleveland Indians, MLB (1948)
3. 71 years: Sacramento Kings/Kansas City Kings/Kansas City–Omaha Kings/Cincinnati Royals/Rochester Royals, NBA (1951)
4. 65 years: Detroit Lions, NFL (1957)
5. 64 years: Atlanta Hawks/St. Louis Hawks, NBA (1958)
6 (tie). 61 years: Minnesota Vikings, NFL (1961)^; Tennessee Titans/Houston Oilers, NFL/AFL (1961)*
8. 60 years: Texas Rangers/Washington Senators, MLB (1961)^
9. 59 years: Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers, NFL/AFL (1963)*
10. 58 years: Cleveland Browns, NFL (1964)
^Franchise has never won a title
*Franchise won last AFL title in year indicated, prior to joining NFL in 1967
Major Sports Whole City Futility
Now, I'd like to run through some championship futility statistics for entire cities. As above, I am considering the championship year to be the year in which the championship was won. For example, Super Bowl XX was played after the 1985 season, but it took place on January 26, 1986, so I will consider that to be 1986 for purposes of the stats below. There are 52 cities that currently have a professional sports team in at least one of the four major sports leagues (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL), and for purposes of this, I'm going to count the AFL and ABA as "major" sports.
Droughts of at least 25 years between major sports championships for cities
For this one, I am including all cities that currently have a major professional sports franchise, and only cities that have won a major sports championship in the past. For instance, in 2001, the Arizona Diamondbacks won the first championship for the city of Phoenix, but I'm not going to include all the years before 2001 in which Phoenix had a professional sports team but had not won a championship.
-Ottawa: 95 years (1927 Senators to present – Ottawa did not have a hockey team between 1934 and 1990, so this one is somewhat skewed)
-San Diego: 59 years (1963 Chargers to present)
-Buffalo: 57 years (1965 Bills to present)
-Cleveland: 52 years (1964 Browns to 2016 Cavaliers)
-Salt Lake City: 51 years (1971 Stars to present – there was a three year gap between 1976 when the Stars folded and 1979 when the Jazz moved to Salt Lake City)
-Milwaukee: 50 years (1971 Bucks to 2021 Bucks)
-Portland: 45 years (1977 Trail Blazers to present)
-Washington: 36 years (1942 Redskins to 1978 Bullets)
-Cincinnati: 35 years (1940 Reds to 1975 Reds)
-Pittsburgh: 35 years (1925 Pirates to 1960 Pirates)
-Seattle: 35 years (1979 SuperSonics to 2014 Seahawks)
-Indianapolis: 34 years (1973 Pacers to 2007 Colts)
-Houston: 33 years (1961 Oilers to 1994 Rockets)
-Minneapolis: 33 years (1954 Lakers to 1987 Twins)
-Calgary: 33 years (1989 Flames to present)
-Cincinnati: 32 years (1990 Reds to present)
-Edmonton: 32 years (1990 Oilers to present)
-Minneapolis: 31 years (1991 Twins to present)
-Kansas City: 30 years (1985 Royals to 2015 Royals)
-Green Bay: 29 years (1968 Packers to 1997 Packers)
-Oakland: 26 years (1989 Athletics to 2015 Warriors)
-Toronto: 26 years (1993 Blue Jays to 2019 Raptors)
-Philadelphia: 25 years (1983 76ers to 2008 Phillies)
-Toronto: 25 years (1967 Maple Leafs to 1992 Blue Jays)
Current major sports championship drought of 20+ years for cities with at least two professional sports teams
There are eleven cities with two or more professional sports teams who have current championship droughts of over 20 years, with San Diego leading the way. To the extent there are cities whose last championship came at a time when the city only had one major sports team, but the city has since gained a second major sports team, the drought below only starts from the point there were at least two major sports teams in the city. For instance, the Buffalo Bills won the AFL title in 1965, but were the only sports team in Buffalo until the Sabres and Braves came along in 1970. With that, here are the cities with at least two professional sports teams with current championship droughts of at least 20 years, with the year of the last championship or the year in which the city gained a second major sports team:
-San Diego: 1969 (Padres founded in 1969; last championship was 1963 Chargers)
-Buffalo: 1970 (Sabres and Braves founded in 1970; last championship was 1965 Bills)
-Cincinnati: 1990 (Reds)
-Minneapolis: 1991 (Twins)
-Atlanta: 1995 (Braves)
-Phoenix: 2001 (Diamondbacks)
-Nashville: never (1999-present)
-Charlotte: never (1995-present)
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