The Knicks have conquered their demons and ended their 53 year championshipless streak.
But their victory has me thinking what happens to the losers? How does the team that loses bounce back the following year? I want to do all 4 sports over the coming weeks but we will start with NBA considering the title was just handed out last night. I am going to keep it to the last 25 years, mostly because I am lazy.
So here goes. What happened to the last 25 NBA Finals losers the year after they lost.
2001 NBA Finals loser: Philadelphia 76ers (lost to Los Angeles Lakers 4-1).
Following year (2001-02 season):
Record: 43-39 (.524 winning percentage)
Playoffs: Made it as the #6 seed in the East → Lost in First Round (to Boston Celtics 2-3)
2002 NBA Finals loser: New Jersey Nets (lost to Los Angeles Lakers 4-0)
Following year (2002-03 season):
Record: 49-33 (.598, 1st in Atlantic Division, 2nd in Eastern Conference)
Playoffs: Made it → Reached NBA Finals (lost to San Antonio Spurs 2-4)
2003 NBA Finals loser: New Jersey Nets (lost to San Antonio Spurs 4-2).
Following year (2003-04 season):
Record: 47-35 (.573, 1st in Atlantic Division, 2nd in Eastern Conference)
Playoffs: Made it → Won First Round (4-0 vs Knicks) → Lost Eastern Conference Semifinals (3-4 to Detroit Pistons).
2004 NBA Finals loser: Los Angeles Lakers (lost to Detroit Pistons 4-1).
Following year (2004-05 season):
Record: 34-48 (.415 winning percentage)
Playoffs: Missed playoffs (finished 12th in the Western Conference).
2005 NBA Finals loser: Detroit Pistons (lost to San Antonio Spurs 4-3).
Following year (2005-06 season):
Record: 64-18 (.780, 1st in Central Division, 1st in Eastern Conference — franchise-best record at the time)
Playoffs: Made it → Won First Round (4-1 vs. Milwaukee Bucks) → Won Conference Semifinals (4-3 vs. Cleveland Cavaliers) → Lost Eastern Conference Finals (2-4 vs. Miami Heat)
2006 NBA Finals loser: Dallas Mavericks (lost to Miami Heat 4-2).
Following year (2006-07 season):
Record: 67-15 (.817, 1st in Southwest Division, 1st in Western Conference — best record in the NBA)
Playoffs: Made it → Lost Western Conference First Round (2-4 to Golden State Warriors)
2007 NBA Finals loser: Cleveland Cavaliers (lost to San Antonio Spurs 4-0).
Following year (2007-08 season):
Record: 45-37 (.549, 2nd in Central Division, 4th in Eastern Conference)
Playoffs: Made it → Won First Round (4-2 vs. Washington Wizards) → Lost Eastern Conference Semifinals (3-4 to Boston Celtics)
2008 NBA Finals loser: Los Angeles Lakers (lost to Boston Celtics 4-2).
Following year (2008-09 season):
Record: 65-17 (.793, 1st in Pacific Division, 1st in Western Conference)
Playoffs: Made it → Won NBA Championship (defeated Orlando Magic 4-1 in the Finals)
2009 NBA Finals loser: Orlando Magic (lost to Los Angeles Lakers 4-1).
Following year (2009-10 season):
Record: 59-23 (.720, 1st in Southeast Division, 2nd in Eastern Conference)
Playoffs: Made it → Won First Round (4-0 vs. Charlotte Bobcats) → Won Conference Semifinals (4-0 vs. Atlanta Hawks) → Lost Eastern Conference Finals (2-4 to Boston Celtics).
2010 NBA Finals loser: Boston Celtics (lost to Los Angeles Lakers 4-3).
Following year (2010-11 season):
Record: 56-26 (.683, 1st in Atlantic Division, 3rd in Eastern Conference)
Playoffs: Made it → Won First Round (4-0 vs. New York Knicks) → Lost Eastern Conference Semifinals (1-4 to Miami Heat).
2011 NBA Finals loser: Miami Heat (lost to Dallas Mavericks 4-2).
Following year (2011-12 season):
Record: 46-20 (.697, 1st in Southeast Division, 2nd in Eastern Conference — shortened lockout season)
Playoffs: Made it → Won NBA Championship (defeated Oklahoma City Thunder 4-1 in the Finals).
2012 NBA Finals loser: Oklahoma City Thunder (lost to Miami Heat 4-1).
Following year (2012-13 season):
Record: 60-22 (.732, 1st in Northwest Division, 1st in Western Conference)
Playoffs: Made it → Won First Round (4-2 vs. Houston Rockets) → Lost Western Conference Semifinals (1-4 to Memphis Grizzlies).
2013 NBA Finals loser: San Antonio Spurs (lost to Miami Heat 4-3).
Following year (2013-14 season):
Record: 62-20 (.756, 1st in Southwest Division, 1st in Western Conference)
Playoffs: Made it → Won NBA Championship (defeated Miami Heat 4-1 in the Finals; Kawhi Leonard was Finals MVP).
2014 NBA Finals loser: Miami Heat (lost to San Antonio Spurs 4-1).
Following year (2014-15 season):
Record: 37-45 (.451, 3rd in Southwest Division, 10th in Eastern Conference)
Playoffs: Missed the playoffs
The Cleveland Cavaliers lost the 2015 NBA Finals (to the Golden State Warriors, 4-2)
In the following season (2015-16), the Cavaliers went 57-25 (.695 winning percentage). They finished 1st in the Eastern Conference and won the NBA Championship, defeating the Warriors in the Finals (4-3)
The Golden State Warriors lost the 2016 NBA Finals (to the Cleveland Cavaliers, 4-3, after leading 3-1).
In the following season (2016-17), the Warriors went 67-15 (.817 winning percentage). They finished 1st in the Western Conference (and the NBA). They made the playoffs and won the NBA Championship, defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Finals (4-1)
The Cleveland Cavaliers lost the 2017 NBA Finals (to the Golden State Warriors, 4-1).
In the following season (2017-18), the Cavaliers went 50-32 (.610 winning percentage). They finished 1st in the Central Division and 4th in the Eastern Conference. They made the playoffs and reached the NBA Finals, where they were swept by the Warriors (0-4)
The Cleveland Cavaliers lost the 2018 NBA Finals (to the Golden State Warriors, 0-4).
In the following season (2018-19), the Cavaliers went 19-63 (.232 winning percentage). They finished 5th in the Central Division and 14th in the Eastern Conference, missing the playoffs entirely
The Golden State Warriors lost the 2019 NBA Finals (to the Toronto Raptors, 4-2).
In the following season (2019-20), the Warriors went 15-50 (.231 winning percentage; season shortened by COVID-19). They finished 5th in the Pacific Division and 15th in the Western Conference, missing the playoffs entirely.
The Miami Heat lost the 2020 NBA Finals (to the Los Angeles Lakers, 4-2).
In the following season (2020-21), the Heat went 40-32 (.556 winning percentage; shortened 72-game season due to COVID-19). They finished 2nd in the Southeast Division and 6th in the Eastern Conference. They made the playoffs but lost in the First Round (swept 0-4 by the Milwaukee Bucks)
The Phoenix Suns lost the 2021 NBA Finals (to the Milwaukee Bucks, 4-2).
In the following season (2021-22), the Suns went 64-18 (.780 winning percentage)—the best record in the NBA. They finished 1st in the Pacific Division and 1st in the Western Conference. They made the playoffs but lost in the Western Conference Semifinals (3-4 to the Dallas Mavericks)
The Boston Celtics lost the 2022 NBA Finals (to the Golden State Warriors, 4-2).
In the following season (2022-23), the Celtics went 57-25 (.695 winning percentage). They finished 1st in the Atlantic Division and 2nd in the Eastern Conference. They made the playoffs but lost in the Eastern Conference Finals (3-4 to the Miami Heat)
The Miami Heat lost the 2023 NBA Finals (to the Denver Nuggets, 4-1)
In the following season (2023-24), the Heat went 46-36 (.561 winning percentage). They finished 2nd in the Southeast Division and 8th in the Eastern Conference. They made the playoffs (via the play-in tournament) but lost in the First Round (1-4 to the Boston Celtics)
The Dallas Mavericks lost the 2024 NBA Finals (to the Boston Celtics, 1-4)
In the following season (2024-25), the Mavericks went 39-43 (.476 winning percentage). They finished 3rd in the Southwest Division and 10th in the Western Conference. They made the play-in tournament but did not qualify for the playoffs (lost in the second play-in game)
The Indiana Pacers lost the 2025 NBA Finals (to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 4-3)
In the following season (2025-26), the Pacers went 19-63 (.232 winning percentage). They finished 5th in the Central Division and 14th in the Eastern Conference, missing the playoffs entirely
(Sorry about the format change part way through. My AI assistant up and quit on me. I had to hire a new intern and they had a different style, which I was too lazy to change)
Unlike the NFL, if you lose the NBA Finals there's a really good chance of winning the following year...almost as high as missing the playoffs altogether.
Nice. Did you do the calculations yourself or ask AI?
I did notice how successful losers tend to be in NBA.
I counted all the way to 6 and multiplied by 4 all by myself...it was pretty annoying
AI tends to suffer at arithmetic, be careful. at least, it used to not long ago
20% win title is bonkers
It will be interesting when we look at other sports to see what that ratio is.
NGL this is cool but probably too much info to digest at once
I was bored of it after about 5 years but sunk cost and all.
ha! you do have too much time on your hands
Yes this is true. If I could only find a way to monetize my time wasting.
I mean I zapped you for it lol
Haha thank you.
Nice number crunching. AI is great for these kinds of stuff. Most if not all of those missed playoffs the following year seem to be due to the superstar of the team quitting on the team or the team moving their superstar.
And those that get back to the finals or win the chip the following year seem to be a lot of "run it back" teams.
Let's see how the Spurs do next season. But the league will be so much better next season with numerous stars coming back from injury. It will be a tough and long road even if the Spurs are able to make it back to the finals.
Agree. I expect this Spurs team will win a championship but maybe not next year.
Trade Fox, start Dylan Harper, fire Mitch Johnson, and run it back. Then they might have a chance.
~history 😅
I will post in history as well next time.