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The NBA playoffs are where every NBA player and team begins their adventure after a long and grueling regular season. The rigorous schedule, injuries and ups and downs of the NBA season affect the NBA organization from start to finish. When a team has the opportunity to further its pursuit of the NBA Championship by advancing to the NBA Playoffs, the journey is ultimately worth it. Even if a team isn’t a true title contender, it’s still showing growth within the organization and moving in the right direction, making it to the playoffs.
Unfortunately for the players listed below, they never tasted the fruits of their labor. The NBA journey of the following players has a similar story so far, that is, they have not even made a playoff. Some of these players have been in the NBA for nearly a decade without any chance to show a national audience what they have to offer on some of the game’s biggest stages. Whether it’s an individual failure or a failure of the entire organization, these 10 players have yet to really feel the vibe and adrenaline of playing in the NBA playoffs.
Here are 10 NBA players who played the most games without making the NBA playoffs.
T10. Wendell Carter Jr. – 260 games (5 years)
Image credit: Kim Klement – USA TODAY Sports
Wendell Carter Jr. from Duke University was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the seventh overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. With the Bulls, Carter spent two and a half seasons, averaging 10.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game. Unfortunately, the Bulls won just 22 games in each of his first two seasons with the team and failed to make the NBA playoffs. During the 2020 season, Carter will be traded to Nikola Vucevic and eventually play with the Magic in Orlando.
Since arriving in Orlando, Carter has been a welcome addition to what they’re trying to achieve with their rebuild. He averaged 14.6 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists while shooting 52.1 percent from the field and 33.5 percent from three. After another 22 wins in 2022, Carter will have his best season at the franchise level in 2023. The Magic would win 33 games, but took many steps in the right direction for a playoff berth. Carter has 15.2 points and 8.7 rebounds in 57 games. Looking ahead, if things continue to develop in this way in Central Florida, it shouldn’t be too long before Carter finally makes the NBA playoffs.
T10. PJ Washington – 260 games (4 years)
Image credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Back in 2019, Michael Jordan and the Charlotte Hornets selected PJ Washington with the 12th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. Washington was doing well at Kentucky, and the Hornets turned to him to help instill a winning tradition in Charlotte. Over his first two seasons, Washington averaged 12.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks per game, but won no more than 33 games and lost in the 2021 playoffs.
In 2022, the Hornets have achieved 43 wins, but unfortunately they only rank 10th in the Eastern Conference. Washington averaged just 10.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game this season, and the Hornets once again lost in the playoffs. The 2023 Hornets have been a mess since the start of the season. With Miles Bridges out for the season, star point guard LaMelo Ball has dealt with various injuries that have caused him to miss significant minutes. Washington averaged a career-high 15.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 73 starts. The Hornets won just 27 games and failed to qualify for the playoffs, keeping Washington or Charlotte out of the playoffs for four straight seasons.
8. Collin Sexton – 266 games (5 years)
Image credit: Sergio Estrada – USA TODAY Sports
Coming out of Alabama in the 2018 NBA Draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers and most NBA fans view Collin Sexton as one of the most talented guards around. The Cavs took Sexton with the eighth pick and immediately earned the starting point guard job. He averaged 16.7 points and 3.0 assists as a rookie, but the Cavs won just 19 games and missed the NBA playoffs entirely. In 2020 and 2021, Sexton had the best offensive seasons of his career, averaging 20.8 points in 2020 and 24.3 in 2021, but missed the playoffs both times.
In 2022, with Darius Garland emerging as the team’s point guard of the future, Sexton was moved to shooting guard. Considering the Cavaliers continue to make the NBA playoffs, Sexton suffered a season-ending knee injury in just 11 games this season. Sexton was traded to Utah in the summer and will appear in 48 games for them in 2023. He averaged 14.3 points and 2.9 assists, but the Jazz won just 37 games and didn’t make the playoffs, or even qualify for the playoffs.
7. Dennis Smith Jr. – 270 games (6 years)
Image credit: Brian Westerholt – USA TODAY Sports
The hype surrounding Dennis Smith Jr.’s walk out of North Carolina State in the 2017 NBA Draft is unbelievable. When he debuted for the Mavericks, his athleticism and IQ took center stage. He averaged 14.5 points in just 101 games in Dallas, but was quickly traded to the New York Knicks for Kristaps Porzingis. Smith Jr. spent a total of two and a half seasons in New York, but played in just 58 games, missing the chance to make the playoffs each season.
Over the past three seasons, Smith Jr. has played limited roles on three different teams. He played 20 games in 2021 for the Pistons, who are 20-52 and out of the playoffs. In 2022, Smith Jr. averaged just 5.6 points in 37 games for Portland as they also missed the playoffs. In 2023, Smith is better than ever, averaging 8.8 points in 54 games for the Hornets. Unfortunately, Smith Jr. is still waiting to play in an NBA playoff game, but the contenders could certainly bench him and give him new comfort in the role.
6. Christian Wood – 289 games (8 years)
Image credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
I’m entirely sure Christian Wood thinks his playoff drought is coming to an end by the time he enters the 2022-23 season as a member of the Dallas Mavericks. From his position on this list, you can tell things aren’t going as planned. Wood returned to the Sixers for the 2015-16 season, but injuries limited him to just 17 games and a small roster spot. Between that year and 2020, Wood has played a total of 34 games for three different teams and hasn’t made a playoff appearance.
Wood will spend one season with the Pistons in 2020 and two years with the Rockets in 2021 and 2022. He averaged 16.9 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.0 block during that stretch, but was a perennial bottom player in their conference. In 2023, Wood was traded to the Mavericks, which is expected to bring a huge boost to this team that just reached the Western Conference Finals. Unfortunately, Wood was not used properly by Jason Kidd, and the Mavericks suffered an epic collapse and missed the NBA playoffs. He averaged 16.6 points and 7.3 rebounds in 67 games, but that wasn’t enough to help them break through later in the season.
T4. Josh Jackson – 291 games (5 years)
Image credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Josh Jackson was the fourth overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns. Over two seasons, he averaged 12.3 points and 4.5 rebounds in 156 games for the Suns. Jackson would end up being one of the worst draft mistakes in Suns history, as they traded him to the Grizzlies after his second season. In Memphis in 2020, he played just 22 games and will join the Pistons in 2021. He averaged a career-high 13.4 points in 61 games for Detroit that season.
In 2022, Jackson will play for two different teams, the Pistons and the Sacramento Kings. In 51 games in 2022, Jackson is averaging 6.4 points and 2.9 rebounds. He’s not active in the 2022-23 season, but will certainly find a place in the coming months, as he’s currently still listed as an active NBA player. For his sake, I expect this team to make an NBA playoff run.
T4. Miles Bridges – 291 games (4 years)
Credit: Jim Dedmon/USA TODAY Sports
The downfall of Miles Bridges was one of the fastest and most disappointing in the NBA over the past five years. Bridges was selected by the Clippers with the 12th pick in the first round of 2018 and traded to the Hornets that night. Over the next four seasons, Bridges continued to improve and develop into one of the more athletic and talented young forwards in the league.
By the time the 2021-22 season rolls around, Bridges will have a major impact on the Hornets. He would start 80 games for them that season, averaging a career-high 20.2 points and 7.0 rebounds. As he heads toward free agency, the expectation is that he’ll make more NBA money than ever before. Unfortunately, off-field issues cost him the entire 2023 season, and his playoff drought continues to this day. As he awaits a decision on the next chapter of his career, I believe he’s looking for a chance as a playoff contender to get his name off this list once and for all.
3. DeAndre’ Bembry – 296 games (6 years)
Image credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
DeAndre’ Bembry is another player on our list today who is listed as an active player despite not playing a game in 2022-23. Bembry was the Hawks’ 21st overall pick in 2016. He would spend the first four seasons of his career with the Hawks, averaging just 6.2 points and 3.4 rebounds as they missed the playoffs all season.
From 2021 to 2022, Bembry will play 107 times for three different teams, including the Raptors in 2021 and the Nets and Bucks in 2022. Bembry could have broken the winning streak in Brooklyn and Milwaukee last season, but was left out of Milwaukee’s playoff roster after being traded from the Nets after being eliminated. Bembry is reportedly trying to make an NBA comeback, but with the 2023 offseason looming, his stance remains unknown. Currently, he is active and holds the record for the third-longest streak in the NBA playoffs.
2. Lauri Markkanen – 348 games (6 years)
Image credit: Chris Nicoll – USA TODAY Sports
One of the greatest stories of the 2022-23 NBA season is the rise of Lauri Markkanen to a major star in the league. Markkanen spent the first four years of his career with the Bulls after acquiring him from the Timberwolves on draft night in 2017. In his four seasons with Chicago, he averaged 15.6 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game during a poor season with the team. He will then spend one season with the Cavaliers in Cleveland in 2022. He averaged 14.8 points and 5.7 rebounds in 61 games.
His time in Cleveland wouldn’t last long, as he was shipped to Utah in a deal that signed Cleveland star Donovan Mitchell. Markkanen spent the summer with the Finnish national team and went wild during the FIBA ββWorld Championship. Clearly, the work paid off, as Markkanen would make his first All-Star appearance and go on to win the NBA’s Most Improved Player award. Markkanen is averaging 25.6 points and 8.6 rebounds while shooting 49.9 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from three. If he keeps playing like this and the Utah Jazz improve, there’s no way his playoff streak will continue.
1. Buddy Hield – 548 games (7 years)
Image credit: Wendell Cruz – USA TODAY Sports
When it comes to Buddy Hield, you have to feel for the end of his NBA career. Over the past seven seasons, Hield has been the consummate pro for three different teams, including the Pelicans, Kings and Pacers. After 57 games with New Orleans, Hield was traded to Sacramento, where he thrived. Hilde becomes the best third…
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