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Making the NBA playoffs is the goal for every team that is serious about winning a championship. But while it may take a season or two to build a playoff team, some franchises needed more time, some as much as over a decade. Nevertheless, despite their long absence from the bright lights of the postseason, some of these teams didn't disappoint. Let's take a look at 10 NBA teams that had deep playoff runs after a lengthy drought.
2022-23 Sacramento Kings
The Kings boasted one of the worst playoff droughts in league history after missing the postseason for 16 years. However, they posted a 48-34 win-loss card in the 2022-2023 season to clinch the third seed in the NBA playoffs. However, they drew the defending champions in the Warriors during the first round. Although the Kings suffered a first-round exit, they still managed to push the Warriors to seven games.
1991-92 Los Angeles Clippers
At one point, it's safe to say that the Los Angeles Clippers were the worst sports organization in history. From 1977 to 1991, the Clippers failed to make the playoffs. Fortunately, the Clippers made a revamp that saw the hiring of Larry Brown as coach and the acquisition of Doc Rivers. With Ron Harper and Danny Manning leading the team, the Clippers posted a 45-37 record to end the drought. In the 1992 playoffs, the Clippers pushed the Jazz by winning two games before conceding in a five-game series.
2012-13 Brooklyn Nets
After the 2007 playoffs, the Nets experienced a postseason drought which only saw them return to the showcase in 2013. With the absence of Derrick Rose, the 49-33 Nets capitalized and was able to push the series to seven games before getting the boot.
2006-07 Utah Jazz
The Jazz hardly made their presence felt in the postseason after Karl Malone departed the franchise. Since 2003, the Jazz missed the NBA playoffs for four seasons before making an impact in the 2006-07 season. Headlined with the core of Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer, Andrei Kirilenko, Paul Millsap, and Mehmet Okur, the Jazz emerged as playoff contenders while being coached by Jerry Sloan. The 51-31 Jazz would take care of business by beating the Rockets in seven games and dominating the Warriors in five. Although they reached as deep as the Western Conference Finals, the Jazz couldn't get past the Spurs, who went on to win the 2007 NBA Championship.
2010-11 Memphis Grizzlies
Still moving on from Pau Gasol's era in Memphis, the Grizzlies made a surprising playoff campaign in 2011 when they ended their five-year postseason drought. Without any NBA superstar, the team rode on Marc Gasol, Tony Allen, Shane Battier, and Zach Randolph. Despite being the eight seed, the Grizzlies overcame the top seeded Spurs in six games. Although the Grizzlies were in striking distance of moving past the second round, Durant and the Thunder proved to be too much for the Grizzlies, as the latter surrendered in seven games.
2012-13 Golden State Warriors
After their playoff campaign in 2007, the Warriors were pretty much in their dark ages. But after a string of losing seasons, the franchise brought changes that saw Mark Jackson take the coaching reins and Stephen Curry receive the keys to the franchise. In the 2013 playoffs, the sixth-seeded Warriors overcame the third-seeded Nuggets in a thrilling six games. Afterwards, they conceded to the eventual finalists the Spurs in just as many games.
2000-01 Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks were pretty much cellar dwellers in the '90s. But with the addition of Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki, the Mavs found a way to be relevant. The two eventual MVPs conspired to eliminate the Jazz in five games in the 2001 first round before succumbing to the Spurs in the Western Conference Semifinals. Nowitzki paced the Mavs with averages of 23.0 points and 8.6 rebounds per outing.
2020-21 Phoenix Suns
With the core of Chris Paul, Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton, the Suns emerged as a championship contender. Furthermore, the 2020-21 regular season saw the Suns end their 11-year playoff drought by taking the second seed in the West with a 51-21 record. Unfortunately, the Suns just couldn't win it all after conceding to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games in the NBA Finals.
2014-15 Cleveland Cavaliers
After LeBron James' first departure from Cleveland in 2010, the Cavaliers were irrelevant in the playoff picture. But when James returned for the 2014-15 season, the Cavs immediately became a championship contender. He would lead the Cavs to an NBA Finals appearance, which was James' fourth straight. Unfortunately, the Cavs failed to overcome Stephen Curry and the Warriors, falling in six games.
2019-20 Los Angeles Lakers
Speaking of LeBron James, the Lakers had a disappointing first-round exit in 2013 followed by a six-year absence in the postseason. Just two seasons after James arrived in Los Angeles and the addition of Anthony Davis, the Purple and Gold ran past their Western Conference counterparts before finishing the Miami Heat in six games to become champions in the 2020 NBA Bubble. James was crowned the Finals MVP, the fourth in his career.
