5 greatest NBA teams that never won a title

5. 2008-09 Cleveland Cavaliers

Before LeBron left Cleveland for Miami, he and the Cavaliers made it to the finals as an over-achieving group in 2007. They nearly made it back to the finals in 2009, losing in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Orlando Magic, who would go on to lose to the Lakers. The Magic robbed us of a LeBron vs Kobe Finals matchup.

The 2008-09 Cavaliers had the fourth-best offensive rating (112.4), third-best defensive rating (102.4) and best Simple Rating System mark (8.68). The Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic had the second, third, and fourth-best SRS numbers on the season. This was not a star-laden team, but the Cavs had clearly developed a system that worked. Of course, the hyper-skilled, unselfish, uber-athletic individual the system orbited around was that year’s Most Valuable Player, LeBron James.

This Cavs season is notable, in retrospect, because we got to see an exuberant, less-reserved LeBron James. This isn’t LeBron at his most efficient, that would come later in Miami; but in the Cavaliers Conference Finals matchup against the Orlando Magic, you see a springier, more elastic version of James. You see someone lost in competition, reveling in their skill. LeBron’s shoulders are less broad, less boulder-like, he doesn’t yet know all he’ll have to carry, all that he’ll be burdened with. This is a freer, airier version of James, bounding about the court and making his presence felt. He celebrates every and-1 by flexing and announcing his presence with expletive-filled self-encouragement or demands for quicker calls from the referees. He seems intent on dunking everything and is eager to dart in for massive, almost reckless blocks on Dwight Howard.

Talking heads took this series loss in strange directions unfavorable to James, but LeBron’s performance speaks for itself. Not only did he nail a buzzer-beating, game-winning 3-pointer in Game 2; he finished the series averaging 38.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, 8.0 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocks, while shooting 48.7 percent from the field and 74.5 percent from the free-throw line.