3 NBA teams with the longest current playoff droughts
After a long season, the NBA is finally heading towards the most exciting time of the year. The 2019 playoffs will begin on April 13, and the annual postseason tournament run until the much anticipated NBA Finals in June. Most of the participants for this year's playoffs have long been established, although four Eastern Conference teams remain in a battle to secure one of the final three spots.
The Clippers and Nuggets are among the teams to qualify this year after missing out in 2018, and due to the NBA's use of a salary cap and draft lottery, most teams do not go long without a postseason appearance.
However, despite the NBA incorporating rules to make the league a level playing field, some teams have now struggled to contend for a number of seasons. So, ahead of this year's playoffs, here are the three teams with the longest active postseason droughts.
#3 Orlando Magic - Last Postseason Appearance: 2012
With just a few games of the 2018/19 season remaining, the Orlando Magic remain in contention to reach the playoffs. The team currently sit 9th with a 38-40 record, and while the Magic still have work to do, they could finish as high as 6th.
If the Magic were to reach this year's playoffs, it would represent the first time that the franchise has reached the postseason since Dwight Howard exited the team way back in 2012. The former All-Star guided Orlando to six consecutive postseason appearances between 2007 and 2012, and the Magic even reached the NBA Finals in 2009, losing 4-1 to the Los Angeles Lakers.
However, since 2012, the Magic have failed to break 40 wins in a season, and their current six-season drought is the longest in franchise history.