{"id":17905,"date":"2024-06-06T19:27:32","date_gmt":"2024-06-06T13:57:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/?p=444679"},"modified":"2024-06-06T19:27:32","modified_gmt":"2024-06-06T13:57:32","slug":"where-al-horford-ranks-on-list-of-games-played-without-a-championship-ring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/nba\/where-al-horford-ranks-on-list-of-games-played-without-a-championship-ring\/","title":{"rendered":"Where Al Horford ranks on list of games played without a championship ring"},"content":{"rendered":"

Celtics big man Al Horford is like the Gandalf of the NBA Playoffs, having navigated six Eastern Conference Finals and now, soon, his second NBA Finals in a storied 17-year career.<\/p>\n

With a whopping 181 playoff games under his belt, Horford has been a postseason fixture since he first laced up for the NBA. Only twice has he missed the playoffs\u2014once as a rookie with Atlanta in 2007-08 and then in 2020-21, when his season was abruptly shortened with the Thunder.<\/p>\n

Despite all that playoff experience, Horford has yet to snag the elusive championship ring. His closest brush with glory before 2024 was in 2022 when the Celtics were vanquished by the Warriors in a six-game Finals showdown. His other deep playoff escapades were thwarted thrice by LeBron James\u2019 Cavaliers and once by Jimmy Butler\u2019s Heat.<\/p>\n

As Horford eyes the pinnacle of NBA success in the 2024 Finals, one might wonder: where does he rank among the players who\u2019ve racked up the most playoff games without ever hoisting the trophy? His journey has been filled with near-misses and almost-there moments, but could this be the year he finally reaches the summit? The clock is ticking, and the story is tantalizingly poised for a potentially epic conclusion.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most NBA Playoff games played without a championship<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Horford may be a seasoned playoff veteran, but when it comes to the unfortunate distinction of most postseason appearances without a championship ring, he\u2019s playing second fiddle to the Utah Jazz legends of the 90s.<\/p>\n

Karl Malone and John Stockton, the dynamic duo of Salt Lake City, sit atop this dubious leaderboard with 193 and 182 playoff games played without tasting the sweet nectar of victory, respectively.<\/p>\n

Those two Hall of Famers led the Jazz to the NBA Finals in both 1997 and 1998, only to find themselves repeatedly thwarted by the unstoppable force known as Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls. Talk about a case of bad timing.<\/p>\n

Malone also had a fleeting taste of Finals action with the Lakers in 2004, but alas, the Pistons emerged victorious, denying him yet again.<\/p>\n

Now, Horford finds himself in striking distance of Stockton\u2019s unfortunate record. With his second game in the 2024 NBA Finals, he\u2019ll surpass the Jazz legend in playoff appearances without a title. But there\u2019s a silver lining amidst the disappointment: a chance for redemption. If the Celtics can defy the odds and claim the Larry O\u2019Brien trophy, Horford could finally scratch his name off this list of playoff near-misses and etch himself into the annals of NBA history as a champion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Rank<\/td>\nPlayer<\/td>\nPlayoff Games Played<\/td>\nFinals Appearances<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1.<\/td>\nKarl Malone<\/td>\n193<\/td>\n3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2.<\/td>\nJohn Stockton<\/td>\n182<\/td>\n2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3.<\/td>\nAl Horford*<\/td>\n181<\/td>\n2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4.<\/td>\nSam Perkins<\/td>\n167<\/td>\n3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5.<\/td>\nJames Harden<\/td>\n166<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6.<\/td>\nChris Paul<\/td>\n149<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7.<\/td>\nKyle Korver<\/td>\n145<\/td>\n2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
T-8.<\/td>\nGeorge Hill<\/td>\n144<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nReggie Miller<\/td>\n144<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nCharles Oakley<\/td>\n144<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Celtics big man Al Horford is like the Gandalf of the NBA Playoffs, having navigated six Eastern Conference Finals and\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":294,"featured_media":38647,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[826],"class_list":["post-17905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","tag-nba"],"reading_time":"3 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/294"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17905\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}