Exploring five teams with the longest active NBA Playoff droughts in the Association heading into the 2024-25 season.
One of the most fascinating pre-season activities for NBA fans across the country to do in anticipation of the new campaign is to predict what the NBA Playoffs could look like at the end of the year. How many new teams will make the postseason? How many postseason teams from last year will take a step back? Will any team be able to dethrone the Boston Celtics? Which young teams will take another step forward? It's a great exercise that many tend to do just before the start of every season.
And this year isn't any different. But before we jump into that discussion, it's important to look back at a few teams that will be playing for a little more this season. In this article, we'll take a look at the five teams that have the longest active playoff drought in the NBA.
The NBA's longest active playoff droughts
T-5. Utah Jazz, Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls - 2 seasons
It hasn't been an extended time since the Utah Jazz, Toronto Raptors, and Chicago Bulls have not qualified for the postseason, but two years could feel like a lot for franchises that are used to success. Interestingly enough, the Jazz, Raptors, and Bulls all find themselves in the same position.
All three of these teams have been trying to retool/rebuild on the fly recently and at this point, it wouldn't be all that surprising if this streak reached three seasons for each of these teams. If I had to guess, the Raptors have the best shot to break the drought this season. But even then, they could still be a year or two from doing so. The Jazz and Bulls could be even more behind in their building process.