Which franchises are close?
Interestingly enough, there's an argument to be made that a good amount of franchises that have never won an NBA title can be considered somewhat close. Of the 10 teams on that list of teams that have never won an NBA Championship, you can probably place the Phoenix Suns, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Indiana Pacers as teams that are close. Each of these four teams has a superstar in place and has somewhat of a strong supporting cast in place around them. The Suns, Grizzlies, Wolves, and Pacers may not be perfect builds, but they could seemingly win a championship in the next 2-3 years and no one would be shocked.
The Suns have one of the most talented big 3 on paper and did improve their supporting cast around them this offseason. The Grizzlies are welcoming back the return of Ja Morant this season. With a couple of strong supporting stars next to Morant, Memphis will definitely play a factor in the West this season.
The Wolves are coming off a surprise run to the Western Conference Finals in which Anthony Edwards jumped onto the NBA stardom scene. The Pacers also make a surprise run to the conference finals this season and should be improved with the return of Bennedict Mathurin and continued internal improvement.
But as close as these four teams may be to winning their first NBA Championship, there are others on this list that aren't close at all.