After the Sacramento Kings broke a 16-year playoff drought last year there are only three teams in the NBA with a playoff drought of four years or more. Let’s look at their chances of snapping that streak.
Charlotte Hornets 7-Year-Playoff Drought
LaMelo Ball was seen as a guy who could be a top-five player in the NBA but has yet to make the playoffs in his first two seasons in the league. In his rookie year he had a solid team around him but last year was a bit of a disaster for Charlotte. Heading into this year Charlotte should feel more confident about their playoff chances getting Miles Bridges back and adding the No. 2 pick in the draft as well as Nick Smith who could be a nice sixth man. Not to mention the East continues to get worse which doesn’t hurt.
San Antonio Spurs 4-Year-Playoff Drought
Last year the Spurs tanked for Victor Wembanyama and their playoff hopes almost entirely depend on if he is as good as advertised already in his rookie year. If he is just a bit above average as a rookie this team has almost no chance to make the playoffs unless they get a late play-in spot and somehow win two games in a row. The West is just too difficult for a team with so little talent like this to make the playoffs or even the 7th or 8th spot in the play in.
Detroit Pistons 4-Year-Playoff Drought
It is pretty unknown of how the Pistons will be next year because their best player in Cade Cunningham missed almost all of last year. Also no one really knows who their second-best player is and who will step up to be it between Jaden Ivey, Marvin Bagley, James Wiseman, Jalen Duren, or rookie Ausar Thompson. If your second best player is Bojan Bogdanovic, then this likely won’t be a playoff team as we know who he is, a good three point shooter who can get around 18 points per game when he’s not the first option. In the East this team has a decent chance to make the playoffs if one or two of the above mentioned players proves to be good.
Photo Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LaMelo_Ball_(51914959337).jpg
