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The NBA 2020-21 regular season tipped off December 22nd, and the playoffs are tentatively scheduled to be held between May 22nd and July 22nd. The NBA 2020-21 season is the 75th year of the league, and it has quite a few players who have never played a game in the playoffs. Whether that is due to them being young or just because of poor luck, we will look at the top 10 active NBA players who have never made it to the playoffs.
10 Active players who have never made it to the NBA playoffs
#10 Nik Stauskas
Canadian basketball player Nik Stauskas recently played for the Spanish team Baskonia in the Liga ACB and EuroLeague. Stauskas last played in the NBA for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2019, and was signed to a training camp contract by Milwaukee Bucks in December 2020.
Stauskas has played a total of 335 NBA games for teams such as the Sacramento Kings, Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, Portland Trail Blazers, and Cleveland Cavaliers. However, he might as well finish his career with a playoff appearance as his Milwaukee Bucks training camp contract was terminated.
#9 Quincy Acy
Quincy Acy last played in the NBA for the Phoenix Suns back in January 2019 on two successive ten-day contracts. Since then, he has played for the Texas Legends and the Shenzhen Leopards, and currently plies his trade at Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Israeli League.
Since 2012-13, Quincy Acy has played for Toronto Raptors, Sacramento Kings, New York Knicks, Dallas Mavericks, and the Phoenix Suns. This amounts to a total of 337 games, although he has never really been a starter in his NBA career.
#8 Devin Booker
Devin Booker got his first All-Star appearance after Damian Lillard got injured last season but has still not featured in a playoff game. He was drafted 13th overall in the 2015 NBA draft by the Phoenix Suns and is currently in his sixth NBA season.
With the Phoenix Suns signing Chris Paul along with quite a few important bench players, Devin Booker is expected to break the jinx this time around and make the playoffs with the Phoenix Suns. For now, he has played 342 regular-season games without making it to the playoffs.
#7 Willie Cauley-Stein
Willie Cauley-Stein re-signed with the Dallas Mavericks in November after becoming a free agent when he opted out of his contract. Cauley-Stein had not appeared in the NBA Bubble as his partner was expecting their child. This, in turn, took away what would have been his first playoff appearance ever.
Willie Cauley-Stein started the previous season with the Golden State Warriors after four seasons with the Sacramento Kings. With a Luka Doncic-powered Mavericks team, the team is expected to make the playoffs which would mean Willie Cauley-Stein’s first playoff appearance after featuring in 349 NBA games.
#6 Zach LaVine
Zach LaVine will probably make the playoffs at some point of time in his career, something he will be hoping finally happens this season with the Chicago Bulls. LaVine was the 13th overall pick of the 2014 NBA draft and is considered to be an All-Star candidate this time around as well.
In the 2019-20 NBA season, Zach LaVine averaged a career-high of 25.7 points, 0.5 blocks, 1.5 steals, and 4.8 rebounds per game. His overall free throw percentage has been above 80 in all but one of his NBA seasons, and chances are he gets his first taste of both the playoffs and the All-Star team in the upcoming season.
#5 Julius Randle
Entering his seventh NBA season, Julius Randle has never played on a team that finished higher than 11th place in its conference. Julius Randle was an instrumental attacking threat for the Knicks in the 2019-20 NBA season and will be looking to make a serious run for the playoffs this time around.
Julius Randle has played 375 NBA Regular season games across four seasons with LA Lakers, one year in New Orleans and one in New York. He averaged a career-high free throw percentage of 73.3 percent last season, and the Knicks have in RJ Barrett a player that can lead them to the playoffs this season.
#4 Elfrid Payton
Elfrid Payton will begin his second NBA season playing for the New York Knicks in what is his eighth season in the NBA. Peyton was the 10th overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers but was then traded to the Orlando Magic.
For the Magic, he played four seasons before further brief stints with the Phoenix Suns and New Orleans Pelicans. Overall, Elfrid Peyton has featured in a total of 387 NBA regular-season games without ever making it to the playoffs.
# 3 Brandon Knight
Brandon Knight last played for the Detroit Pistons in the 2019-20 NBA season and has played for five different NBA teams. Apart from his two stints with the Pistons, Knight has played for the Milwaukee Bucks, Phoenix Suns, Houston Rockets, and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Overall, this amounts to 446 NBA games across eight seasons as a bit-part player who could never make it to the playoffs. He has for the upcoming season been retained by the Detroit Pistons and will be looking to have a say in their bid for the playoffs.
#2 Alex Len
Alex Len is an international NBA player from Ukraine who has never made it to the playoffs. The big man recently joined the Toronto Raptors on a 1-year deal and has already played 467 games in the NBA without ever making it to the playoffs.
These include stints with Phoenix Suns, Atlanta Hawks, and Sacramento Kings. With the Toronto Raptors one of the strong contenders for the NBA championship from the Eastern Conference, Alex Len can be expected to make it to the playoffs in the upcoming NBA season, finally!
#1 Omri Casspi
Omri Casspi currently plays for Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Israeli Premier League, and in 2009 he became the first Israeli player to be selected in the first round of the NBA draft. Omri Casspi was selected as the 23rd overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings.
After spending two years with the Kings, Casspi had spells with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets, New Orleans Pelicans, Minnesota Timberwolves, Golden State Warriors, and Memphis Grizzlies, racking up a total of 588 appearances in the NBA! Despite this, Omri Casspi never made the playoffs.
