5 greatest teams since 2000 to not win an NBA title

#5 Orlando Magic

Jameer Nelson (L) and Dwight Howard (R)

The Orlando Magic had failed to get past the first round of the playoffs since Shaquille O'Neal left in 1996. That finally changed over a decade later as Dwight Howard emerged as the premier big man in the league and Stan Van Gundy took over as coach. While they lost to the Pistons, who were the resident power in the East in 2008, the Magic would win 59 games in each of the next 2 seasons and make deep playoff runs.

In 2009, they squeezed past the Celtics who didn't have Kevin Garnett in the semifinals to set up a clash against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Magic shot the Cavs out of the series, hitting 3s at a 40% clip and winning 4-2. They would face the Lakers in the NBA Finals and game 4 would decide the series. Down 1-2, the Magic led 87-84 with 11 seconds left, but Howard would miss both his free throws and the Lakers would go on to win in Overtime. The Lakers would comfortably win game 5 and close out the series.

The following season, they would lose in the Conference Finals to the Celtics who had Garnett healthy this time. First round exits in the next two seasons led to increased tensions and Howard reportedly wanted Van Gundy out. They both would end up leaving in 2012 and the Magic have been struggling since.