For the first time in nearly two decades, the Milwaukee Bucks are playing basketball beyond the first round. On Monday night the top seed in the East cruised past the Pistons 127-104, capping a 4-0 series sweep in which the Bucks won by an average of 23.8 points per game. It’s Milwaukee’s first playoff series victory since 2001, snapping the NBA’s longest active drought.
The last time the Bucks won a playoff series before this year, Ray Allen, Glenn Robinson and Sam Cassell took the franchise to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, losing to the 76ers. Now that Giannis Antetokounmpo and company advanced past Round 1, who now owns the longest drought in the NBA?
Charlotte Hornets – 17 years*:
There’s an asterisk there because by normal time, the franchise hasn’t won a playoff series since the 2002 opening round against Orlando, but this situation is a mess. The franchise moved to New Orleans and played under the Hornets name from 2002-03 until 2013, when the team became the Pelicans and the expansion Charlotte Bobcats took the Hornets’ name. As part of the agreement, the original Charlotte Hornets history (1988-2002) was claimed by the Bobcats, while the Pelicans took everything from 2002-03 onward.
In short, NBA record books show the current Charlotte Hornets to have suspended operations for two seasons (you get all that?). What does it all mean? The New Orleans Hornets’ 2008 first round victory over Dallas doesn’t belong to Charlotte, so they technically hold the NBA’s longest active postseason series win drought.
Sacramento Kings – 15 years:
This one is much easier to explain: the Kings have largely stunk since winning the 2004 first round series against the Mavericks. The team made the playoffs in 2005 and 2006, losing in the first round both years. Then the core of Chris Webber, Mike Bibby, Peja Stojakovic and Vlade Divac got older and gave way to… well, nobody, really. The franchise bottomed out and hasn’t made the postseason since that ’06 exit. In fact, the closest the team has gotten to sniffing .500 came this year, when the Kings finished 39-43.
Minnesota Timberwolves – 15 years:
Upon winning a couple of playoff series and advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2004, it’s been dark times for the Timberwolves. Just once has the team been back to the postseason, losing in the first round a year ago, though it’s not due to a lack of opportunity. The franchise missed the playoffs both years after making the conference final before trading away Kevin Garnett. Kevin Love had good years on bad teams before he was dealt. They’ve had 11 top-10 picks since 2006, including the No. 1 pick in 2015 that became Karl-Anthony Towns.
Detroit Pistons – 10 years:
The Bucks snapped their 18-year drought at the expense of the Pistons, who with the series sweep extended their own postseason misery to a decade. From 2003-08, Detroit was a mainstay in the East, advancing to the conference finals six straight seasons, making two Finals appearances and winning a title in 2004.
Since that ’08 season, though, it’s been tough sledding. The Chauncey Billups/Rip Hamilton/Rasheed Wallace/Ben Wallace days came to an end, the team has finished at or above .500 just twice, and three postseason appearances have all ended in sweeps (’09 and ’16 to Cleveland, ’19 to Milwaukee).
Denver Nuggets – 9 years*:
Another asterisk, because this drought could come to an end. Tuesday night the Nuggets host the Spurs in Game 5 of their series, tied at 2. The two teams have alternated wins and losses thus far, including a 117-103 Denver victory in Game 4. A series victory would be the Nuggets first since the 2009 postseason, when the team advanced to the Western Conference Finals. After that, four straight first-round exits saw George Karl leave, Carmelo Anthony traded, and five straight losing seasons follow. This year, though, the franchise burst onto the scene to the tune of 58 regular season wins, the most since the 1975-76 Nuggets won 60 games in the ABA.
If the Nuggets to snap their drought, the Suns and Magic crack the top-five, each going on nine years without a series victory.