There have been 13 players in NBA history to win a championship without scoring any points in the playoffs.
In NBA history, NBA championship teams have always been comprised of players ranging from superstars to unsung heroes who make their magical run to glory possible. Then, there is another group of players who contribute almost nothing offensively but still earn the label of being an NBA champion for the rest of their lives. They are the epitome of the kid in school who gets an A on a class project just for signing his name, going scoreless for an entire playoff run that resulted in an NBA championship.
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This isn’t to belittle their accomplishments because just making it to the NBA is something to be proud of. However, becoming an NBA champion is a different story, and these 13 players below had more than just a little help earning those rings.
*All players must have played at least one playoff minute to qualify for this list*
Larry Hennessy – 0 Points (1956 NBA Champion)
1955-56 Regular Season Stats: 3.7 PPG, 0.9 RPG, 0.9 APG
1955-56 Playoff Stats: 0.0 PPG, 0.3 RPG, 0.7 APG
Career Stats: 4.5 PPG, 1.3 RPG, 1.0 APG
The first case of a player riding his team’s wave to an NBA championship was Larry Hennessy of the 1956 Philadelphia Warriors. Hennessy was a two-year NBA veteran who played 74 career games for the Warriors and Nationals during the 1956 and 1957 seasons. For his career, he averaged just 4.5 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game on 33.4% shooting.
Hennessy’s championship run would come as a rookie with the Warriors who were led by Paul Arizin and Neil Johnston to victory in the NBA Finals over the Fort Wayne Pistons. Hennessy would play 11 total minutes in the playoffs that season, shooting 0-9 from the field while grabbing 1 rebound and dishing out 2 assists. He would leave the NBA for good following a season in which he played just 21 games in 1957.
Dan Swartz – 0 Points (1963 NBA Champion)
1962-63 Regular Season Stats: 4.5 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 0.5 APG
1962-63 Playoff Stats: 0.0 PPG, 0.0 RPG, 0.0 APG
Career Stats: 4.5 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 0.5 APG
Dan Swartz is a prime example of the point we are trying to get across today. Swartz was the 30th overall pick in the 1965 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics. He would go on to play 39 games with the Celtics as a rookie, averaging 4.5 points and 2.3 rebounds per game on 38.0% shooting from the floor.
The 6’4’’ small forward would be benched in the playoffs, playing just four minutes in Game 2 of the Eastern Division Finals against the Cincinnati Royals that Boston won 125-102. After the Celtics went on to defeat the Lakers in the 1963 NBA Finals, Swartz saw the writing on the wall. He would retire at 28 years old but forever be known as an NBA champion with just 40 games total under his belt.
Mal Graham – 0 Points (1969 NBA Champion)
1968-69 Regular Season Stats: 1.7 PPG, 1.1 RPG, 0.6 APG
1968-69 Playoff Stats: 0.0 PPG, 0.0 RPG, 0.5 APG
Career Stats: 4.7 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 1.1 BPG
The dynastic run of the Boston Celtics’ nine NBA championships during the 1960s is something we will likely never see again in our lifetimes. This run gifted many players championships in their careers but perhaps none won more while doing less than Mal Graham. As a part of not one, but two championship teams, Graham was crowned an NBA champion in both seasons he spent in the NBA.
During the 1968 championship run, Graham got on the board as a scorer, recording 5 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 assist in 22 minutes played across five games. The following season, Graham’s playing time in the regular season deteriorated as did his time in the playoffs as they captured their 11th NBA championship. Graham would play just three minutes in the playoffs in total, shooting 0-2 from the field and recording one assist.
Marv Winkler – 0 Points (1971 NBA Champion)
1970-71 Regular Season Stats: 2.7 PPG, 1.3 RPG, 0.7 APG
1970-71 Playoff Stats: 0.0 PPG, 0.0 RPG, 0.2 APG
Career Stats: 2.1 PPG, 1.3 RPG, 0.7 APG
As far as NBA careers go, there isn’t much to say about that of Marv Winkler. The Milwaukee Bucks made Winkler their 50th overall pick in the 1970 NBA Draft as a shooting guard out of Louisiana. During the regular season of his rookie year, Winkler would see the court just three times for a total of 14 minutes played. In that time, he would shoot 3-10 from the field for 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists.
During Milwaukee’s dominant playoff run led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson to the 1971 title, Winkler would see the court five times but only for a total of eight minutes. He was held scoreless on a total of four shot attempts while recording one assist. Following the championship win, Winkler would play one season in the ABA for the Indiana Pacers where he averaged 2.0 points per game in 20 games played.
Eddie Jordan – 0 Points (1982 NBA Champion)
1981-82 Regular Season Stats: 3.8 PPG, 0.7 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.0 BPG
1981-82 Playoff Stats: 0.0 PPG, 0.0 RPG, 1.7 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.0 BPG
Career Stats: 8.1 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 3.8 APG, 1.8 SPG, 0.2 BPG
Former second-round pick out of Rutgers University, Eddie Jordan, had the longest NBA career of anyone on our list thus far. After being drafted by the Cavaliers in 1977, Jordan would be dealt to the Nets as a rookie where he would play through the 1980 season. In 1981, he would be dealt to the Lakers where he remained for all but 13 games of the rest of his career.
In 1982, Jordan became an NBA champion thanks to his spot at the end of the bench with the Showtime Lakers. He played 58 games during the regular season and averaged 3.8 points and 2.3 assists per game. When it came to the NBA playoffs, however, it was all business for the Lakers, and Jordan was pushed to the end of the bench. He would see just six minutes of action in three games played, shooting 0-2 from the field but would record 5 assists and 2 steals. The Lakers went on to defeat the 76ers in the NBA Finals in six games.
Greg Foster – 0 Points (2001 NBA Champion)
2000-01 Regular Season Stats: 2.0 PPG, 1.8 RPG, 0.5 APG, 0.1 SPG, 0.2 BPG
2000-01 Playoff Stats: 0.0 PPG, 1.0 RPG, 0.0 APG, 0.0 SPG, 0.0 BPG
Career Stats: 3.9 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 0.5 APG, 0.1 SPG, 0.3 BPG
Greg Foster was a 13-year NBA veteran who played for nine teams between the 1991 and 2003 seasons. After being drafted 35th overall by the Washington Bullets in 1990, Foster went on to have a solid career as a rotational big man in a role mainly off the bench everywhere he went. His most memorable stretch of play is for the Utah Jazz from 1996 through 1999, appearing in two NBA Finals during that stretch.
In 2001, Foster would play 62 games as a backup center for the dominant Los Angeles Lakers that ran the table in the NBA playoffs on their way to a second straight NBA title. Foster would see just two minutes and 32 seconds of action in Game 2 of the First Round against the Trail Blazers, grabbing one rebound without any shot attempts. Foster would retire two seasons later at 34 years old with the Toronto Raptors.
Mark Madsen – 0 Points (2002 NBA Champion)
2001-02 Regular Season Stats: 2.8 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 0.7 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.2 BPG
2001-02 Playoff Stats: 0.0 PPG, 0.3 RPG, 0.0 APG, 0.0 SPG, 0.0 BPG
Career Stats: 2.2 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 0.4 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.2 BPG
You know it is a pretty bad playoff run when the most memorable thing about it is your awful dance moves during the championship parade. When it comes to backup power forward Mark Madsen, that is exactly what the case is when it comes to his part in the Los Angeles Lakers’ three-peat 2002 NBA championship run.
Madsen, a nine-year veteran of the NBA with the Lakers and Timberwolves from 2001 through 2009, was a career 2.2 points power game scorer. In his rookie championship run in 2001, Madsen was able to record 5 points in 48 total minutes of action. However, in 2002, Madsen saw just 10 minutes of action where he recorded zero points on 0-1 shooting with 2 rebounds.
2005-06 Regular Season Stats: 4.1 PPG, 1.4 RPG, 0.7 APG, 0.1 SPG, 0.1 BPG
2005-06 Playoff Stats: 0.0 PPG, 0.0 RPG, 0.0 APG, 0.0 SPG, 0.0 BPG
Career Stats: 6.7 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 0.8 APG, 0.4 SPG, 0.0 BPG
Sharpshooter Jason Kapono is most remembered for his outstanding performances during the NBA’s three-point contest that saw him win the competition in both 2007 and 2008. Outside of that, Kapono was a nine-year veteran who played for six different teams and shot 43.4% from three-point range for his career.
By 2005-06, Kapono had joined his third team in three seasons, traveling to South Beach to be with the Miami Heat. During the regular season, Kapono would play 51 games, averaging 4.1 points per game along the way. In the NBA playoffs, Kapono would be limited to just two minutes of play during Miami’s Game 4 blowout win over Dallas in the NBA Finals. Miami would close out the series in six games without Kapono even registering a shot attempt.
Wayne Simien – 0 Points (2006 NBA Champion)
2005-06 Regular Season Stats: 3.4 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 0.2 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.0 BPG
2005-06 Playoff Stats: 0.0 PPG, 0.5 RPG, 0.0 APG, 0.0 SPG, 0.0 BPG
Career Stats: 3.3 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 0.2 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.0 BPG
There were high hopes for Wayne Simien in 2005 when he was selected by the Miami Heat out of the University of Kansas. In his rookie season, Simien would play 43 games and averaged just 3.4 points and 2.0 rebounds per game on 48.3% shooting. During that year’s playoff run, he would play a total of just seven minutes, shooting 0-3 from the field while grabbing one rebound as the Heat won their first NBA championship in franchise history.
It turns out Simien would never live up to the potential that Miami thought he had. After playing just eight games in the 2006-07 season, Simien would leave the NBA for good at just 24 years old.
Dexter Pittman – 0 Points (2012 NBA Champion)
2011-12 Regular Season Stats: 3.0 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 0.3 APG, 0.2 SPG, 0.2 BPG
2011-12 Playoff Stats: 0.0 PPG, 0.0 RPG, 0.3 APG, 0.0 SPG, 0.3 BPG
Career Stats: 2.3 PPG, 1.8 RPG, 0.2 APG, 0.2 SPG, 0.2 BPG
In 2010, the Miami Heat made Dexter Pittman their 32nd overall pick in the NBA Draft out of Texas. Pittman had a decent college career but there were doubts his game could translate to the NBA. Those fears would ring true in the following years. Pittman would remain in Miami for most of his career partway through the 2013 season.
After Miami lost in the NBA Finals in his rookie season, Pittman saw minimal time on the court for them during the 2011-12 season. In the NBA playoffs, he would play a total of eight minutes for the Heat as their Big 3 of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh led them to an NBA championship over the Oklahoma City Thunder. In those eight minutes on the court, Pittman would shoot 0-2 from the floor while also recording 1 block and 1 assist. Pittman would play 13 more career games with the Heat, Grizzlies, and Hawks before walking away at the end of the 2014 season.
Austin Daye – 0 Points (2014 NBA Champion)
2013-14 Regular Season Stats: 3.0 PPG, 1.2 RPG, 0.4 APG, 0.2 SPG, 0.2 BPG
2013-14 Playoff Stats: 0.0 PPG, 1.0 RPG, 0.0 APG, 0.0 SPG, 0.0 BPG
Career Stats: 5.2 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 0.7 APG, 0.4 SPG, 0.4 BPG
Austin Daye is the highest-drafted player on this list, going 15th overall to the Detroit Pistons back in 2009. Daye would go on to play six seasons in the NBA for the Pistons, Spurs, Grizzlies, Hawks, and Raptors. After a decent run with the Pistons from 2010 through 2013, Daye ended up with the Spurs for the 2014 season after being traded by Toronto.
Daye would play 14 games in the regular season for the Spurs, averaging 4.0 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. In the playoffs, the Spurs would go on to defeat the Miami Heat decisively in the NBA Finals, becoming NBA champions for the fifth time. However, Daye played just six minutes of Game 2 of the First Round against the Mavericks, going 0-2 from the floor in a 113-92 loss. He would not see the court again that postseason.
Jared Dudley – 0 Points (2020 NBA Champion)
2019-20 Regular Season Stats: 1.5 PPG, 1.2 RPG, 0.6 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.1 BPG
2019-20 Playoff Stats: 0.0 PPG, 0.2 RPG, 0.0 APG, 0.4 SPG, 0.1 BPG
Career Stats: 7.3 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.2 BPG
Jared Dudley is another former first-round NBA Draft selection to join this list of players who contributed zero offense to their respective championship runs. Dudley was a 14-year NBA veteran who played for seven teams and was known for his toughness and physicality on the court.
By the time the 2019-20 season rolled around, Dudley was on his seventh team and in the final stages of his career. In the regular season, he appeared in 45 games for L.A., averaging 1.5 points per game. During those unprecedented NBA playoffs, Dudley would play nine games for a total of 31 minutes. Dudley would shoot 0-4 in those 31 minutes but recorded 4 steals and 2 rebounds in the process. In the end, he was named an NBA champion before retiring following the 2021 season.
Vlatko Cancar – 0 Points (2023 NBA Champion)
2022-23 Regular Season Stats: 5.0 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.4 SPG, 0.2 BPG
2022-23 Playoff Stats: 0.0 PPG, 0.6 RPG, 0.2 APG, 0.0 SPG, 0.0 BPG
Career Stats: 3.5 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 0.9 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.2 BPG
Four-year NBA veteran is the latest NBA champion to earn that title on the backs of his teammates’ work. Cancar is a 6’8’’ power forward out of Slovenia who was taken with the 49th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. During the Nuggets’ magical 2022-23 season, Cancar played 60 games in the regular season, averaging 5.0 points per game on 47.6% shooting.
As the Nuggets mounted a dominant run to their first-ever NBA championship, Cancar saw his minutes slip, appearing in just five games for a total of 10 minutes on the court. During this time, he shot 0-5 from the floor and grabbed 3 rebounds. Due to a knee injury, Cancar has not and will not play in the 2023-24 season as they attempt to become the first back-to-back champions since Golden State in 2017 and 2018.
