ESPN Steve Nash and the best players never to win an NBA championship

After a 19-year NBA career in which he stood out as a future Hall of Famer and one of the greatest point guards ever, Steve Nash is now retired. Nash won two NBA MVP awards, but he never got the opportunity to hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy -- just one of four retired former MVPs to have never won an NBA title. Here are the others:

Charles Barkley

Barkley is one of the most dominant power forwards in the history of the league, and he is arguably the best retired forward to not win a title. The closest "Sir Charles" came to a ring was in 1993, when he won the MVP and led the Phoenix Suns to the NBA Finals. However, the Suns lost to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls 4-2. Barkley is one of four players in NBA history who have compiled 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 4,000 assists (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain and Karl Malone are the others).

Allen Iverson

"The Answer" came closest to winning a championship in 2001 when he took the Philadelphia 76ers to the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. However, Iverson and his team fell 4-1 to Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal. Some thought Iverson could win one alongside Carmelo Anthony when he was traded to the Denver Nuggets in 2006, but that never panned out. Iverson retired with 11 All-Star appearances and one MVP award.

Karl Malone

Barkley is arguably the best forward because Malone is the counterargument. The Basketball Hall of Famer made three appearances in the NBA Finals, twice with the Utah Jazz and once with the Lakers in his last season in the NBA. Despite never winning it all, "The Mailman" is considered one of the best players to ever play the game.

Other greats without a ring:

Elgin Baylor

Patrick Ewing

George Gervin

Grant Hill

Bernard King

Pete Maravich

Tracy McGrady

Reggie Miller

Chris Mullin

John Stockton

Chris Webber

Dominique Wilkins