LeBron James’ viral comments about “ring culture” quickly garnered the attention of the basketball and sports world, including that of Warriors star Draymond Green.
“I don’t know why it’s discussed so much in our sport and why it’s the end-all-be-all of everything,” James said on the “Mind the Game” podcast. “You tell me Allen Iverson, Charles Barkley, and Steve Nash weren’t f–king unbelievable? They can’t be talked about with these guys because they won rings? It’s like saying Peyton Manning can’t be in the same room with Tom Brady or [Patrick] Mahomes because he only has one ring.
“They don’t ever discuss that in their sport. Barry Bonds never won a World Series, and you can’t sit here and tell me that he’s not the greatest baseball player to ever touch a bat. … Jerry West went to like nine straight NBA Finals and was only able to win one ring. And he’s the logo of our league.”
Green and his podcast co-host Baron Davis discussed James’ comments on the latest episode of “The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis,” where Davis initially said he “definitely” agrees with James.
And while Green does too, he shared a more thought-out response with a big-picture perspective.
“I think ring culture took a big turn and came into play in large part due to the success of the Golden State Warriors. What Bron was saying is that you get guys like Stephen A. [Smith], and to me it felt like Stephen A is someone who talks a lot about rings and you don’t know what it takes to win a ring because you’ve never won a ring. You don’t understand because you’ve never gone through it. And because you don’t know how hard it is because you’ve never gone through it, then you start using it to lessen the greatness of some of the greats.
“Is having a ring important? Of course. Does it add to legacies? Does it stamp legacies? Absolutely. I’m not going to sit here and act like having a ring or rings doesn’t matter. It does matter. But it doesn’t make [Charles] Barkley less great than he was. It doesn’t make Allen Iverson less great. I think when people use it, they use it to dim the greatness, dim the light on guys. And that’s what I felt like Bron was getting at.”
To Green’s point, both Barkley and Iverson are Naismith Basketball Hall of Famers, 11-time NBA All-Stars and one-time league MVPs.
But some critics have downplayed their greatness over the simple fact that they never hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
In more recent times, players such as James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and probably more than anyone, Chris Paul, have been scrutinzed for never getting over that hump of winning a championship.
“CP and James Harden, if they don’t run into us [the Warriors], they probably do win a championship,” Green said. “Sometimes, that’s just how the cookie crumbles. But that don’t mean those guys aren’t great. That don’t mean Chris Paul isn’t a winner. Chris Paul is a winner. There’s so many things that have to go right for you to win a championship.
“So to just lessen someone’s greatness because of it, I think that’s wrong. Again, I’m not saying that having the rings don’t matter. When I walk in a room, I feel great about the four rings I have. But that does not lessen someone else’s greatness.”
While people will have their own opinions and continue to debate their stance, Davis ended with a pretty level-headed statement.
“There are more great players than great players that won rings,” Davis said, as Green agreed. “There are more great players who haven’t won rings than great players that have won rings. That’s the way we got to look at it.”
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