If winning a ring was all that matters, then it shouldn’t be a debate that K.C. Jones and Robert Horry are better players than Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, or that Bill Russell is the one and only NBA GOAT.
With all due respect, that’s nowhere near the case. There are many factors one should take into account when assessing a player’s career, and whether he won and ring or not should carry some weight but not be what settles the argument.
Chicago Bulls star DeMar DeRozan seems to agree with that, as he recently talked about all those legends of the game who retired without ever winning an NBA Championship and how that didn’t affect their legacies.
NBA News: DeMar DeRozan Doesn’t Agree With ‘Ring Culture’
“There are so many great players that don’t have rings and if you bring up that player versus another player that does have a ring, you will discredit that great player by saying ‘he don’t have a ring.‘ But you can’t take away all the accomplishments he had in his career because some people don’t even get half of what some of these great players have,” DeRozan told Taylor Rooks, as quoted by Fadeaway World.
“Just because they don’t have a ring, you wanna say he not like this player. At times, I do feel like it’s a lot thrown on it because all these competitors wished they had a ring. That’s the ultimate thing for us to have but everybody can’t have a ring but that don’t mean you can’t work your butt off and be the best teammate, best player, you could be throughout your whole career,” he added.
It takes a lot to win an NBA championship. Health, good coaching, a capable supporting cast, and even a pinch of luck. Maybe it’s time we stop using rings as the only objective piece of data to measure greatness.
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