In 2010, LeBron James linked up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, two other All-Stars who were top 10 in scoring the previous season. It was the ultimate “ring-chasing” move, the likes of which had never been perpetrated in NBA lore, at least not by three free agents.
Fifteen years later, James is annoyed that the ring-chasing culture persists in the NBA. On his “Mind the Game” podcast, James lamented the notion that a player isn’t deemed great unless he wins a championship, pointing to the likes of Charles Barkley, Dan Marino and Barry Bonds, who all achieved notable individual success but never secured a ring in their respective sports.
“I don’t understand where it came from. I don’t know where it started,” James said of the ring culture in the NBA. “I just hope we have to appreciate more of what guys have been able to accomplish, what guys have been able to do. A ring is a team accomplishment, and if you happen to have a moment where you’re able to share that with your team, that should be discussed. ‘This team was the greatest team,’ or ‘that team’ — you can have those conversations.”
James added that winning a championship shouldn’t be considered the “end-all, be-all” of accomplishments. It’s an astonishing statement from a player who went to Miami for the sole purpose of winning “Not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven…” titles.
And when Wade and Bosh could no longer help him win, James linked up with two other All-Stars, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, in Cleveland to resume his pursuit of more titles. When that well dried up, he teamed up with Anthony Davis, another superstar, in Los Angeles.
No other player has contributed more to the NBA’s ring culture than James. Since his bold move in 2010, others have tried to follow in his footsteps, whether it’s Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden in Brooklyn, or Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Harden in Los Angeles.
Brian Windhorst, who has covered James since his days as a teenager, blamed the Lakers star for the ring culture in the NBA.
“He has contributed to this [ring culture]. He has gone from team to team seeking championships,” Windhorst said of James.
James is one of the greatest athletes of all time, but self-awareness is not his strong suit.
