NBA
Ring Chasing Like A Bridal Party
Karl Malone, Patrick Ewing, Allen Iverson, Elgin Baylor, and Reggie Miller. These are just a few names of NBA Hall of Famers that in their illustrious careers were never able to land the giant diamond and gold ring.
They all had their chances at a ring if not multiple chances at one. These players obviously are all astounding talents, but the lack of a ring will always be an asterisk on their careers and ultimately decide where they stand all time. Should it though?
Do Players Have Real Chances?
To start off if you take into account how many titles the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics have together, they have 33 titles. That covers a little under half of the finals in the history of the NBA. Team next up with titles? Philadelphia/Golden State with six titles, but three of those came within the last four years. The Chicago Bulls obviously have six, but that was in the 90’s with Michael Jordan.
The San Antonio Spurs has five titles, and those didn’t come until the last 20 years during the Tim Duncan dynasty. That makes it 50 titles between five teams in the last 71 years. Unless you were hopping from team to team with one-year contracts and making super teams like nowadays it was hard to get one. A handful of franchises have one to three titles to their name, but the list is limited.
When Should Total Rings Count?
This question is tricky because of the limited chances players get at a ring. The question should only really only be asked when talking about the greatest of all time. Even then you had to be the best on that title team to get the real recognition.
You also have to take into consideration who the teams they were playing. Most people say Michael Jordan is the GOAT, but if we ring count then technically it should be Bill Russell. He won 11 rings total compared to Jordan’s six. That’s enough for every finger and an extra pinky ring for the youngsters to kiss when they accept the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP trophy from him.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar could have the argument as well considering he has six titles to his name while holding the record for the most points of all time. When do we stop asking who the GOAT is and just start judging players on their careers in the league and the impact they left behind?
Ring Chasing Ruining The League?
Today’s game focuses so much on if you don’t have a ring that you might as well just retire. Now in the league, unless you’re Golden State, Houston (maybe), or Boston (maybe) your chances are slim. Golden State first was an ideal team. Formed through drafting players like Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green.
Also some low key important trades/signings for players like Andre Iguodala and trading for Andrew Bogut. Now they are the worst culprits with players ring chasing. Adding Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins to the mix makes it not even close to fair. With super talented players going to a few select teams; it takes out the competition that used to be all over the league.
Is It Ever Okay?
Now the real question comes. Is there ever a time when going from team to team chasing that ring is okay? If you are at the tail end of your career, possibly. Playing that role player position sure. When you are in the prime of your career and teaming up with other superstars in their prime can be considered by many to be “soft.”
It comes down in the end to how the player wants to be remembered. A player that took the easy way out for their ring, or the one that kept grinding and was never able to get one.
