"It's Just Weird To Me" - LeBron James Had Quite The Take When It Comes To The Idea Of Ring Culture In The NBA

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There is a lot of exhausting discourse when it comes to the NBA, but somewhere high on the list is the idea of Ring Culture. Over the last few years it feels like the minds of fans have been warped a bit by RINNNGZZZZZZZ or whatever, especially in today's world where the majority of NBA Twitter is just player stan accounts.

I've always looked at this topic as something that's fluid. Those who try and discount how important a title is are usually fans of a team or a player that doesn't have one. On the flip side, fans make such a big deal about RINGGZZZ and then get mad when a player makes a move to put themselves in a position to win one. The Kevin Durant situation is a perfect example. The same people who demanded a player like KD win a ring if he was truly an all time great, were then crying when he made a decision to put himself in a position to win that ring. So which is it? It's all very confusing. I also think the idea of Ring Culture can often go a bit too far when talking about the legends of the past, but it does feel like this is something that is never going away. The toothpaste is out of the tube, and unfortunately, regardless of the sport, Ring Culture is here to stay.

Few players have experienced this trend in more ways than someone like LeBron, which is why I found his stance on the topic pretty interesting. 

A thoughtful answer that somewhat does have my brain in a bit of a pretzel, given the fact that there are a lot of things LeBron says in those clips that I agree with. Anyone who suggests players like Iverson, Nash, Barkley etc weren't all time players all because they didn't win a ring are morons. That's one of the downsides of Ring Culture debates, usually coming from younger fans. So much goes into winning a championship, if that's how you evaluate players and how "good" they were, that's insane. Is it Steve Nash's fault the NBA absolutely boned him and the Suns back in 2007? Is it Chuck's fault that he had to go up against Michael Jordan? Is it Iverson's fault that he had to deal with the Lakers Dynasty? 

At the same time, this might be a situation where it's the right message, but the wrong messenger. Unfortunately for LeBron, we remember 2010. We remember why he went to the Heat in the first place. Why? Rings. Because he knew how important winning a ring (or multiple) was for his legacy, given that he's chasing Michael Jordan. 

That's why it's a little funny to hear him try and make it seem like he doesn't understand why it's a thing or why it's a big deal. I'm also not surprised that at this stage of his career, where it's now more likely than not that LeBron won't catch MJ in rings, he now feels this way about Ring Culture. So on one hand, I agree with his overall point, that Ring Culture has definitely warped how fans treat and talk about the NBA and the game of basketball. There's no denying that. But I would also argue that LeBron played a pretty significant role in the development of this current Ring Culture

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I also have to push back on his Peyton Manning/Tom Brady analogy. To be fair, Peyton has 2 rings (not 1), but he absolutely does not reside in the same room as Tom Brady. Good player, a HOFer, and one of the best of his era, but he's not the GOAT. Unfortunately for Peyton, he does not have access to that room. That's how sports work, but it's not just because Tom has 7 rings to Peyton's 2. It's everything. The collective body of work is why they reside in different rooms, the rings are just one of the contributing factors. 

This would be like saying Kawhi belongs in the same room as LeBron. No fucking chance LeBron would agree with you if you told him that. It's not just because he has 4 and Kawhi has 2, but the totality of their careers that go into something like that.

Whenever a player wins a title, it's no surprise that they always talk about how that ring now grants them access into certain "rooms" when talking about their place in NBA history. I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing either. Rings do matter, but it's also true they are not the end-all be-all. But when you want to start having certain conversations, that shit matters. 

I know the public will probably drag LeBron for this take, but let's not forget the fact that we've heard something very similar from another guy who knows a thing or two about collecting rings

I think the easiest answer to this whole Ring Culture debate is to just be normal. Use your critical thinking skills when talking about this stuff. Pretending like winning at the highest level doesn't matter is stupid. Pretending like someone sucks or is somehow not an all time great because they never reached the top of the mountain is also stupid. I'm not sure why this is so hard for people to grasp, but here we are.