Michael Jordan And LeBron James Seemingly Agree That NBA Rings Are Not Important In The GOAT Debate

LeBron James recently came under media scrutiny for claiming that the ring culture in the NBA is harmful for the sport in the long run. In an attempt to discount the number of championships a player has won as the sole metric to determine the greatest player of all time, James went on his 'Mind the Game' podcast to express his views.

"I do not know the answer," said James when he was asked about the origin of the ring culture presently in the NBA. "I wish I had the answer to this, but I'm not sure. Man, it's funny. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know why it's discussed so much in our sport, and why it's the end-all, be-all of everything."

"It's like saying Peyton Manning can't be in the same room with [Tom] Brady or [Patrick] Mahomes because he only has [two rings]," James said. "Or telling me that Dan Marino is not the greatest slinger of all time, but he can't be in the room with those guys because he didn't win a championship. They don't discuss those things. ... Did Barry Bonds win a World Series? I don't think so..... You can't sit here and tell me that he's not the greatest baseball player to ever touch a bat. I just, I don't understand where it came from. I don't know where it started. I just hope that we just appreciate more what guys have been able to accomplish."

"You automatically dismiss people and their careers when you say, 'Hey, he didn't win a ring.' It's like, have you actually sat down and looked at this guy's career and see what he accomplished? Jerry West went to like nine straight NBA Finals and was only able to win one, and he's the logo of our league. You can't sit here and tell me that, 'OK, because he only won one, he can't be in the same room with people who won two or three or four.'"

This seems to be in concurrence with what Michael Jordan said about rings when he was asked about it in an interview with Cigar Aficionado. 

"I won 6 championships. Bill Russell won 11. Does that make Bill Russell better than me? Or make me better than him? No. Because we played at different eras. "