LeBron James criticized the discourse around "ring culture" in the NBA, saying "a ring is a team accomplishment" and pushing back on the idea that a player's individual greatness is measured by how many championships he wins.
"Trying to nitpick an individual because he was not able to win a team game or a team match -- or whatever the case may be -- I don't know where it started, but it's a long conversation, especially when it comes to me individually," James said on his "Mind the Game" podcast with Steve Nash.
"It's so weird. It's never enough."
James, a four-time NBA MVP and the league's leading career scorer, has won four championships and has reached the NBA Finals 10 times during his 22-year NBA career.
Nash, a two-time MVP who did not win an NBA title during his career, acknowledged James' success after posing the listener question about "ring culture," but James offered a lengthy response that included several all-time greats who did not win a championship.
"I don't know why it's discussed so much in our sport and why it's the end-all, be-all of everything," James said. "Like OK, 'You weren't a great player [because] you never won a championship.' Or if you won one, you can't be in the same conversation with this person. ... You sit here and tell me Allen Iverson and Charles Barkley and Steve Nash f---ing weren't unbelievable?
"Like, 'Oh, they can't be talked about or discussed with these guys because this guy won one ring, or won two rings.' It's just weird to me."
James, 40, compared the NBA's championship discourse to that in other sports, saying that all-time greats like Dan Marino or Barry Bonds -- neither of whom won a championship -- are not held to the same standard.
"I don't understand where it came from. I don't know where it started," he said. "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."
