Alright. I have a bone to pick, and I have to admit, I've felt this way for a long time. And before I even write this article, I know I'm gonna get a lot of heat for it, but who cares. I'm a little put off by the idea that a championship quality player with a stellar career fails to garner the same respect from sports fans everywhere that even average players with championship rings get. Its a ridiculous notion to think any less of a player simply because he never reached that point in his career.So many different factors have made it easy for some players to win rings, and harder for some players to even reach the Finals. So, since I feel like a lot of you more casual fans may not know exactly the guys I'm referring to, I'd like to make a list of well known and (deserving) players in the NBA who do not have a championship, lets see if any of them surprise you.
In the NBA, the following players have not yet or never did win a championship during their career: Allen Iverson, LeBron James, Patrick Ewing, George Gervin, "Pistol Pete" Maravich, Charles Barkley and perhaps the best 1-2 combo in the history of the NBA, John Stockton and "the Mailman" Karl Malone.
Wow, definitely some big names there. Of that list, only James and Iverson are not in the basketball Hall of Fame, and to count the number of All-Star selections amongst those men would take quite a bit. So, to make my point, let me list some players who have one or more championship rings in the NBA and then we will see how accomplished one has to be to have a championship ring.
Some players who have one or more championship rings: Luke Walton (2), Melvin Ely, Beno Udrih (2), James Posey (2), Jason Kapono.
Now, how many of those players put up numbers anywhere nears the list up above? How many of the players off of this list have even made an All Star Game?
To judge a player by the number of championships he has is a joke. There is an easy way to get championship rings, and these guys have found it. Be on the right team, at the right time, in the right year. You can earn a ring in this game, or you can get one by being along for the ride. However, the casual fan in America will always use championships won as a measure of skill, which is a horrible disservice to the great careers that many of the games best players have had. The smartest way to critique a player is to look at all the facts and made a well educated claim, rather than randomly spouting out the common stats.
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