LeBron James isn’t counting rings — and he doesn’t think greatness should be qualified by it either.
The four-time champion pushed back on “ring culture” during the latest episode of the Mind the Game podcast with Hall of Famer Steve Nash, who is one of the players James believes is unfairly left out of greatness conversations because he never won a title.
“A ring is a team accomplishment,” James said.
The NBA’s all-time leading scorer added: “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. But trying to nitpick an individual because he was not able to win a team game... I don't know where it started.”
Ring culture has changed the way people talk about basketball.
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James named Allen Iverson, Charles Barkley, and Nash as examples of all-time greats whose reputations are often diminished due to their lack of a title.
“You’re telling me they weren’t unbelievable?” the 40-year-old Lakers star said. “They can’t be talked about with these guys because they didn’t win rings? It’s just weird to me.”
He also questioned why championships are weighted so heavily in NBA discourse, while other sports often evaluate individual greatness separately from team success.
“They don’t ever discuss that in their sport,” James said, pointing to NFL legends like Dan Marino and Peyton Manning. “You’re telling me Dan Marino’s not the greatest slinger of all time because he didn’t win a championship? Or Peyton can’t be in the same room as Brady or Mahomes? They don’t talk like that.”
The four-time Finals MVP also cited Jerry West — who won just one title in nine Finals appearances but remains the NBA’s logo — as proof of that.
“You can’t sit here and tell me that because [West] only won one, he can’t be in the same room with the guys who won two or three or four,” James said. “Like, why not?”
Even the great Barry Bonds came up — arguably the best hitter in baseball history, yet never a World Series champion in his 22-year career. Still, few ould question his place among the sport’s all-time greats.
Ultimately, the 21-time All-Star emphasized the importance of recognizing what players bring to the game beyond championship rings.
“We just have to appreciate what guys have been able to accomplish,” he said. “Not everything is about a ring.”
