Brian Windhorst Calls Out LeBron James’ Ring Culture Take Citing Miami Heat Trade

Brian Windhorst won't allow LeBron James to get away with revising NBA history with his latest take on ring culture.

Brian Windhorst Calls Out LeBron James’ Ring Culture Take Citing Miami Heat Trade

LeBron James calls out ring culture (Image via FirstSportz)

Is ring culture as bad as LeBron James deems it to be when his own past actions belie this? Therein lies a fundamental problem with what the Lakers superstar said on his Mind the Game podcast recently. Sure, a player of Charles Barkley or Allen Iverson’s caliber will always be treasured. But championships are always the goal for any team at any level, and King James knows that this is a yardstick everyone is judged by.

Longtime LeBron James reporter and ESPN NBA analyst Brian Windhorst was on First Take, Wednesday. A man who knows the inner workings of his camp and James’ thought processes, Windhorst has built his career off covering him. Even though James accuses him of being liberal while describing their relationship, it is fair to assess that Windhorst understands how James reacts to the way he is discussed.

Windhorst believes that James is a big reason why ring culture is such a prevalent thing among basketball fans. According to him, James’ time in Miami which happened after he forced a sign-and-trade to South Beach and had an infamous ‘Not 2, not 3’ declaration while at a hype event are direct contributors to this kind of discourse:

I never believe in ever, under any circumstances, pulling down or denigrating a champion by attaching an asterisk or something. But I will just say is the only other thing: LeBron contributed to this with his movement in his career to join superteams and his infamous comments ‘Not 5, not 6, not 7.’ In that situation, he sort of set a standard to change the conversation.

NHL analyst PK Subban was more decisive in committing to having rings be an important part of legacy discussions:

I don’t think there’s any point in playing sports if it’s not about winning a championship. You play to win. I dreamt about winning a Stanley Cup. Even though I didn’t get one, my dream was to win a Cup. It wasn’t to drive around in an Escalade, it wasn’t to wear nice, tailored suits. It wasn’t to have the nicest watch, it wasn’t to score a bunch of points. It was to win a championship. Now whether you win one or not – you know it always doesn’t happen. But to consider yourself the greatest, to me, you gotta win a championship.

How does LeBron James’ take resonate with the average sports fan?

Competitiveness is the core and driving force of sports at any level. Whether a person is playing Sunday League football with their pals, church league basketball on an outdoor court or entertaining thousands in a stadium and millions on television screens, what everyone desires is to set the highest standards for competitive play. That can only be done by giving your all in an attempt to win the game being played.

LeBron 2011
LeBron James in 2011 (FS Image)

Championships are the mementos that denote the fiercest competitors, not the just the most talented ones. Across sports, we’ve often seen that the most talented players often end up falling short of greatness. Winning championships against pro competitors requires mettle and resolve more than needed to just play at that level. It’s why the most revered competitors are the ones who win.

It’s for this reason that basketball has a ‘ring culture’, if anything. James needed to win and win continuously in order to immortalize himself in basketball culture. That’s why even though he downplays the importance of championships when comparing players’ individual skill levels and impact, this will be a parameter for many people who watch and judge sports because of the element of competition and winning involved.

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