Very few legends have attacked the NBA’s ring culture as openly as LeBron James. He has always insisted that winning is a team effort and does not solely reflect an individual’s greatness. While he has emphasized this point heavily in recent years, that doesn’t mean he ignored it earlier in his career, when many, including Michael Jordan, used this argument to diminish his stature.
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Jordan is proud of his six rings, and he believes that gives him the right to be considered better than others based solely on that. LeBron would disagree. While he acknowledges that MJ is one of the greatest players of all time, he doesn’t believe championships should be the only measure of greatness.
James explained his reasoning clearly during a 2013 All-Star Game interview, when he was reminded that the Bulls legend would pick Kobe Bryant — who has five rings — over him simply because of Kobe’s advantage in rings. It was the day the then-Miami Heat star would reveal what actually made him play the game of basketball.
“That’s his own opinion,” James said about Jordan. “I don’t think, at the end of the day, rings doesn’t always define someone’s career. If that’s the case, I would say, [Bill] Russell over Jordan, but I wouldn’t…”
The now 40-year-old could not have put it any better. Bill Russell is the most decorated player in NBA history, having won 11 championships with the Boston Celtics in the 1950s and ’60s. Yet he is rarely regarded as the undisputed greatest of all time, especially when compared to Jordan, who has six.
To further assert his point, James added that he wouldn’t pick Robert Horry (seven championships) over Bryant either. “It’s his [Jordan’s] own personal opinion, but rings don’t define someone’s career,” James said again.
There are NBA legends, some of the greatest to ever hold a basketball, who never won a single championship. LeBron pointed to one of the best examples in Charles Barkley. The “Round Mound of Rebound,” a former MVP and 11-time All-Star, doesn’t have a ring to his name. Yet he is still a Hall of Famer and one of the all-time greats, someone who would always be picked over a player like Klay Thompson, for instance, despite Klay winning the Larry O’Brien Trophy four times.
“Patrick Ewing is one of the greatest of all time, Reggie Miller is one of the greatest of all time. You know, sometimes, it’s a situation that you’re in, the team that you’re in and it’s about time. But I don’t play the game and try to define who I am over what guys say and what they feel about me… It doesn’t matter to me,” James continued, highlighting two more all-timers without a ring.
Michael Jordan said “Give me Kobe Over Lebron” (2013). Lebron’s response: “Yeah I heard that. Well, rings don’t define a player’s career. If that’s the case, then I take Bill Russell over MJ. I don’t play the game and think about what guys think or say about me. I play for my… pic.twitter.com/4U7ZOpQMba
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) September 5, 2025
“I play for my family, I play for my fans, I play for my teammates, I play for my coaching staff… My inspiration is the game that I love,” James concluded.
James has proved to be a different kind of GOAT over the years. He is often compared to MJ, with Bryant also in the conversation, but unlike the two, James is seen as a “nice guy,” without the killer mentality the others are known for. That is not a bad thing. It is simply a different approach. His criticism of ring culture highlights that point. He wants players to be respected for what they are: players.
It is not sour grapes for the Los Angeles Lakers star either. After all, he has four rings of his own. A fifth for The King before he calls it quits would be an incredible story in itself.
