Stephen Jackson is a former NBA superstar who was a bit of a journeyman throughout his career. Having played for eight different teams, Jackson’s most successful spell came with the San Antonio Spurs. Here, he won his one and only NBA Championship ring in 2003, and recently, he made headlines when he spoke about the same. He revealed that he would rather have $50,000,000 and a ring over $100,000,000. A sentiment, that Shaquille O’Neal seemed to agree with, resharing these comments on his Instagram story.
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Gilbert Arenas is the one who kicked off this debate. Making a statement on his podcast, Agent Zero was standing on the opposite side of the fence. He claimed he’d much rather have $100,000,000 in his bank account than a ring on his finger. The reason is, that he has seen so many previous champions sell their championship rings due to financial instability. In the end, none of those rings have ever seemed worth it.
Shaquille O’Neal resonates with Stephen Jackson’s comments about ‘losers’ and championship rings
Making headlines for the first time in a while, Stephen Jackson called out the modern NBA superstar. Frustrated with players prioritizing money over winning championships, Jackson labeled such players as “losers”. He further added that he would take $50,000,000 and a championship ring over $100,000,000, simply because it proves that he is one of the best at the talent God has given him.
Admittedly, this is a bold statement from Jackson. However, it is one that Shaquille O’Neal agrees with. Taking to Instagram, Shaq shared Jackson’s comments on his story. With four rings on his finger, it’s no wonder he agrees with the former forward’s sentiments. After all, championship rings are very hard to come by.
Jackson, who played for the Spurs, New Jersey Nets, Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers, Golden State Warriors, Charlotte Bobcats, Milwaukee Bucks, and Los Angeles Clippers knows the value of a ring. Despite playing for eight different teams in 14 years and earning $65,622,584, he only ever won one championship.
Nevertheless, there are always two sides to a story. While Jackson is more than willing to sacrifice the money for another ring, Gilbert Arenas is not. ‘No Chill Gil’ was unable to win a championship, but remains adamant that he would take the $100,000,000. A perfect example of how different stars in the same league may think differently.
Shaq is the perfect example of an NBA player who won championships and made the big bucks
Stephen Jackson and Gilbert Arenas may be butting heads because of their opposing views, but Shaquille O’Neal doesn’t have to worry about that. While he does agree with Jackson, Shaq has had the pleasure of doing both. He’s the literal example of a player who “has his cake and eats it too”.
Playing for close to two decades in the NBA, Big Diesel earned a whopping $286,344,668, while simultaneously snagging four championship rings for himself. He is the type of player that Jackson and Arenas wish they could have been. But, then again, not everyone is destined for greatness and it takes equal measures of talent and hard work to achieve the same.
