Skip to main content

Should NBA Greatness Be Measured By Championships?

What makes a player great? Is it the MVP trophies? Is it the scoring titles? Is it the championships? 

These are questions that are thrown around in every GOAT debate and like it or not, winning titles has a major contributing factor in this decision. Winning is the sole purpose of every NBA player and is a defining element when determining career success. However, where is the line drawn? It's no secret that some players just happen to find themself always on the winning team, and are therefore gifted ring after ring (Jim Loscutoff *cough). In contrast, some of the NBA's greatest ever players left their teams without a single ring on their finger or banner in the sky. So how big a role should Championships play in determining the greatness of NBA players? 

In my mind the answer is simple. Context. The story behind a players NBA ring is what define's their greatness and is exactly why players such as Bill Russell are ever found during legitimate GOAT conversations. With 11 NBA Championships, Bill Russell is undoubtedly one of the most decorated and Thanos-like athletes in American sports history. From 1956-1969, Russell's Celtics remained top of the NBA food chain. Why? He was tall. At 6'10", Russell was 5 inches taller than the league average, and when combined with a 7'4" wingspan, his shot-blocking ability hardly gave anyone else a chance. Russell's dominance also helped his Boston team-mates climb the championship ladder, to the point where the top 5 winningest players in NBA history all originate from the Russell/Celtic era. Talk about a backpack right? 

On the other hand, Robert Hory is the definition of "right place, right time". During his 16 year NBA career, he averaged no more than 12 points per game but nevertheless came out with 7 NBA Championships from 1993-2007. Impressive right? Well, let's just say that this man's luck is nothing short of a miracle. His first two titles came as a rookie and sophomore with the Huston Rockets and Hakeem Olajuwon in 1994 and 1995. You know, right when Michael Jordan decided to take a break because he was winning too much? But this was just the start. After the Jordan era passed, Hory joined the LA Lakers where he won 3 straight NBA titles from 1999-2002. This would have been a tough task for any player, but lucky for Hory he had some teammates called Kobe and Shaq that made the job slightly easier. Finally, to round of his career, Hory joined the stacked roster of the San Antonio Spurs in 2003 and won 2 additional titles in 2005 and 2007. 

So I think we've determined by this point that the number of rings is not definitive on how great a player is. But what story outranks another? Michael Jordan faced plenty of tough opposition in his journey to Chicago's 6 NBA Championships, but would he have done the same playing in today's era? Would LeBron James' size and strength create a new Bill Russell like era if he played in 1990? My answers are no and no, but that's beside the point. A players greatness is determined by the success he achieves through the adversity he faces. Obviously, it always helps if a player can pick up the odd MVP and scoring title along the way, but at the end of the day, the greater a player's success story is, the more people are likely to remember their greatness. 



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Greatest Rivals - John Stockton vs Magic Johnson

Welcome to Greatest Rivals! Each Wednesday, this page will pitch two great rivals against each other to finally find out who the real winner is! Over the coming weeks, this page will cover many great rivalries, from the glory of el Clasico to the back and forth action of some of Wimbledon's finest performers.  Wednesday 10th March - John Stockton vs Magic Johnson  As point guards go, John Stockton and Magic Johnson are poles apart. Stockton is the epitome of what a point guard should be; the ever-running engine that is an extension of a coaches vision. On the other hand, Magic is ultimately the most diverged the point guard position has ever become. At 6'9", he produced entire highlight reels that other point guards couldn't even replicate on the latest 2K. Despite their differences, each player produced a career worthy of the Hall of Fame, but when put head to head, who comes out on top?  John Stockton is at the very top of a long list of Hall of Famers that didn'...
1 comment
Read more

Extending the Possible - The Introduction of the 4-point line in the NBA

Since 1951, the NBA has undergone many era-defining changes. Through the evolution of its players, we have seen greatly different play styles ranging from the overly physical approach of the '80s and '90s to the rise of small ball. Remarkably, since the introduction of the 3-point line in 1979, no significant change has been made to the NBA that has made such a notable difference in how the game of basketball is played. So what's next? Well, with the likes of Steph Curry, Trae Young and Damian Lillard extending the limits of shooting ability with every passing season, something new is on the horizon; the introduction of the 4-point line. Since it's an introduction in 2018, the discussion over the addition of a 4-point line in the NBA is something that has been highly controversial. It is no question that the 3-point shot is at the centre of every NBA coaches gameplan in 2021 and is a tool that, if used effectively, can be the very difference between winning and losing a...
1 comment
Read more

Time’s Up For Arteta - Conte or Zidane To Follow?

The position of manager at Arsenal has been a cursed one ever since Arsene Wenger’s retirement. Those who have followed the great Frenchman have seen nothing but mediocre performances and mid table finishes behind the likes of West Ham. Despite initial excitement, the addition of Mikel Arteta hasn’t brought any additional glory to London’s north end and has managed only two 8th place finishes and a FA cup trophy. Now for a mid-table team this would be acceptable, but for a side who is supposedly within the Premier League’s ‘Big Six’, it hardly stands up against the achievements of Arsenal’s rival clubs. The need for change is severe, but the next manager to run through the gauntlet will certainly have their hands full.  As of now, there are two big name managers on the market, Antonio Conte and Zinedine Zidane. Both men have had great success in their managerial careers, combining for 15 trophies between them, but in terms of style and philosophy they couldn’t be more different....
Post a Comment
Read more