Dwyane Wade Shares His Honest Thoughts On The NBA’s Ring Culture

(Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images)

In the NBA, a player’s perceived greatness is often contingent upon how many championship rings he has won.

Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade doesn’t like this at all.

“It makes no sense,” Wade said while speaking on the “Club Shay Shay” podcast.

He went on to explain why winning a championship ring shouldn’t be considered everything:

“I won a championship in the NBA, didn’t win in college, didn’t win in high school or so on. Does that make me better than Carmelo? Because Carmelo won in college, probably won a couple state championships.”

. @DwyaneWade on NBA Greats like @carmeloanthony and @alleniverson not winning rings:

— Club Shay Shay (@ClubShayShay) September 21, 2023

Wade admits that winning in the Finals – especially multiple Finals – puts you in a special class that few other NBA stars are in.

But he also said that winning a ring isn’t the only way to judge someone’s career.

There are plenty of people who are legitimately great and haven’t won a title, Wade reminded viewers.

Additionally, there are people who have championship rings and didn’t do much to earn them.

There is no doubt that the accomplishment of winning an NBA Finals is the ultimate goal for players.

No matter how many MVP trophies and All-Star appearances someone earns, nothing is as valuable as sliding that ring on their finger.

Joel Embiid is a prime example of this: he has been playing some of the best basketball of his career recently but he still says he isn’t satisfied until he is an NBA champion.

Fans similarly judge a player’s career based on how well they did in the postseason.

For many, it’s the key difference between rating someone as good or great.

Wade doesn’t think that this is the right approach to viewing the game but it’s unlikely it’ll change any time soon.

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