LeBron James is often considered an inferior player to Michael Jordan for one reason. Jordan holds a 6-4 advantage in the championships department.
On the recent of his Mind The Game podcast with Steve Nash, James expressed issues with "ring culture."
"I don't know why it's discussed so much in our sport," James said. "And why it's the be all of everything."
Despite being the NBA's all-time leading scorer and playing in 10 Finals, James may never surpass Jordan in titles. Still, James refuses to discredit other players who won less championships or even none. Charles Barkley, Allen Iverson, Patrick Ewing and Nash are among the league greats with no titles.
"You sit here and tell me Allen Iverson and Charles Barkley and Steve Nash wasn't unbelievable. Like, `Oh, they can't be talked about or discussed with these guys because this guy won one ring or won two rings It's just weird to me."'
TROUBLED STAR RECOUNTS NBA FLAME OUT
During the early 1980s, Michael Ray Richardson was among the NBA's brightest young stars while playing for the New Jersey Nets.
He was on pace to join the league's greats until drugs derailed a once promising career.
“There are a lot of times where I try to put my finger on it like, ‘How did I ever get into it?,’ ” Richardson told Andscape. “I never was a drinker when I was in college. Never was a weed smoker. And to this day, I couldn’t put my finger on how I got involved. I just don’t know.
The publication did a lengthy profile on Richardson because he lives in Lawton, Okla. With the Oklahoma City Thunder being one game from their first championship, it was the perfect time to tell his story.
During the 1984-85 season, Richardson averaged a career-high 20.1 points with 8.2 assists and 5.6 rebounds. He also averaged a league-high three steals. He was banned by the league after testing positive for cocaine for a third time. He spent the rest of his playing career overseas before finally retiring in 2001.
“Once you start doing it, the s— just takes over and you don’t think you have a problem,” Richardson said. “Anything that you do that you can’t stop means that you got a problem. Gambling, sex, alcohol, drugs, it’s all the same.”
The full story from longtime NBA writer Marc J. Spears can be found here.
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