[97.1 The Fan] Derek Fisher on people who say LeBron James is a ‘ring-chaser’: “You’re not ring chasing when you’re the guy that creates the rings.”
Free agency is one of two things:
1: find the best place to win a title 2: get the biggest bag you can
Don’t blame anyone for taking either option.
Honestly cause who tf joins the league saying “I just wanna play basketball! I don’t care where I go or how much money I make! I don’t even care about winning a ring!”
That’s an outdated mindset we projected on athletes. They were supposed to have as much passion for the game and team as we do. In reality it’s there job and most people aren’t passionate about their career or put it second to earnings
They were supposed to have as much passion for the game and team as we do
Yeah, but if we are realistic about that we should also assume a strong desire to win. Anyone passionate about a contest wants to win. No serious hooper is just going out there to get cardio in. The more you care about the game, the more you want to be in a winning environment.
It’s really like this in anything. You don’t ever want to be the one dude giving 110% while the rest of your team or co-workers or whatever just do the bare minimum.
Maybe when you’re a rookie but quickly you’ll find that NBA is a business entertainment first and foremost and sporting a distant last.
Half of the owners don’t care about winning since every team is given the same broadcasting money and salary cap. No matter what they do, they’ll get paid.
It’s like if no matter how much effort you put in, you’ll get a standard salary without risk of losing your job.
If there’s anything someone does at like a top 0.1% level competitively, generally speaking those people still do give a shit about winning. People usually don’t like losing if they take something seriously. There’s always the Ayton’s of the world that are just collecting a check and don’t really love basketball, but the dudes that love basketball are never gonna be happy losing a game. Most of the guys who take is seriously have a competitive drive.
problem is also the owners, especially during tanking, you literally get called off if you’re trying to win
also imagine your FO is the bulls FO or the Kings, eventually you just get tired lol
That’s why American sports need relegation. It’ll never happen but would solve a lot of issues
No, many NBA players have an immense passion for the game, far more than the vast majority of fans. These are people who have dedicated their lives towards making the league. And why should they care about a team where they didn’t choose to go to, and that the minute they’re not useful they’ll likely be disposed of and the fans will be more than glad to see them go?
I don’t agree with this analogy since you have to be in top 0.00001% of basketball players. Like 5000 dudes have ever played in the NBA. There are some physical specimens that don’t seem to have the hunger, like Ayton or Simmons, but largely these are guys that are extremely driven. That can’t be compared to an ordinary job that require little to no mastery - NBA you need to be one in a million
The really wild part is that I wouldn’t be surprised if players like Ayton and Simmons are still ten if not a hundred times more hungry and driven than the average person ever will be, it’s just that even being driven and hungry enough is a competition in itself at that level, so they look like they don’t care to us.
I really wish more could do something they love and get paid well doing it. I couldn’t imagine it any other way.
They were supposed to have as much passion for the game and team as we do.
Let’s be real - a lot of fans have a very unhealthy obsession with a team that they likely have no connection to beyond the whims of geography. No pro is ever going to be able to match that.
its so funny on the team subreddits when fans tell each other to not take other teams lightly and focus on winning the next game and not to get comfortable with a lead as if we are players on the team and need to adopt some killer mentality
I think that’s partly just sports fan psychology in general a la why we say “we” in referring to our teams as opposed to the players as “they or them.” Also likely that it’s s a way to not disappoint oneself if/when your team gets beaten as opposed to being overconfident.
What do you mean, have as much passion for the game? Fans are not passionate about the game, they’re passionate about their team winning, regardless of how.
Which is no different than players’ seeking to go where they can maximize their chances of winning.
Chuckles in D’Angelo Russel
I still remember this NBA commercial where Roy Hibbert was talking to a classroom of kids, and told them his dream was to win a championship.
There’s plenty of players past, present, and future who would do whatever they could to win a ring
KD sideyeing right now
At least KD took a max salary.
got a bag and a ring and Finals mvp. neckbeards wanna talk shit from their moms basement though
What’s good, KD?
got me…thought my flair would fool yall
I am imagining you are both KD burners and he is just having a whole convo with multiple accounts by himself
They change the narritive because it’s LeBron.
Honestly makes me sad to think about
??? He’s still made like 100 mil lol. Don’t feel bad for him
Also got to be one of the flag bearers for Germany at the 2024 Olympics, won Eurobasket 2025. Sounds like a perfectly fine career to me, just a lot of it out of sight of the NBA.
Y’all will upvote this and say KD titles don’t count in the same breath
I didn’t fault KD for going to the Warriors as a personal decision, but selfishly, from a pure entertainment standpoint I hated it. Also I’m of the opinion that a ring is a ring, but some are certainly more impressive than others, and the KD ones are among the least impressive out there to me.
Yeah in terms of him making the best basketball decision for himself, GS was easily the choice
In terms of being a fan it sucked because you knew no one else had a chance at winning the title for the next few years
I get your point and certainly a lot of people hate KD for his decision to go to the Warriors. I’ll be the rare exception and say I never have no problem with it. I’ll go as far as defend it and say it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to create a legendary team that will go down in history as arguably the greatest of all time. When you have a chance to make history like that, you take it.
When Lebron joins the Spurs you can say the same thing.
It’s because ultimately this is an entertainment product that doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of life.
But it is odd that we want our athletes to try their best to win, and prefer that to chasing the biggest bag.
But not too hard.
The nba created this culture. The players are just playing the game within the system they designed.
I don’t think it’s NBA culture that makes players prefer winning and more money over losing and less money.
“Why are they so shallow?”
What?
They’re talking about what’s called “ring culture” I wouldn’t really say the NBA itself created it though. More of a combination of media talking heads, former players, and fans.
3: go somewhere you just personally really want to go (like “home,” your original team, where your friends are playing, a warmer climate)
But still no shame in any of these options compared to one another
Damn right. Any free agent has the right to make any choice that he deems best for him. It’s the whole point of free agency.
4: go somewhere you can to Disney every weekend and beat up mascots
No one chooses #3: please come to my small market poverty franchise.
Maybe someday….
Tim Duncan if Doc Rivers wasn’t a terrorist.
Every great player that has won, chooses a good team, just wants to compete for the love of the game.
Every player has yet to win and LeBron, chooses a good team, is a ring chaser.
Those are the soundbites from media.
Did MJ choose the Wizards upon his return because they were a good team?
Not sure how much you know about the history of NBA, but he joined them because he was a part owner of the Wizards, and he wanted to help market the team by playing for them
Tell that to Sauron. Spent 3 whole books chasing a fucking ring despite making 20.
Bro lost to an old ass Gondor and Rohan team 😂
They had MVP years Aragorn and Legolas and Gimli were solid vets tbh.
Thankfully Aragorn is 87, this fuckery can’t go on much longer
If Eowyn didn’t force overtime with that 3 he’d be on fraud watch.
She needed Merry to grab the board for her to even get the shot
Shortest guy on the court grabbing the board. Real hustle type play
Mordor has been saying that for 40 years and yet here we are
This is that Gandalf erasure I was talking about. He was the glue of the team, meanwhile, you also avidly forget the contributions of the Fellowship.
Always the same guys getting all the acclaim, insane really.
Samwise Gamgee being the first unanimous 6MOTY is always forgotten in these takes smh
Carried some of the other players at points too
Seriously they even gave Frodo the ring preemptively and Samwise still had to carry his ass
Frodo is Jalen Duren
Right? He literally carried Frodo to the top.
He looked bad because he got dunked on by the Witch king at the Minas Tirith game, he played good defense though.
Movie only, in the books his horse shadowfax and him were the only one’s who didn’t panic and run when the Witch King walked through the broken gates. Easily my most hated scene in the extended version.
I always felt Gandalf was the GM. He assembled quite a team, brought in pivotal support members at key aspects of the season, and then was an excellent coach. He is the Pat Riley of our the team.
It’s a pretty crazy 9 humanoid-looking rotation they had for that run, OKC level dept, but even the end of bench is all-stars.
tbh he thought he pressed Aragon when he tried talkin shit on Middle Earth twitter through the Palantir
Aragorn tried showin off his new sword while Sauron hit him with the “well here’s a live look at your dying girlfriend”
Did even more shit talking running that Mouth Of Suaron, and Aragorn shut that down quick
Sauron kind of a bum getting his finger cut off while wearing a ring that makes people invisible
Ahktually… As a Maia (an immortal spirit), Sauron already existed simultaneously in both the physical world and the unseen/spirit realm, so he was never invisible! But agreed kind of bum getting his finger cut off by some regular ass dude.
Regular ass dude? That regular ass dude was the PRINCE OF THE DUNEDAIN ISILDUR wielder of the mighty narsil. Put some respect on that man’s name
Reminded me of
That is Aragorn II, son of Arathorn II, son of Arador, son of Argonui, son of Arathorn I, son of Arassuil, son of Arahad II, son of Aravorn, son of Aragost, son of Arahad I, son of Araglas, son of Aragorn I, son of Aravir, son of Aranuir, son of Arahael, son of Aranarth, son of Arvedui, son of Araphant, son of Araval, son of Arveleg II, son of Arvegil, son of Argeleb II, son of Araphor, son of Arveleg I, son of Argeleb I, son of Malvegil, son of Celebribndor, son of Mallor, son of Beleg, son of Amlaith, son of Earendur, son of Elendur, son of Valandur, son of Tarondor, son of Tarcil, son of Arantar, son of Eldacar, son of Valandil, son of Isildur
He regular af fam. Bro couldn’t even destroy the ring!
It makes Hobbits invisible. Do we know that it makes people invisible?
People yes. Maia no!
Amateurs. Sonic just needs to run to chase the rings.
But unlike others, if he gets hurt he loses all of the rings.
problem was that the Elvish media always compared Sauron to Morgoth and Sauron felt like the old-heads would never give him credit until he got every ring.
I didn’t read the books. Why couldn’t he just make another ring?
“And blow another two hundred dollars on raw materials? Nuts to that.” - Tom Dundon
Because the forge of Eregion was destroyed after creating all the rings. The elves were the only ones with the means and knowledge to forge such things, so once that was gone, it wasn’t happening again. Sauron had to mindflay the greatest Elven smith of all time to make the ones they did, once it was done, the orcs destroyed almost all records the elves had archived up until that point, destroying not only the record of the process for the rings of power, but thousands of years of Elven history.
A Tolkien variation of the burning of the Library of Alexandria.
So youre saying he got caught in the second apron?
Le Gollum
I didnt expect that lol Good one sir 👏. That got a legit laugh out of me
saurons a funny case cuz compared to his predecessor he’s essentially mr weenie hut jr.
like where morgoth was threatening all of arda, sauron was only threatening middle earth. One guy was desecrating valinor the other guy wouldn’t be caught dead there.
TBF there’s levels to this shit. Melkor was basically the mightiest of the Valar if we’re gonna be honest, Sauron was just some scrub Maia who gathered together the dregs of what Melkor left behind and did the most he could with it
Isn’t it literally the entire point of the game anyway? To chase rings?
“Hey this guy only wants to win a championship, what a fraud!”
He’s a phony! A big fat phony!
The connotation of the term “ring-chasing” is that you’re riding someone’s coattails and coasting to a chip. The term has been diluted by LeBron haters.
Well, modern LeBron isn’t the guy anymore and would be riding other dudes to a title, but he’s gonna be 42 this season.
There’s no way the sixers win a championship without significant contributions from Lebron
There’s no way the Sixers win without Embiid playing at his peak ‘24 form for an entire season, and if that miracle happens, they absolutely could win with minimal contributions from LeBron.
Sixers don’t need Joel to be as good as he was. Jaylen carried that Celts roster to a high seed last season, and now he’s replacing them with VJ, Maxey, and LeBron fking James.
So long as Joel is healthy for the playoffs and can last through it (which is of course a big if), they’ll be a tier one contender. If Joel is his peak then there won’t even be a competition. Are you kidding me?
LeBron being your 4th option is a cheat code.
Maxey or Jaylen Brown being your 1st is a huge nerf tho
I mean, he wouldn’t be riding. He’s probably the 3rd best guy on the roster
He might not the bus driver anymore, but he’s still the tour guide
“If you look to the left, you’ll see the spot where the player then known as Ron Artest jumped up into the stands to fight some fans. Some of you weren’t even born yet, but that was my second year in the league.”
I’d put him behind Maxey, Brown and Embiid on the rare occasion Embiid can actually play.
Lebron riding dudes at 42. Economy must be crazy.
I don’t think he’ll be riding anyone’s coattails.
He’ll still be one of the best players on the team.
It’s a team game- obviously you need other guys to help you win.
But if the 76ers win, LeBron will be an important part of that.
To me ring chasing is like what Shaq was tryna do with the celtics.
It’s the contrast of going from someone who can actually contribute to a ring to being someone who is just looking for a team to be on that is likely to win a ring so you can win the championship with them not for them.
Not to use another Celtics example but remember when Blake was offered the 15th spot the year y’all won a chip? If he joined I’d view that as ring chasing. Which is not an inherently bad thing, I just think it’s different than what Bron is doing considering he will be a massive contributor in trying to win the championship.
When people call someone a ring chaser they aren’t criticizing them wanting to win a ring, they’re criticizing how they go about it.
NBA is the only sport where for some reason going to a better team to win is considered bad.
And at the same time you can absolutely ball out and fall 2-3 games short of a ring multiple times and you’re not respected as much as you should be. You just get lumped on the same boat with everyone else who had never won a ring even if you were the bus driver. I know Jimmy must be sick to his stomach right now. Ah well.
Look at how people reacted to Dodgers signing another all star each offseason lol. It is magnified in the NBA though because one player can have such an outsize impact. So an elite player going to a very good team is inherently going to cause a bigger reaction.
Yeah, poor Kevin Durant.
It’s also the only sport where coming in second is apparently worse than not getting past the first round
This sentence alone perfect encapsulates why NBA discourse is so shit.
Are we pretending we don’t know what ring chasing means now?
That wasn’t the sentiment when KD jumped ship to the Warriors
I was going to say. Can’t have it both ways. Pick a side. I guarantee everyone agreeing with this statement shat/continue to shit on KD’s decision.
Yeah but they have to do it under the conditions that I just made up. Also they change depending on how I’m feeling at the moment
LeSauron
LeBuildMyOwnSelfDestruct
LeSonic
LeVHS
Atp I don’t blame anyone for being a ring chaser. Luka wanted to be a mav for the rest of his career and they just dumped him like trash.
If teams aren’t loyal to their players, players have no reason to be loyal to their teams.
Especially when a team talks shit about you when you brought them out of irrelevancy and won them a chip. I’ve never had a favorite basketball team. My favorite football team is the Steelers, but for basketball I just like good hoops and LeBrons my favorite player who’s given me the most unbelievable ball to watch. Last few years hearing the way lakers fans are was just unbelievably unbearable. My old manager was a “lakers fan” and said LeBron winning one ring in 8 years isn’t shit and not the standard. Like bitch, that pace is literally more than most teams could dream of. Horrible loud fans, with some good ones, but loads of them are delusional. I know damn well Philly fans wouldn’t be talking that shit about Bron if he won a ring there. He’d be immortalized by that city.
I wish my team could win a ring
Yeah it’s a shitty culture. It’s good to be proud and have high standards. The lakers have won too many titles. And all too frequently. It’s “normal” to them but they’ve been really lucky too. I would really have not gone to LA if I were LeBron too because the titles don’t mean shit there.
Eh, majority of lakers fans were happy he chose to come here and bring AD and a ring as well. You’ll always hear the assholes the loudest but I don’t think that is how most felt about him.
Sometimes I wonder if Lebron regrets going to LA.
If you’re the reason a team becomes a serious contender then your the not ring chasing tf this is not McGrady joining the spurs
When LeBron went to the Heat they were the 5th seed and got bounced in the playoffs in 5 games
When he returned to the Cavs they were a lottery team for 4 years
When he went to the Laker’s they were a lottery team for 6 years
Yes he builds a team to compete like any smart player does but people act like he goes to current booming franchises when in reality he saved them from impending mediocrity
Even going to the Sixers who look stacked on paper, he still has to compete with the stacked Knicks team who are literally the champions
The Heat one is disingenuous, they added Bosh and Bron to that team, both in free agency
“Yes he builds a team to compete like any smart player does”
This is english
Holy shit
The Kings do it right. Be ass every year and hand out wins like a gentleman should.
Same with Cavs. They got love and him the same year.
He left Cleveland and let them regain draft capital and when he came back they had plenty of assets to go for a title run.
The lakers too. They act like he joined a team with Kendall Marshall, Ryan Kelly, Tarik Black and Robert Sacre. He joined a team that was already on the bounce back after gaining a bunch of draft capital, high lottery pick and solid role players
I think that’s what these talking heads are missing. He basically shows up and goes Clutch tampering and/or private equity to trade all young players, picks, people he doesn’t like, then acts like he has nothing to do with it when it goes south. The man is a beast and he wins a lot. But he also blames the player, blame the coach, when he doesn’t like his creation he dangles his options then leaves the wreckage to chase after Jordan’s shadow in a better situation.
Some players like their city, teammates, coaches, GMs, etc and work with them in long term. Their ego and glory isn’t more important than the teams and their culture. The Tim Duncan and Steph Curry types. Their titles will always be worth more than whatever insecurity chasing LeBron does/will continue to do.
That doesn’t disprove the point lol. Ring chasing is when a player joins an already clear cut contender
And wade already knew how to win a ring.
“Knew how” as if there’s secret knowledge besides just having a team good enough to win
Knew how is just another way of saying had experience doing so. Since we’re all on the same page that playoffs are a different animal right?
“Score more points than your opponent 16 times in the playoffs.“
Casually excluding the fact that Miami took Bosh in the same free agency and they were paired with D Wade or the Lakers trading for AD. He ain’t saving franchises from impending mediocrety, he goes where he can form a superteam.
What did any of those players go on to do after playing with LeBron? It’s a simple question and we all know the answer.
LeBron has always been the common denominator and driving force for every championship team he’s played on.
Of course, otherwise he wouldn’t be in convo for the goat of this sport, but talking about how he save franchises from mediocrity only by himself, it’s just false. Also when the first year when he went to LA he didn’t make the playoffs so he didn’t save them from mediocrity by himself
Idk about Miami’s prior record mattering after they overhauled the team to add him and Bosh both. Plus Wade had already won.
The others are fair though
What about the Cavs adding in the same offseason Kevin Love or the Lakers trading for AD tho
Lebron also had been planning to team up with Wade for years lol there was no way he wasn’t going to Miami when they got Bosh. Not only was it always his plan, there was no chance he was going to go to a different eastern conference team and have to fight Wade+Bosh in the playoffs.
You say others are fair, when the same logic applies to Kevin Love joining with Lebron in 2014.
This is very disengenious. Both to the Cavs and the Heat he knew he was going to have hall of famers join the team. Arguably the same with the Lakers with AD.
Lebron is 41 are we expecting him to lead a team at this point?
Houston has experience with that
His detractors will always find an angle to attack him. But the fact his 41 old ass can still be considered forming a super team means you’re acknowledging he’s still a major force at this age.
Bruh, quit using Kareem’s given name. He has said for over 50 years that he doesn’t like being called that in the present. Historical record is one thing, but just call him Kareem.
Who cares about the ring chasing bullshit though.
You expect someone that stole a team mates wife behind his back will respect other’s wishes? Loved the player. But that was much more sleazy than anything I’ve seen between “brothers”. D’angelo Russell got his career destroyed for much less (rightfully).
Dlo is a bad player, but i don’t take Swaggy P’s side in that fight. Dlo did nothing wrong
rightfully
??????
I think when you’re a 41 year old free agent it’s not ring chasing anymore
Also when said team hasn’t won for decades and decades and decades
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By the rings metric kobe is better than LeBron which is just not true
Definitely. Kobe didn’t get stuck on the Cavs for his first 7 years, for example, he was drafted with Shaq as his teammate.
And Robert Horry is better than both lol
These same people won’t admit the same with Bill Russell so it’s a pointless debate
thats the issue with this whole thing. even if lebron leads philly to a ring and gets #5, theres still gonna be people who go “6>5 hur durr”
Like unless lebron gets to 7 rings theres always going to be this group of people staring at the rings thinking they say anything about a players skill
If Lebron gets 7 they will just say it took him 25 years to get his
When is the last time the 76ers won a chip lol this narrative is wild. He didn’t join okc or the Knicks. Fuck outta here
If he joined the Spurs or OKC then I can understand where it’s coming from but Philly is not it
Basketball fans are dumb as fuck. They base legacies on rings and then cry and moan when players don’t acquire championships based on some arbitrary standards that they set.
Would everyone prefer he have went to Charlotte or Portland instead? What is he supposed to do here?
Agreed. If Jordan wasn’t drafted to the bulls & ended up signing there instead this whole ring chasing topic wouldn’t exist outside of maybe just KD
Perhaps this is why lebron called ring culture weird…
And he’s 100% right.
There’s only been one ringer chaser in history who was the key factor in winning a ring (we all know who that is).
Wanting to play for a team that can actually win it all is not ring chasing, especially when you may be needed to win the ring.
Robert Horry?
Shaq?
Peyton Manning?
To me ring chasing is if he went to a team that don’t need him to win. If he woulda gone to NY, SA, or OKC I can see the ring chasing comments being true but not Philly.
Yeah and the rebuttal was he hasn’t done anything in 6 years.
The Lakers FO didn’t pay for league wide scouting, let players walk for nothing, and LeBron had to carry us to our first playoff series win in three years when our so called first option and second option were injured and underperformed in the playoffs again.
Eh when your making 4m a year it’s ring chasing to much of an advantage
LeBron takes a paycut: “It’s ring chasing, too much of an advantage.”
LeBron signs a max: “He’s holding the franchise hostage, he’s selfish and only cares about money, Dirk and Duncan took paycuts to win!”
Bruh.
Last time I checked people like it when stars take less money to compete for a championship, but now the money is too low in this case.
I wish people would put out a rulebook so we know what’s ok and what’s not. The goalposts get moved constantly.
Didn’t know LeBron worked for Jostens.
Nah guys I wanna go to Memphis so I can go the #hardestroad
Shame Americans fight harder for Lebrons image then their own democracy lmao
Goes 4-10 in the finals but somehow he “creates the rings” idk man, that doesn’t make sense
I love that you can just gloss over the fact of leadin a group of men to TEN FUCKING FINALS
Lebron haters will always make me chuckle on how they disregard their own ball knowledge
I don’t really care but this logic is so flawed.
If he was the guy that creates the rings then it would not matter what team he was on….
As a person who got with Married women. I think Derek Fisher knows a thing or two about ring chasing.
I’m completely baffled by this whole ring chasing saga. What the hell is he supposed to do? Toil away for nothing in Sacramento? He’s in his what, 24th year? What the hell is left at this point but to try and stack championships? What else even matters?
KD joined a superteam and won his rings that way. Thats ring chasing.
When Lebron joined Clevland, the Heat, Lakers, those teams were not juggernauts before Lebron came in.
Not a 1 to 1 comparison. When LeBron joined the Heat/Cavs he had other stars come with him.
And Lakers too, just a year later
Yea he just went to those places and brought other stars with him …same intent same effect
Yeah man not one, not two, not three, not four, not even five people thought the Heatles were a juggernaut when they formed.
Wade won a ring without LeBron, LeBron needed Wade more than he needed him
He chose every single destination based on plans to form a super team. Which came first, the chicken or the egg, is irrelevant.
It’s only bad when Durant does it, I guess
You would be pissing and crying non-stop if Lebron joined the Spurs and completely made next season irrelevant.
Either you don’t see the obvious difference or just hate Lebron for fun
Durant was in his prime, a top 3 player in the league, and joined a team with a championship two seasons prior, their core intact, and with 73W in the previous season. A team who also happened to beat his.
LeBron is 41 and joining a team that hasn’t been to the conference finals in decades with a 45-37 record last season. Quite the difference there, innit?
> joining a team that hasn’t been to the conference finals in decades with a 45-37 record last season
Why do Bron glazers always conveniently leave out the additional superstars that come along with him lol.
“Bron joined a 47 win Heat team!” (ignores Bosh coming in as well)
“Bron went back to a lottery Cavs team!” (Ignores K Love joining as well)
“Bron joined a weak 45-37 team!” (Ignores Jaylen Brown also getting traded there a week prior)
Oh wow. How dare you try to put yourself in a good position to win? Why not leave it to a GM or President of Basketball Operations to decide your career?
There is only one player that should ever be shamed for “ring chasing” and that’s KD