Nothing beats the feeling of winning a championship. Athletes hoisting up their trophy in front of fans alongside their teammates and coaches makes for an unforgettable experience. One of the most well-known and prestigious championships in sports is the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy, the coveted prize for winning the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals.
The journey to the NBA Championship is no easy feat. A team has to survive a grueling season with 82 games. Afterward, the top eight teams in the Eastern and Western Conferences will qualify for the playoff seedings. These seedings are used to create a bracket that will determine the matchups throughout the series. All rounds are of a best-of-seven series and the first round of the NBA Playoffs, the conference quarterfinals, consists of four matchups in each conference based on the seedings (1-8, 2-7, 3-6, and 4-5). The four winners advance to the second round, the conference semifinals, with a matchup between the 1-8 and 4-5 winners and a matchup between the 2-7 and 3-6 winners. The two winners advance to the third round, the conference finals. The winner from each conference will advance to the final round, or the NBA Finals. The final matchup will then determine who receives the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
In recent years, we’ve witnessed several high-profile players transfer from team to team in hopes of increasing their chances in claiming a championship ring. While this is not an issue with the NBA league per se, it does ruin the sense of competition the sport has. This begs the question—is it better to stay and build a team or do whatever it takes to get the coveted championship?
We, the fans, have ridiculed several players for leaving the teams that have drafted them, in the hopes of acquiring a championship. We have even branded them as “ring chasers”. Though in the same manner, we also condemn former players for not winning a single ring during their entire stint in the NBA.
One of the most recent victims of our “ring chaser” criticism is Kevin Durant. A player drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder (OKC), which was still called the Seattle Supersonics at the time, he helped propel OKC to the 2012 NBA Finals, falling short in claiming the trophy after losing to the Miami Heat in five games, 4-1.
After losing to the Golden State Warriors (GSW) in seven games, 4-3, OKC failed to claim the NBA Western Conference Championship and missed out on the chance to vie in the NBA Finals. After a heartbreaking loss, Durant then joined GSW—where he won back-to-back championships with his new team in 2017 and 2018.
The list of talented basketball players who have never won a championship include Patrick Ewing, Allen Iverson, Charles Barkley, Elgin Baylor, Karl Malone, and John Stockton. While some of these players would go on to play for several teams, most of them would leave by the time it was the twilight of their careers and they were a shell of their former selves.
On rare occasions, players who are loyal to their teams are sometimes traded away by their general managers for the benefit of the franchise moving forward. One recent case is DeMar DeRozan. He was selected by the Toronto Raptors in the 2009 NBA Draft. Despite his wishes to remain with the Raptors, he was traded away to the San Antonio Spurs in 2018. The NBA is a business, a harsh reality that both players and fans must accept.
Today, majority of the drafted players who leave their respective teams are young and in their prime. This means that they have a lot of time and talent to use to chase a championship. This is most evident with the recent free agency moves by several high-profile players. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George left the Toronto Raptors and OKC Thunder, respectively, to join forces and play for the Los Angeles Clippers. Kemba Walker signed with the Boston Celtics after playing eight seasons with the Charlotte Hornets, the team that drafted him back in 2011.
One may argue that it destroys the concept of being faithful to the franchise that drafted you. There have been several instances where dedicating one’s career to a single NBA team pays off. The best example of this occurrence would be Dirk Nowitzki, a player selected by the Milwaukee Bucks in 1998 and was immediately traded to the Dallas Mavericks. Nowitzki had an amazing 21-year career with the Mavericks and obtained a championship in 2011 after defeating the Miami Heat.
While it is easy for us to criticize NBA players for leaving their original team, we must not forget that they have the right to do whatever they want. We must respect the freedom that these players have. They have the freedom to decide where their career paths in the NBA should go. It is up to them if they should choose loyalty or royalty. As fans, we must support their decision and hope for the best in their future endeavours. At the end of the day, regardless of the team they are playing for, what matters most is that they are doing what it takes to achieve their best and give their team a championship.
