“Did Barry Bonds win a World Series?”: LeBron James vents out feelings on NBA’s obsession with ring culture 

NBA fans, like fans from all sports, have favorites. They don’t measure all players by the same standards, and they can usually acknowledge when one player’s shortcomings aren’t on him.

Legends like Steve Nash, Charles Barkley and Allen Iverson often get a pass for not winning a championship. Others, like Carmelo Anthony or James Harden, are blamed for that. It’s a two-edged sword and a double standard, but it’s just the way it is.

Notably, that’s why LeBron James believes ring culture makes no sense. Talking to Nash on the “Mind the Game” podcast, he ripped sports fans who only consider championships as a way to measure an athlete’s greatness.

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"It's just weird to me," LeBron said. "It's like saying 'Peyton Manning can't be in the same room with (Tom) Brady or (Patrick) Mahomes because he only has one ring. Did Barry Bonds win a World Series? I don't think so. Barry Bonds never won a World Series, and you can't sit here and tell me that he's not the greatest baseball player to ever touch a bat."

James doubled down on his take by talking about the importance of the team when winning a ring.

"A ring is a team accomplishment," James added. "And if you happen to have a moment where you're able to share that with your team, that should be discussed. Trying to nitpick and individual because he was not able to win a team game, I don't know where it's started, it's just so weird."

LeBron James is working on getting back to full strength

The LA Lakers suffered a first-round upset at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA playoffs.

Shortly after their five-game series loss, it was reported that James was dealing with a sprained ligament injury in his left knee. He's not getting any younger, so the additional time to rest and restore his body will be crucial ahead of the upcoming campaign.

"I have a lot of time to take care of my injury, my knee, the rest of my body and make sure I'm as close to 100 percent as possible when training camp begins in late September," James told the AP.

James and Luka Doncic will have a full training camp to work together and develop more chemistry on the court, but given how tricky knee injuries tend to be, they will have to manage their workloads carefully.

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About the author

Ernesto Cova

Ernesto Cova is a journalist at Sportskeeda with a PhD in Sports Psychology. His education helped him develop a clearer understanding of the sports world as a whole, including basketball. Ernesto has over eight years of experience in the field, working for Fadeaway World, The Inquisitr, NBA Blast, The Cold Wire and Bolavip, among others.

His favorite team is the Chicago Bulls because of the Michael Jordan era. Jordan is Ernesto's all-time favorite, as he changed the game forever. Ernesto's second favorite was Kobe Bryant because he embodied that same competitive fire and Ernesto watched him play throughout his entire career. Nowadays, Ernesto really likes Stephen Curry, who he believes to be the most influential player of the past 15 years or so.

Ernesto's favorite basketball moment was when Venezuela -- his country -- took down Canada to take home the 2015 FIBA Americas Cup.

When not watching or writing about basketball, Ernesto likes to read and is interested in photography.

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