Championships matter

With the NBA Finals set and the conference championships underway in the NHL, I wanted to take a second to talk about ring chasing. The concept is sort of new (ish?), as veteran players want to get a championship they may have previously not had a chance to win with their former squad(s). You might ask yourself “But why?”. Fact of the matter is, championships matter more then ever. They belong in the discussion of greatness, they are integral within the pantheon of sports nuts and analytics, they even matter to hall of fame voters. Once upon a time, winning a championship was almost considered a near impossible task. In our modern times, however, it’s almost assumed that the great players will get their ring…. but you know what they say about assumptions. So let’s take a look at a few of the greatest to ever do it, but never finish with having won it all.

Jerome Iginla

Iggy was an all-timer and won multiple medals for team Canada, but the Stanley Cup eluded him during his entire career. Iggy was able to make it as far as the Finals, but Iggy finished without that ring. An incredible power forward that helped define the next generation of power forwards. Time is a circle- and with his Son Tij coming up in the draft this year, I’ll be curious to see if the we get another version of Iggy in the making.

Charles Barkley

Chuck has been a mainstay on the NBA commentary desk for a long time, but the one thing he wished he could’ve done was go all the way. Barkley’s accolades include: One NBA Finals appearance, 1993 MVP, 11-time All-Star, 5-time All-NBA First Team, All-Rookie First Team, No. 34 retired by the 76ers, Phoenix Suns Ring of Honor, NBA 50th and 75th Anniversary Team award. Needless to say, the round mound of rebound had an impact on the game, but he just never was able to get that ring.

Adam Oates

Oates played in 1337 career games and unfortunately was unable to find his way to Lord Stanley’s Cup. The furthest he made it was all the way to the Cup finals, but more remarkably he had opportunity to do it in 15 of his 19 seasons as he was seemingly always on a playoff team! Oates finished his career with 1420 points and is 18th all time in that category. One of the best to ever do it and is regularly considered on the mount Rushmore of guys who didn’t get to win it all.

So… What Does It All Mean?

Speaking personally, I believe we might value championships a bit too much. The quality of a player shouldn’t be totally determined by how many rings you earn, but that being said I do think its an important measure of how they stacked up during their era. In the NBA today, guys regularly are breaking historical records. While I wouldn’t say that they are undeserved or that they’re the best players ever, I think some of them deserve a ring (CP3… I’m looking at you, bud). In the NHL, we have a number of guys on the stars who are looking for their first Cup but in the NHL its absolutely the norm to have an incredible career and not win it all. Carey Price and King Henrik both considered the supreme goaltenders of this generation, yet never won a cup (that’s wild!). Perhaps we should pump the breaks on the “hall of good guys with rings” and take a look at some of the best performers of all time.

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