LeBron James’ move to the Philadelphia 76ers has revived the old ring-chasing debate, but Charlamagne Tha God says that label doesn’t fit. Kevin Durant, he argues, is the one who should wear it.
On the latest episode of the Brilliant Idiots podcast, Charlamagne pushed back on the idea that James is chasing a title by joining Philadelphia. He pointed instead to Durant’s decision to go to Golden State.
“That’s not ring-chasing,” Charlamagne said. “LeBron goes to team, and the rings follow him...
KD to Golden State is ring-chasing ’cause KD never won a ring anywhere and still hasn’t won a ring anywhere else. He went to Golden State ’cause Golden State were champions.
He won two rings and hasn’t won anywhere else. LeBron has won everywhere he went.
He’s been the difference maker.”
Charlamagne was responding to comments from former NBA player Derek Fisher, who had already said James can’t really be accused of ring-chasing because he is the one who creates the ring.
The argument around James has picked up because the 76ers became a real title threat only after his arrival in free agency. Philadelphia was projected to be solid after adding Jaylen Brown to a group that already included Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and VJ Edgecombe, but there were still obvious gaps. James helps patch some of them, especially with playmaking.
He is also not stepping into a franchise that had already built a championship-level track record before he got there. That was Durant’s situation in 2016, when he joined a Warriors team that had already won the title in 2015 and then piled up a 73-9 regular-season record in 2015-16.
Golden State still lost that season’s Finals after Cleveland stormed back from a 3-1 deficit, fueled by huge performances from James and Kyrie Irving. Durant’s Thunder also got a painful reminder of what the Warriors could do, blowing a 3-1 lead of their own to Golden State in the Western Conference Finals and falling in seven.
That made Durant’s move even more controversial, and the backlash only grew because he joined the team after losing to them. The Warriors then won the next two championships, with Durant leading the way and taking Finals MVP in both 2016 and 2017.
His reputation has shifted since then. Durant has not won a title since leaving Golden State in 2019, and the Warriors showed in 2022 that they could win again without him. As a result, his two rings do not carry the same respect in some circles.
James’ four rings are viewed differently, Bubble criticism aside. He was the clear top player on each of his title teams with Cleveland, Miami, and the Lakers. That’s why Fisher said he “creates rings.”
The contrast also runs through what happened after he left. The Cavaliers and Heat have not won since James moved on, while the Lakers still have their own story to write. That’s part of why James and Durant are judged so differently, even with both players having been accused of stacking the deck.
Shaquille O’Neal has also defended James from the ring-chasing label. On the same subject, the Hall of Famer said, “I don’t like y’all calling my man a ring chaser,” O’Neal said.
“… See, it’s funny to me that people that don’t have rings are saying, ‘Oh, he’s ring-chasing.’ No… He’s chasing the chance to continue to be great, to continue to add legacy to his book.”
O’Neal’s support came with a hard edge, though. He made it clear he sees next season as championship or bust for Philadelphia, and he doesn’t want to hear excuses. For him, the roster is too talented for anything less.
That expectation is now the standard around the 76ers. They are loaded, they may need time to settle in, but once they do, the assumption is they should be rolling. If they don’t win it all, it will be viewed as a failure.
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