LeBron James Doesn't Need More Rings Than Michael Jordan, Retired NBA Champ Robert Horry Says

If there’s one thing that always seems to come up when there’s talk about NBA players and greatness, it’s about the importance of rings. Championships seem to be of the utmost importance to players as it may be the only way to solidify their legacies — typically the league’s best get compared to other great players, with the number of NBA titles collected equated to dominance.

If you ask any NBA fan who they think is the best or as good as the Chicago Bulls’ great Michael Jordan, LeBron James' name gets thrown around. When Los Angeles Lakers champion Robert Horry was asked Sunday whether the number of championships mattered, the retired Lakers star said no. Horry, who has more NBA titles than Jordan or James, said it’s not imperative to judge a player solely on the number of rings won.

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He said James doesn’t need to have acquired more championships than Jordan for consideration among the all-time greatest NBA players. Horry also gave his opinion on whether it mattered that James had a worse overall NBA Finals record than Jordan.

“That don’t mean anything,” Horry told TMZ. “That’s why it’s a team sport.”

James’ record in the NBA Finals stands at three wins and five losses while Jordan’s is a perfect six wins in six trips. And because of this, when James gets compared to Jordan, most critics have James trailing.

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If you ask the Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, he will put James right there next to Jordan on the greatest-of-all-time list. Kerr was a guest on Zach Lowe’s podcast Wednesday and gave his opinion on the debate. “In the end, it’s LeBron James and Michael Jordan at the top,” Kerr said. The Warriors coach played with Jordan and the Chicago Bulls for five seasons from 1993-98. When Jordan rejoined the Bulls in March 1995 after he announced his initial retirement in October 1993, he and Kerr were part of the three consecutive NBA championships the Bulls won.

Kerr and James seem to have mutual respect. Kerr, who had taken a leave of absence to recover from a May 5 back procedure, made Game 2 of the NBA Finals after not being on the sidelines since Game 2 of the first round of the playoffs. Despite being combatants, James went out of his way to pay respect to Kerr with a hug on the sidelines June 4 before the game began.

The two have seen a lot of each other over the past few years. Kerr has been the head coach of the Warriors for three seasons and has challenged James and the Cavaliers in the Finals each of those three years. The Warriors, led by Coach Kerr, have bested James and the Cavaliers twice for the NBA title. The Cavs got the best of Kerr, and the Warriors in 2016 when James got crowned Finals MVP.