Kevin Durant says the quiet part out loud about “Ring Culture”

Kevin Durant’s social media platform is usually utilized for trolling. Or humorously engaging in banter with fans, in a rather non-serious manner.

Every now and then, Durant will be in his bag, however. Lately, Durant has been cooking.

Well, somewhat.

On New Year’s Eve, Durant took to Twitter (I don’t think I’ll ever call it X) to explain the decline in discourse around the NBA, while noting the heightened level of negativity (which has been pointed out before).

The Houston Rockets superstar pinpointed the diminishing of the regular season.

“Playoffs are the most important part of the year but u can’t make the playoffs without a great regular season.”

Too many times we’ve heard, yeah they’re playing great right now but let’s see what happens in the playoffs.

This is the “analysis” (if we want to call it that) that has marred James Harden, especially during his days in H-Town.

Unguardable tour? Doesn’t matter.

Let’s see what he does in the playoffs. Top seed in the Western Conference and most wins in the NBA?

Yeah, but wait until the playoffs start.

Durant kept cooking.

“If u don’t win a ring, you’re a loser.”

This is merely a lazy way to look at the game. And an unfair approach, as it pertains to players and great teams.

Players get compared to other players and the verdict regarding who is better generally comes down to who has more championship rings, sadly. Not the impact of said player (or players).

Let’s use Harden again. The running debate has been Harden vs. Dwyane Wade.

A classic case of offensive superiority vs defensive superiority (although both were underrated on the other end). The discussion too often centers around Wade’s three championships vs. Harden’s shortage of a title.

Or the conversation regarding Charles Barkley vs. Draymond Green (which is a comical one).

Unsurprisingly, Green’s four championships get magnified, since Barkley doesn’t have any.

Not to mention Barkley has made himself rather unlikeable in his post-playing career for some of his “hot takes”. Even though Green is far from a fan favorite.

(As a side note, hot take culture has also ruined discourse, but that’s an entirely different conversation).

The reality is winning a championship is a team accomplishment. An overall reflection of the sum of it’s parts.

And typically a result of a few lucky bounces and/or breaks. Great players are great players, with or without a title.

A championship doesn’t magnify them or make them great. The absence of one doesn’t mean they suck or are a loser.

If that were the case, they wouldn’t even be worthy of mention, let alone be in the NBA.

Durant is right. The discourse needs to change.