Draymond Green Responds to LeBron James' Comments on 'Ring Culture' in NBA

Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green agreed with the Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James about the corrosive influence "ring culture" discourse has had around the NBA.

During an episode of his Mind the Game podcast, James argued that too much emphasis is placed on whether a player has or hasn't won a championship. And for those who have reached the summit, the level of winning is "never enough."

Green was asked about James' remarks at the 50:58 mark in Tuesday's edition of The Pivot Podcast. He echoed the general sentiment.

"What Bron was trying to say — at least what I think he was trying to say — you've got people that haven't done this and they use that to dumb down the greatness of other guys that haven't necessarily done it," Green said.

The four-time All-Star pointed to Chris Paul as a prime example. He called the surefire Hall of Fame guard a "winner" despite the fact a Finals victory has proven elusive.

Green added that a lot of people don't understand the difficulty in winning one championship, let alone multiple.

From that standpoint, he pointed to a lack of respect that's often conferred to Kevin Durant, a two-time champion and two-time Finals MVP. Green said Durant was a critical piece in Golden State's back-to-back Finals triumphs, and it would be foolish to say the Warriors "walked to a ring."

Team success should undoubtedly be one component when discussing an NBA star's legacy. Winning six titles is often where the argument starts for Michael Jordan as the GOAT.

But the pendulum has swung too far toward prioritizing rings over all else, and it appears James and Green are in sync on that idea.