There's a segment of NBA Twitter out to make you believe rings are the be-all and end-all of career legacies. But here's the thing.
The NBA isn't buying it. Or at least, they're not selling it.
Ahead of the 2021-22 season, the NBA named its 75 greatest players of all time. And on that list, amid 56 champions, were 19 stars who either never won* or have yet to win a championship ring.
*NOTE: There is one player listed who never won a title but received a championship ring from his team the year after he retired.
To determine and spotlight the top 10 stars who deserve their flowers despite not winning their rings.
We rallied 12 hoops experts and averaged their rankings of the 19 ringless stars. While voting, each expert could base their rankings on their own criteria.
On each slide going forward, you'll see the player's Final Ranking from our vote in the header. Below that, you'll see both the Highest Ranking, as well as the Lowest Ranking from our voters. Each slide will also include a breakdown of the player from one our of our NBA experts.
You can catch Full Final Rankings and Honorable Mentions at the end of this slideshow to see how everything shook out.
Hit the comments in the app to let us know which ringless star tops your list.
An elite athlete at the point, Russell Westbrook has always played with unmatched ferocity. The 6'3" guard was the first since Oscar Robertson in 1961-62 to average a triple-double over a full season. And Westbrook achieved the feat four times (2016-2019 and 2020-21).
Westbrook is a prolific scorer, peaking at 31.6 points a game in his Most Valuable Player season (2016-17). He spent the heart of his career with the Oklahoma City Thunder, helping them advance to the Western Conference Finals four times. Westbrook, alongside Kevin Durant and James Harden, made one appearance NBA Finals, losing to LeBron James and the Miami Heat in 2012.
After a disappointing 2021-22 season with the Los Angeles Lakers, it may be easy to forget what Westbrook has done in this league–don't make that mistake.
One of the most prolific scorers of his generation, James Harden has been among the NBA's top-tier players for years.
His 23,477 points scored rank 28th on the NBA's all-time scoring list, with a significant chunk coming from three-point range and the free-throw line. His 7,044 made free throws rank ninth on the league's all-time leaders list, while his 2,593 made three-pointers put him third all-time.
But the stats only tell part of the story when it comes to Harden’s impact on the game. Not only has he scored at a high clip, but he has also done so in style, utilizing a signature step-back jumper often copied—but never truly duplicated—by basketball players at all levels.
The 32-year-old has shown himself to be more than just a lethal scorer. He's a true game-changer whose impact, with or without a championship ring, will linger long after he is done playing.
Steve Nash was the driving force on the Phoenix Suns team that helped revolutionize the game.
The Suns embraced pace and space, three-point shooting and smaller lineups that all but define today's game. Nash—the league's back-to-back MVP in 2005 and 2006—was the conductor, an elite shooter who preferred to drive into the paint and create opportunities for his teammates.
Nash finished his career at 14.3 points and 8.5 assists a game, shooting 49 percent from the field, 42.8 percent from three-point range and 90.4 percent from the line. He peaked as a scorer in 2005-06 at 18.8 points and in 2006-07 at 11.6 assists. The Suns seemed poised to win titles but never broke through, falling in the conference finals twice—to the San Antonio Spurs in 2005 and to the Dallas Mavericks in 2006.
But Nash and the Suns were a force. Ironically, their hyperactive pace in their era would be considered "slow" in the modern era they helped create.
In an era dominated by big men, Patrick Ewing stood out as one of the best of the best. The No. 1 pick in the 1985 NBA draft, Ewing would average a near double-double of 21.0 points and 9.8 rebounds over the course of a 17-year NBA career primarily spent with the New York Knicks.
Ewing did not waste any time putting his imprint on the league, as the 7-footer won Rookie of the Year in 1986 when he averaged 20.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.1 blocks per game, putting everyone on notice that he was more than just a back-to-the-basket scorer who could also rebound.
Ewing went on to become an 11-time All-Star and member of seven All-NBA teams (one first-team selection in 1990; six, second-team selections in 1988, 1989, 1991-1993 and 1997).
Allen Iverson was generously listed at 6'0" and weighed in at just 165 pounds, but he was a giant on the court, primarily for the Philadelphia 76ers. While Iverson wasn't the most efficient scorer, he powered the Sixers offense for over a decade. In an era when hand-checking was still legal, Iverson's agility, ball-handling and fearlessness carried Philadelphia to the 2001 NBA Finals.
Iverson's dominance in Philadelphia's Game 1 victory in Los Angeles against prime Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers is still an epic watch. The Sixers surrounded him with big, tough, physical defenders and Iverson put his heart and soul on the line night after night (although not always in practice).
Beyond what he did on the court, Iverson was a pioneer of self-expression. From clothing to hair to tattoos, Iverson challenged a more conservative NBA, eventually helping the league understand it needed to adapt to better support its player base.
Discussions on John Stockton's legacy are almost obligated to start with his unbreakable records. Among active players, Chris Paul is closest to Stockton on the assists leaderboard. At his average for assists over the past three seasons (8.8), the 37-year old would have to play around 550 more games (nearly seven fully healthy seasons) to catch Stockton. CP3 would reach Stockton's steals totals a little quicker, but it would still likely take over 500 games.
In other words, it's not happening.
Stockton's position on all-time ladders like this isn't strictly about longevity and eye-popping totals, though. At his peak, he produced at a level that's almost unimaginable in today’s game. Over a 10-year stretch from 1987-88 to 1996-97, he averaged 15.6 points, 12.8 assists and 2.6 steals, while shooting 52.4 percent from the field, 39.2 percent from three and 82.9 percent from the line. Michael Jordan, David Robinson and Magic Johnson were the only players who topped his box plus/minus over the course of those seasons.
Stockton was more of a basketball engineer than a point guard. He carefully set up the majority of Utah's possessions when he was on the floor, manipulated entire defenses in a way few across history ever could and delivered pinpoint passes to a number of players, but especially Karl Malone. And he often did so with an underrated level of flair.
It's challenging to separate Chris Paul's impact on the game as a player from his role as president of the National Basketball Players Association from 2013 to 2021. Over that span, he worked successfully with the league through a new collective bargaining agreement in 2017 and several seasons complicated by the pandemic.
Paul is also one of the best true point guards in the game, even improving with age. He is almost guaranteed to take any team to the playoffs, proven by his successful runs with the New Orleans Hornets (now Pelicans), Los Angeles Clippers, Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder and Phoenix Suns.
Through 17 years, he's averaged 18.1 points, 9.5 assists and 2.1 steals a game. He's a tough, physical defender, who at just 6'0", could cause problems for much taller scorers, including All-Stars like Kevin Durant.
Paul always seemed to get injured at the wrong time in the playoffs, but he's easily one of the best players in NBA history not to win a championship.
Technically, Baylor does have a ring.
The Lakers organization gave him one for their 1972 title even though he retired shortly after the start of that season. But the Lakers lost all eight of the Finals series Baylor actually participated in, so he goes on this list regardless.
Baylor, who died in March at age 86, was one of the most dominant scorers of his era and in many ways can be credited with creating the archetype of the modern scoring wing. He played small forward, but at 6'5", his size forced him to function as a guard for much of his career.
Baylor's athleticism was uncommon for the time, and he can be viewed as one of the first players to have a "bag," in today's terms. He's been largely forgotten by younger fans because he played in an era where not much video exists, but there would be no Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant without him, not to mention countless others.
Nicknamed "The Mailman" because he always delivered, Karl Malone was an institution with the Utah Jazz for 18 seasons. He led his team to two NBA Finals appearances, but they couldn't overcome Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls either time. He also spent one year with the Los Angeles Lakers aiming for a third chance at a championship, but a knee injury limited his availability.
Malone was the prototypical power forward with an elite mid-range game. He averaged 25.0 points per game over his career, ranking third in total points with 36,928. In all of league history, only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) and LeBron James (37,062) have scored more points than Malone.
The John Stockton/Malone pick-and-roll was legendary in its day and gave opponents headaches for almost two decades.
Charles Barkley is a perfect mix of multiple eras. He rebounded and played with the physicality adored by old-school basketball heads. His size (6'6") and do-everything game would've made him a dream addition for any team in today's positionless era. And though he's expressed disdain for "analytics" on multiple occasions, they sure do love him.
Barkley's basic numbers (22.1 points, 11.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.5 steals), 11 All-NBA appearances and 1993 MVP do more than enough to secure his legacy, but the advanced numbers don't hurt.
He's currently 13th all-time in box plus/minus (sixth among retired players) and boasts some of the most efficient high-volume scoring seasons in league history. He has seven campaigns in which he averaged at least 20 points and posted a 60-plus true shooting percentage. Just six players have more (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Adrian Dantley were the only players ahead of him on that list at the time he retired in 2000).
Scoring at that level while playing a position where he was typically shorter than his matchup is a testament to Barkley’s unique combination of skill, athleticism and tenacity. And while that may not have yielded a ring (thanks, Michael Jordan), it was more than enough to establish him as one of the greatest basketball players of all time.
*In Order of Highest Rank
Dominique Wilkins: Each NBA generation tends to have one player who stands out as an athlete greater than the rest. Dominque Wilkins was nicknamed "The Human Highlight Reel" because he was a must-watch high flyer. Spending most of his career with the Atlanta Hawks, Wilkins was a rare player to retain his form after a torn Achilles. Highest Rank: 6 —Pincus
Carmelo Anthony: Anthony has often been criticized for not being a "winner"—sometimes fairly and sometimes not. But as a pure scorer, few have ever been more effective, and he remains one of the most popular players of the past two decades. Highest Rank: 7 —Highkin
Pete Maravich: Pete Maravich was arguably the NBA's first ball-handling wizard and a true showman. Maravich was a huge influence on later pioneers like Earvin "Magic" Johnson, who perfected the no-look pass he learned from watching "Pistol Pete." Maravich played throughout the 1970s, primarily with the Atlanta Hawks and New Orleans/Utah Jazz, before injuries forced him to retire. Sadly, he died of a heart defect at the age of 40. Highest Rank: 7 Pincus
George Gervin: George "The Iceman" Gervin’s 26.2 points per game rank ninth all-time on the career leaderboard, and that's despite playing his first three seasons without a three-point line (even after it was added, he didn’t really take advantage of it). While doing the bulk of his damage from the mid-range and with the game's most beautiful finger roll, Gervin was one of the best scorers we've ever seen. Highest Rank: 8 —Bailey
Reggie Miller: Reggie Miller may qualify for this list by a single performance, scoring eight points in the final 18.7 seconds of a playoff game in 1995 against the New York Knicks. That wild sequence with the Indiana Pacers (his lone franchise for 18 seasons) best encapsulates what a killer Miller was in the playoffs. Arguably the premier three-point shooter of his era, Miller was a feared competitor and expert trash talker. Highest Rank: 9 —Pincus
Damian Lillard: One of this era's greatest big-game shot makers, Lillard has consistently made the Blazers a playoff team without much in the way of star help in the age of superteams. At 31 years old, Lillard still has time to make his way off this list before he calls it a career. Highest Rank: 10 —Highkin
Dave Bing: During the late 1960s, you would be hard-pressed to find another guard who could score and make it look so effortless like Dave Bing did. The No. 2 pick in the 1966 NBA draft, Bing spent 12 seasons in the NBA, racking up several individual accolades along the journey, including 1968's Rookie of the Year (20 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 4.1 APG). He was even better in his second season when he led the league in scoring with 27.1 points per game. Bing, now 78 years old, was a seven-time All-Star who spent the bulk of his career with the Detroit Pistons (1966-1975) followed by shorter stints in Washington (1975-1977) and Boston (1977-1978). Highest Rank: 13 —Blakely
Lenny Wilkens: Lenny Wilkens was an All-Star throughout the 1960s into the early '70s, winning All-Star MVP in 1971. He grew tremendously as a point guard, averaging 2.8 assists per game as a rookie to his peak at 9.6 in 1971-72. While Wilkins never won a championship as a player, he did as coach of the 1978-79 Seattle SuperSonics. Highest Rank: 13 —Pincus
Nate Thurmond: After Wilt Chamberlain was traded by the San Francisco Warriors to the Philadelphia 76ers, Nate Thurmond took over as the team's primary center. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar called Thurmond the toughest defender he ever faced. He was a seven-time All-Star and the first player to officially record an NBA quadruple-double. Highest Rank: 16 —Pincus
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