Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan: Olympic golds are above NBA titles
By Tom West
Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan should be on his way towards a gold medal at the Rio Olympics, an award he believes to be better than an NBA championship.
Despite the startling struggles of Team USA’s men’s basketball team this summer, DeAndre Jordan should be able to add a gold medal to his list of accolades from this year. All-NBA First Team and All-Defensive First Team, again — it’s been quite the year for the Los Angeles Clippers’ frequently criticized center.
While the end result of this surprisingly difficult trip to Rio should still be a gold medal, one that can only be praised by supporters and the U.S. population, the value of a gold in comparison to an NBA title has been the cause of some discussion lately.
Jordan, however, didn’t hesitate to say that he believes Olympic gold medals are above NBA championships, per ESPN’s Marc Stein and Mark Schwarz:
"“I think they’re above NBA rings. I may get in trouble for saying that, but I believe that. I feel like this is more special. You’re not just playing teams in the U.S. You’re playing teams from all over the world. And this is even more special because there’s an NBA champion crowned every year, but this is every four years. You’ve got to really think about that, man, because it’s extremely special.”"
I won’t dive into the discussion now, simply because that’s a lengthy debate for another time and it’s one that can split plenty of opinion and deserves more time and attention. That being said, when we, the basketball community, from fans to ex players and experts, look back at NBA greats, we hardly judge them based on the gold medals they hung around their necks after successful trips to the Olympics.
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We don’t focus on Michael Jordan‘s Olympic career; we focus on his six championships. We don’t focus on LeBron James‘ fight for gold; we focus on his fight to break through for his first championship. We don’t compare
The greats who didn’t win a championship will always fall on a level somewhere below those who did, no matter what disadvantages they faced in terms of their teammates, their opponents at the time, or how unfair that judgement may seem.
DeAndre Jordan’s comments come in light of Carmelo Anthony‘s take on the matter, who is easy to highlight as an exceptional scorer and great talent to never achieve a championship or consistent playoff success.
Before Jordan, Melo recently said that he can still say he had a great career if he an NBA championship never accompanies his handful of gold medals, per Stein and Schwarz:
"“Most athletes don’t have an opportunity to say that they won a gold medal, better yet three gold medals. I would be very happy walking away from the game knowing that I’ve given the game everything I have, knowing I played on a high level at every level: high school, college, won [a championship at Syracuse] in college and possibly three gold medals.“I can look back on it when my career is over — if I don’t have an NBA championship ring — and say I had a great career.”"
Is a gold medal really above an NBA championship for the players? That’s up to you. Most importantly, though, it’s up to them. There’s clearly something special about representing your country and winning a tournament against the world that only comes around every four years. We can’t judge a player’s achievements and their value to them, though, when we’re nothing more than spectators.
The moment you can read DeAndre Jordan’s mind (or any player’s mind), let me know, because I’d love to dish out a bunch of Clippers scoops whenever I feel like it.
Next: Picking non-basketball events for Clippers stars at the Olympics
But we do know the argument that “they’re only taking a preference to golds because they can’t win a ring” will persist. Some things never change, and championship will always be definitive in defining the greats.