Derek Fisher Defends LeBron James Joining 76ers: ‘You’re Not Ring Chasing When You Create Rings’
Derek Fisher does not want to hear another word about LeBron James ring chasing. Not from any of you.
The Lakers legend went on 97.1 The Fan on Sunday and pushed back hard when the topic came up in the wake of James’ stunning move to the Philadelphia 76ers.
“You’re not ring chasing when you’re the guy that creates the rings,” Fisher said. “Go back in NBA sports history. It’s not about what team the guy is on. It’s about where he is, not the city or the team.”
That is one of the cleaner defenses of James any active or former Lakers figure has offered. Fisher’s point cuts to the heart of the whole ring-chasing critique: the accusation only works if you assume LeBron is joining teams that were already good enough to win. History says the opposite.
The 2012 Miami Heat did not win a title because Chris Bosh joined LeBron. The 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers were a Finals-loser without him and a champion with him. The 2020 Lakers were the No. 27 seed the year before he showed up and rebuilt around him. Everywhere James has landed, he has been the reason those teams got over the hump.
Fisher also referenced Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He argued that Kareem never chased rings either. Instead, championships followed him from UCLA to Milwaukee to Los Angeles because he was the singular gravitational force wherever he went. James, he said, has had a similar effect.
The 76ers now become the newest test case. Philadelphia was already a dark-horse contender before adding James. Joel Embiid remains a top-five player when healthy. Tyrese Maxey is a bona fide star. The Sixers made moves at the deadline last year to shore up their perimeter defense. Slotting a 41-year-old LeBron into that group is not a solo cape-and-tights operation.
But if the Sixers do go on to win, it will still take a huge lift from James. That is his whole career. Even at 41, he averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 7.2 assists across 60 games for the Lakers last season. That is starter-caliber production on a title favorite, and he still has to play major playoff minutes for Philly to win.
The interesting subtext is which teams did not get James. The Knicks, per multiple reports, rejected him during free agency. That is a stunning outcome for a team that just won a title. Golden State and Cleveland also missed. Only the Sixers actually made the pitch stick.
Fisher is right about one big thing. Whatever you want to say about LeBron’s team-hopping over the years, he has never joined a team that was already the best in the league and then taken credit for it. He builds them up. That is a lot of things, but ring chasing is not really the right label.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
