Theory of ring depreciation, the dilemma of the second in command, Arenas tear open the most cruel lie in the NBA s championship

When Kobe Bryant's first crown ring in 2000 was sold for $94,000 at the auction house, the purple gold glory, set with 40 diamonds, became the life-saving money for Kobe's parents to pay medical bills. Ironically, it is this ring that symbolizes the peak of the team that exposed the biggest lie of the NBA champion narrative - the value of the championship is never equal, and the blood and tears of the second in command will eventually be diluted by history.

The "deputy shame" of Kobe's three-time champion: the identity cage behind the ring

Kobe, who completed three consecutive championships in 2002, is still deeply involved in the debate about "Who is stronger with McGrady VS Kobe". Arenas pointed out in the podcast: "If the ring really represents everything, how can Kobe, who holds the three crowns, be compared with McGrady, who holds the zero crown?" The truth hurts people's hearts. Under the shadow of the shark, Kobe's three rings were branded with the "passenger" mark, O'Neal held three FMVP trophys and became the absolute "driver". Fans argued that "Whether Kobe is just the next Pippen", and the gold content of the three rings has been forcibly discounted - the honor of the deputy is ultimately a shackle of gold plated. What's more absurd is that twenty-three years later, when this champion ring carrying the reconciliation of father and son pointed out that now the auction house, bidders are competing for the material value of 14K gold and diamonds, rather than the spiritual significance of Kobe's first championship. Championship glory is nothing more than a piece of pawnable metal in the face of survival.

Six-capped Pippen's ranking dilemma: History only remembers the experience of the steering wheel controller

Pippen's experience pushes this paradox to the extreme. In early 2025, he publicly declared that "the six-champion in hand should be the four-champ in LeBron", but he was ruthlessly backfired by data. He averaged 16.1 points and 6.4 rebounds in his career, seven All-Stars, and zero MVP4; LeBron's four-champ + four FMVP, thirteen-champion-one-squad-challenge, 20-champion-event-champion-event-champion-event-champion-event-champion-event-champion-event-champion-event-champion-event-champion-event-champion-event-champion-event-champion-event-champion-event-champion-event-champion-event-champion-event-champion-event-champion-event-champion-event-champion-event-champion-event-champion-event-champion-event-champion-event-champion-event-champion-event-champion-event-champion-event-champion-the-history of Jordan defines the narrative power of the Bulls dynasty. Arenas' metaphor is as accurate as a knife: "The person who drives will win the gold medal, and the person who hits the bike will win the silver medal." When Pippen's six rings lost to Elgin Baylor and Patrick Ewing in the historical rankings, it proved one thing: the number of champions is just tickets, and the steering wheel is the pricing power.

The rules of survival in the era of ring depreciation: Money never fades

Arenas once threw a more cruel comparison: "Champion rings are sold everywhere on the Internet, but who has ever seen someone sell 300 million US dollars?" This phrase directly points to the ultimate reality of professional sports. Robert Horry has seven rings (the ninth most sixth in history), a total salary of 54 million US dollars in career, James Harden has zero championships, and a total salary of 300 million US dollars in career. When Kobe's parents auctioned their son's relics for their livelihood, when the Celtics' eight-time champion K.C. Jones (only 7.4 points per game in career) has only remained in the old paper pile. The new generation of players have already seen through it. Rings are dreams and money is dignity. LeBron established a media empire and Durant invested in technology companies, both of which were getting rid of the "champion kidnapping" - even without a crown, commercial value and over-the-counter capital can also be immortal. The moment Kobe's ring auction hammer fell, Pippen and Arenas' debates from afar together point to the reshaping of NBA values: the champion is still the crown, but the jewel in the crown belongs to the helm. The second leader's ring will eventually be covered with dust, and the glory of the character players will be forgotten. There are only two roads that last forever - either hold the steering wheel tightly and become a "driver", or turn your career into an accurate money meter.

When the Bass family sold the Lakers for a sky-high price of 10 billion yuan, and when Jordan's championship ring was clearly marked at the auction house, perhaps Arenas is the real prophet: the champion will depreciate, but zero in the bank account will never betray.

History is written by the winner? No, history is written by someone holding the steering wheel tightly.

The rest of the people, etc., are just fuel in the fuel tank.