Olympic Gold bigger than NBA Ring? Really?

[Jeff]

all the gold in the world won't change this

[CoachCowens]

I guess they must have grown up dreaming of winning Olympic Gold instead of winning the NBA championship.  Not likely.

[Reggie's Ghost]

I guess they must have grown up dreaming of winning Olympic Gold instead of winning the NBA championship.  Not likely.

Exactley, winning gold is a dream accomplishment I could never conceive, but I think these players know that NBA Champs is the top of the mountain.

[Redz]

Can we cut these guys (Kobe included), just a little bit of slack.  They did what they were supposed to do and they did it admirably.  Aren't they allowed to be a little bit pleased with themselves about it?

It's like giving a new parent a hard time for saying the birth of their new child was the greatest moment in their life as opposed to the joy of their wedding day or vice versa.  Who's to say which means more to who?  They're both wonderful moments that could share the top spot, but at the moment it's happening it's more likely to be "the greatest moment".

They just won the [dang] thing, let them say whatever they want about how great it was.  It should be something they can enjoy and be proud of.  Perhaps that sentiment is what's been missing from a few of the US teams of late.

[guava_wrench]

I think that each of these guys is able to decide for themselves what is more important, however I am not sure they are being truthful. My own personal opinion is that the amount of effort put into the challenge has the most to do with the glory of achieving it. Playing for a couple weeks against a lesser talent field and calling that the pinnacle is a stretch. Beating the best players in the world over an 82 game season and having to win 16 games against the very best teams in that league seems to be a lot bigger feat. Glad they won back the gold, but I was a big believer in going back to the college players after that original Dream Team. There was no upside from there!

Yeah. We should also stop sending swimmers to the Olympics while we are still so dominant!

[dark_lord]

this is whats wrong with fans, blogs, sports radio, etc....the athlete is [dang]ed if they do and they are [dang]ed if they dont.  if they say the nba championship is more important, they are labelled as being unpatriotic.  if they say the gold medal is more important, they are hit with skepticism as not being honest.  really who cares what they hold more important.  it is their opinion either way.

[ACF]

Can we cut these guys (Kobe included), just a little bit of slack.  They did what they were supposed to do and they did it admirably.  Aren't they allowed to be a little bit pleased with themselves about it?

It's like giving a new parent a hard time for saying the birth of their new child was the greatest moment in their life as opposed to the joy of their wedding day or vice versa.  Who's to say which means more to who?  They're both wonderful moments that could share the top spot, but at the moment it's happening it's more likely to be "the greatest moment".

They just won the [dang] thing, let them say whatever they want about how great it was.  It should be something they can enjoy and be proud of.  Perhaps that sentiment is what's been missing from a few of the US teams of late.

Well said, Redz.
TP.

[Steve Weinman]

Can we cut these guys (Kobe included), just a little bit of slack.  They did what they were supposed to do and they did it admirably.  Aren't they allowed to be a little bit pleased with themselves about it?

It's like giving a new parent a hard time for saying the birth of their new child was the greatest moment in their life as opposed to the joy of their wedding day or vice versa.  Who's to say which means more to who?  They're both wonderful moments that could share the top spot, but at the moment it's happening it's more likely to be "the greatest moment".

They just won the [dang] thing, let them say whatever they want about how great it was.  It should be something they can enjoy and be proud of.  Perhaps that sentiment is what's been missing from a few of the US teams of late.

Well said, Redz.
TP.

Ditto.  My sentiments exactly.  Good stuff, Redz.

-sw

[CoachCowens]

this is whats wrong with fans, blogs, sports radio, etc....the athlete is [dang]ed if they do and they are [dang]ed if they dont.  if they say the nba championship is more important, they are labelled as being unpatriotic.  if they say the gold medal is more important, they are hit with skepticism as not being honest.  really who cares what they hold more important.  it is their opinion either way.

What if they didn't try to make a comparison? If Lebron left his comment at. "this is the biggest thing for me", then there would be no room for criticism. He goes on to say the NBA Championship doesn't compare which leaves him open for criticism.

[crownsy]

this is whats wrong with fans, blogs, sports radio, etc....the athlete is [dang]ed if they do and they are [dang]ed if they dont.  if they say the nba championship is more important, they are labelled as being unpatriotic.  if they say the gold medal is more important, they are hit with skepticism as not being honest.  really who cares what they hold more important.  it is their opinion either way.

What if they didn't try to make a comparison? If Lebron left his comment at. "this is the biggest thing for me", then there would be no room for criticism. He goes on to say the NBA Championship doesn't compare which leaves him open for criticism.

****, ok.

if lebron said "this is the biggest thing ive ever done" you think people wouldn't just add on "wow, guess the NBA title isn't a big thing" to hsi sentance.

please.

[CoachCowens]

this is whats wrong with fans, blogs, sports radio, etc....the athlete is [dang]ed if they do and they are [dang]ed if they dont.  if they say the nba championship is more important, they are labelled as being unpatriotic.  if they say the gold medal is more important, they are hit with skepticism as not being honest.  really who cares what they hold more important.  it is their opinion either way.

What if they didn't try to make a comparison? If Lebron left his comment at. "this is the biggest thing for me", then there would be no room for criticism. He goes on to say the NBA Championship doesn't compare which leaves him open for criticism.

****, ok.

if lebron said "this is the biggest thing ive ever done" you think people wouldn't just add on "wow, guess the NBA title isn't a big thing" to hsi sentance.

please.

Huh?  He never won an NBA championship. This is the biggest accomplishment of his life(basketball wise). Why put down the NBA championship by saying there is no comparison.

[Chris]

this is whats wrong with fans, blogs, sports radio, etc....the athlete is [dang]ed if they do and they are [dang]ed if they dont.  if they say the nba championship is more important, they are labelled as being unpatriotic.  if they say the gold medal is more important, they are hit with skepticism as not being honest.  really who cares what they hold more important.  it is their opinion either way.

What if they didn't try to make a comparison? If Lebron left his comment at. "this is the biggest thing for me", then there would be no room for criticism. He goes on to say the NBA Championship doesn't compare which leaves him open for criticism.

****, ok.

if lebron said "this is the biggest thing ive ever done" you think people wouldn't just add on "wow, guess the NBA title isn't a big thing" to hsi sentance.

please.

Huh?  He never won an NBA championship. This is the biggest accomplishment of his life. Why put down the NBA championship by saying there is no comparison.

I don't know if he really put down the NBA championship.  It is just a different thing. 

This guy is proud of his accomplishment.  What is wrong with that?

[DannyZ]

I'm sure if LeBron won a championship, he'd be singing a different tune.

If Kobe says that winning the gold medal is better than a NBA championship, he's just plain lying.

And can the "Kobe is the best player in the world" talk please stop?  LeBron showed that he is the best player above Kobe, Wade, Paul, and everyone else.  He is just a force.  Kobe had a mediocre Olympics, shooting 50% from the free throw line with a 1-1 assist to turnover ratio.  He did little to make his team mates better.  He did play good individual defense, but other than that, he wasn't that impressive.  LeBron and Wade were the true MVPs of the team.

[CoachCowens]

this is whats wrong with fans, blogs, sports radio, etc....the athlete is [dang]ed if they do and they are [dang]ed if they dont.  if they say the nba championship is more important, they are labelled as being unpatriotic.  if they say the gold medal is more important, they are hit with skepticism as not being honest.  really who cares what they hold more important.  it is their opinion either way.

What if they didn't try to make a comparison? If Lebron left his comment at. "this is the biggest thing for me", then there would be no room for criticism. He goes on to say the NBA Championship doesn't compare which leaves him open for criticism.

****, ok.

if lebron said "this is the biggest thing ive ever done" you think people wouldn't just add on "wow, guess the NBA title isn't a big thing" to hsi sentance.

please.

Huh?  He never won an NBA championship. This is the biggest accomplishment of his life. Why put down the NBA championship by saying there is no comparison.

I don't know if he really put down the NBA championship.  It is just a different thing. 

This guy is proud of his accomplishment.  What is wrong with that?

He should be proud. Nothing wrong with that and I didn't knock him for that.

Maybe we are reading the quote differently. To me it sounds like he is trying to infer that the Olympics is much bigger than the NBA championship.

 "winning an NBA championship never would compare to winning a gold medal for my country"

Usually when you say something like that you mean it pales in comparison, not, you can't compare because it is different.

[Chris]

this is whats wrong with fans, blogs, sports radio, etc....the athlete is [dang]ed if they do and they are [dang]ed if they dont.  if they say the nba championship is more important, they are labelled as being unpatriotic.  if they say the gold medal is more important, they are hit with skepticism as not being honest.  really who cares what they hold more important.  it is their opinion either way.

What if they didn't try to make a comparison? If Lebron left his comment at. "this is the biggest thing for me", then there would be no room for criticism. He goes on to say the NBA Championship doesn't compare which leaves him open for criticism.

****, ok.

if lebron said "this is the biggest thing ive ever done" you think people wouldn't just add on "wow, guess the NBA title isn't a big thing" to hsi sentance.

please.

Huh?  He never won an NBA championship. This is the biggest accomplishment of his life. Why put down the NBA championship by saying there is no comparison.

I don't know if he really put down the NBA championship.  It is just a different thing. 

This guy is proud of his accomplishment.  What is wrong with that?

He should be proud. Nothing wrong with that and I didn't knock him for that.

Maybe we are reading the quote differently. To me it sounds like he is trying to infer that the Olympics is much bigger than the NBA championship.

 "winning an NBA championship never would compare to winning a gold medal for my country"

Usually when you say something like that you mean it pales in comparison, not, you can't compare because it is different.

And if he did mean that, what is wrong with that?  I think a lot of people would take more pride in winning for their country than winning for some team that his only connection with is because they drafted him or pay his contract?