Champion Debate

Perhaps I'm just bitter, but the Miami Heat's championship has me again considering "Championships Won" when factored into a player's assessment.

The Heat is chocked full of players who have had all-star careers, but have now won a championship passed their prime. Just take a look at a couple of the players who match this assessment:

Alonzo Mourning

In the finals, Zo "contributed" 11 minutes per game, 4.3 points per game and 3.2 rebounds per game. (Compared to career averages of 32.6 mpg, 18.3 ppg and 9.1 rpg.) Alonzo was once one of the most dominating centers in the league (with the Charlotte Hornets and before his kidney failure with the Heat). Granted, his illness probably cut some of his dominance short, but had it not, would he really be on a roster that also includes Shaq?

Gary Payton

Payton's finals numbers: 2.7 points a game, 2 assists a game, 1 steal a game in 22.3 minutes per game (Career averages: 16.9 ppg, 6.9 apg, 1.9 spg in 36 mpg). The decline in Payton's game is more visible, since he played more minutes than Zo did. Payton will be remember for his clutch shot in this finals, but it's important to also remember that was one of only seven shots he made the entire series. Probably more notable, is that "The Glove" was regularly abused by opposing point guards throughout this playoffs. Payton certainly has a Hall of Fame resume, but his championship came as a role player (of similar or less skill than Jason Williams).

Antoine Walker

Though I like his game the least of these three, he could probably make the case that this championship should be accounted into his potential Hall of Fame resume. Walker's finals numbers were closer to his career numbers (13.8/19 ppg, 5.5/8.3 rpg, 3.9/2.2 apg) though he also played closely to his career minutes per game (36.5/37.5). You could either argue that his skills have considerably diminished (which I believe they have) or that he finally fit well into a role player/third option position (which he did). At one time in his career, Walker was one of the more well-rounded players in the league. His championship, however, did not come while he brought that skill set to the team, but rather a much smaller level of dominance.

I am not trying to claim that Miami, or these specific players do not deserve this championship (though I am still disappointed with the Stackhouse suspension and the odd foul disparity of Game 5). Miami beat some really good teams on their road to the championship, and that should not be discounted. But I am sick of the conversation where a player is considered greater than another simply because they won a championship.

Does Payton's championship as a shell of his former self really end the debate whether he or Jason Kidd is better?

Is Antoine Walker a step closer to Karl Malone, Charles Barkley or Kevin Garnett because he now has a ring?

Is Zo clearly better than Patrick Ewing now that he won a championship, even if it was as a role player?

So please don't claim a player is better simply because he has won more championships, for those rings may have come when he wasn't even playing his best ball.