Image via Complex Original
All players in the NBA have one goal every season: winning a championship. That Larry O’Brien trophy remains ever-elusive and many greats never get to wear a ring. From Charles Barkley, to John Stockton and Karl Malone, many stars have failed to capture a ring and the illustrious fanfare that comes with it. As certain stars age and decline, their role on a team changes.
It becomes less about their talent and more about their experience. Usually that decline in talent includes a decline in playing time, production, etc. Some might call this process of moving on to a new team “chasing a ring” or they might call it a smart move to add to a career. Call it what you want, but count the rings. From “The Chief” Robert Parish to Juwan Howard, here is A History of Aging NBA Stars Piggybacking Their Way to Rings.
Andy Phillip
Age: 34
Championship season: 1957 Boston Celtics
Career statistics: 609 G, 8.7 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 5.5 APG
Championship season statistics: 67 G, 4.4 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 2.5 APG
Aging gracefully is a hard thing to do. Just ask Andy Phillip. The former five-time All-Star went on to Boston where he won a championship in 1957 with the Celtics after stops in Philadelphia and Fort Wayne. Phillip received the least minutes (9.8 MPG) during the playoffs and shot just 24 percent from the field. Did that matter? Not at all because the Celtics had a few legends dominating in Bill Sharman, Bob Cousy, and Bill Russell.
Carl Braun
Age: 34
Championship season: 1962 Boston Celtics
Career statistics: 684 G, 13.4 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 3.9 APG
Championship season statistics: 48 G, 3.7 PPG, 1 RPG, 1.5 APG
Carl Braun might have been a great guard for the Knicks, but his only ring came with the Boston Celtics. The five-time All-Star led the Knicks in scoring in his first seven seasons. He moved on to the Boston Celtics after being waived by New York, and had a grand time on Boston's bench playing in only six games during the 1962 playoffs. A ring is a ring. Right?
Clyde Lovellette
Age: 33-34
Championship season: 1963-64 Boston Celtics
Career statistics: 704 G, 17.0 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 1.6 APG
Championship season statistics: 106 G, 6.6 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 0.5 APG
Age happens. Players can't control it, so while a player is on the decline they fill a role that fits a team and it can be really helpful. Clyde Lovellette was a four-time All-Star and an NBA and NCAA champion, but at the twilight of his career he took on the role of backup big man to Bill Russell. He did his job well, helping the Celtics win two championships in a row.
Clyde Lovellette explained his role and playing behind Bill Russell in an interview last year:
"It was great to sit there and watch him, because at that time my career was in the twilight. I wasn't a starter at that time, so to sit and watch him play and then go in and relieve him every once in a while was great."
Larry Costello
Age: 35
Championship season: 1967 Philadelphia 76ers
Career statistics: 706 G, 12.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 4.6 APG
Championship season statistics: 49 G, 7.8 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 2.1 APG
Championships never come easy but for Larry Costello it seems that the end of his playing career was the start of something big. After 11 seasons, six All-Star appearances and an All-NBA Second Team nomination, Costello finally won a championship with the 76ers. Costello just played two games during the playoffs that season, but he does have a ring to show for it. Costello would win another championship as a coach with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1971.
Bob Boozer
Age: 33
Championship season: 1971 Milwaukee Bucks
Career statistics: 874 G, 14.8 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 1.4 APG
Championship season statistics: 80 G, 9.1 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 1.6 APG
No. 1 draft picks usually have a hard time transitioning to supporting roles, but not Bob Boozer. Boozer had very successful individual runs in Chicago and Cincinnati. The former gold medalist and All-Star retired on a high note in Milwaukee with a championship in the role of sixth man. He gained a reputation for his soft mid-range jumper. While not the much more expanded role he had earlier in his career, a ring erases any of that displeasure.
Dick Barnett
Age: 36
Championship season: 1973 New York Knicks
Career statistics: 971 G, 15.8 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 2.8 APG
Championship season statistics: 51 G, 3.8 PPG, 0.8 RPG, 1.0 APG
Dick Barnett will forever be remembered for his performance during the New York Knicks' 1970 championship run. Barnett averaged 16.9 PPG and 3.4 APG in the 1970 playoffs, but once the Knicks acquired Earl "The Pearl" Monroe, Barnett's role decreased. Age caught up to him, and by the Knicks' second title run, Barnett averaged just 4.3 MPG in four games during the 1973 playoffs.
Jeff Mullins
Age: 32
Championship season: 1976 Golden State Warriors
Career statistics: 804 G, 16.2 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 3.8 APG
Championship season statistics: 68 G, 8.2 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 2.3 APG
Former Duke standout and eventual North Carolina head coach, Jeff Mullins was one of the leagues more talented forwards for most of his career with the San Francisco/Golden State Warriors. A three-time All-Star, Mullins never got deep in the playoffs at the peak of his powers. He had to wait until the tail end to piggy-back on former Warrior great Rick Barry to get that elusive ring. Now all we want to know is how a Duke guy ends up as a UNC coach for 11 years without his head exploding. #justsayin
Scott Wedman
Age: 31 & 33
Championship season: 1984 & 86 Boston Celtics
Career statistics: 906 G, 13.2 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 2.0 APG
Championship season statistics: 147 G, 6.5 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 1.0 APG
It's all about location. Scott Wedman went from two All-Star games and an All-Defensive Second Team nod with Kansas City to mop-up duty and a supporting role for Larry Bird and the Celtics. Wedman was a great shooter and a great glue guy for those Boston teams of the '80ss. Wedman was probably happy with the trade-off. Kansas City and no rings versus the great city of Boston and two rings? What are you taking?
Robert Parish
Age: 37
Championship season: 1997 Chicago Bulls
Career statistics: 1611 G, 14.5 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 1.4 APG
Championship season statistics: 43 G, 3.7 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 0.5 APG
The Chief is best known for his three titles and dominant run for the Celtics in the '80s, but NBA historians also remember his last title in Chicago. Parish followed the old "if you can't beat em, join em" mantra and served as the designated old man veteran bench warmer for MJ and the Bulls in '97. You can't be mad at Parish when he's one short of a full five ring set. There's no way Larry Legend felt good about this one in the slightest though.
Mitch Richmond
Age: 36
Championship season: 2002 Los Angeles Lakers
Career statistics: 976 G, 21 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 3.4 APG
Championship season statistics: 64 G, 4.1 PPG, 1.5 RPG, 0.9 APG
Mitch Richmond played a total of four minutes in his only year in the playoffs as a Los Angeles Laker. Despite his remarkable pedigree, Richmond failed and displayed his age in his last season in the NBA. The six-time All-Star and former Rookie of the Year failed to excel in the Lakers' system, but a ring is a ring, especially for someone who made the playoffs only four seasons in his 14-year career.
Steve Smith
Age: 33
Championship season: 2003 San Antonio Spurs
Career statistics: 942 G, 14.3 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 3.1 APG
Championship season statistics: 53 G, 6.8 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 1.3 APG
Sometimes winning means everything when compared to playing time. When a player loses their starting role, they can pout, but Steve Smith did make the best of the situation. Despite playing in only nine of a possible 24 playoff games for San Antonio, the one-time All-Star did enjoy the fruits of the 2003 championship San Antonio Spurs.
Glenn Robinson
Age: 32
Championship season: 2005 San Antonio Spurs
Career statistics: 688 G, 20.7 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 2.7 APG
Championship season statistics: 9 G, 10.0 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 0.9 APG
After a great scoring run at Milwaukee that included two All-Star appearances and eight seasons of 20+ PPG, the 2004-05 season seemed to be the end for Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson. He was traded by the Philadelphia 76ers to the New Orleans Hornets and was waived a week later. The Spurs picked up Robinson and he played a very diminished role in San Antonio. The Big Dog played just 8.7 MPG in the playoffs but we bet he enjoyed the vacation in San Antonio to capture the ever-elusive ring.
Alonzo Mourning
Age: 35
Championship season: 2006 Miami Heat
Career statistics: 838 G, 17.1 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 1.1 APG
Championship season statistics: 65 G, 7.8 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 0.2 APG
There's no doubt that Alonzo Mourning will go down in history as one of the best defensive centers ever. Unfortunately he played out most of his prime years before his life-threatening kidney disease at the same time as MJ, and the Shaq/Kobe Lakers which meant no titles for him.
That was until '06 when Miami made the Shaq trade and paired him up with a young D-Wade and won a title. Mourning made a contribution for the team off the bench still being able to block shots and spell Shaq some, but he was a shell of himself and snagged his one and only ring as an aged role player.
Gary Payton
Age: 37
Championship season: 2006 Miami Heat
Career statistics: 1335 G, 16.3 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 6.7 APG
Championship season statistics: 81 G, 7.7 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 3.2 APG
The 2006 NBA Finals matchup between the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks will be forever remembered as the Dwyane Wade series. While sometimes the Heat seemed like a one-man wrecking crew, some smart veteran play from players like Gary Payton helped turn the tide in the Heat's favor. GP hit two big buckets in Games 3 and 5 to help Miami win four consecutive games and capture the series.
Sam Cassell
Age: 38
Championship season: 2008 Boston Celtics
Career statistics: 993 G, 15.7 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 6.0 APG
Championship season statistics: 17 G, 7.6 PPG, 1.8 RPG, 2.1 APG
Sam Cassell was a stud point guard for years playing alongside Hakeem in Houston and Ray Allen and Glen Robinson in Milwaukee. Nabbing two rings early, Cassell never really got the chance to play on a major contender again until his final season with Boston and their Big Three of KG, Pierce, and Ray Allen. There he played 18 minutes a game and even less in the playoffs. He managed to snag a third and final ring before becoming an assistant coach.
Peja Stojakovic
Age: 33
Championship season: 2011 Dallas Mavericks
Career statistics: 804 G, 17.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.8 APG
Championship season statistics: 25 G, 8.6 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 0.9 APG
Becoming an NBA champion can be really hard, but players can enter into a championship situation luckily. After a very successful career, Stojakovic was pretty much on his way out of the league after being waived by the Toronto Raptors. Soon after, the three-time All-Star was picked up by the Dallas Mavericks, hit a few threes and got a championship for his troubles. After finally getting a ring, Stojakovic set off in the sun, retiring from the NBA.
Juwan Howard
Age: 38
Championship season: 2012 Miami Heat
Career statistics: 1208 G, 13.4 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 2.2 APG
Championship season statistics: 28 G, 1.5 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 0.4 APG
Who would have thought Juwan Howard would be the longest lasting Fab Five member in the league and the only one to win a ring? Many forget how good Howard was with the Wizards and Nuggets, but after some solid years he surveyed the league as a journey man. He landed in Miami when the Big Three formed to insert the essence of a consummate professional that could show some of the young guys how it's done. Juwan proved to do just that en route to the title last year and they even brought him back this year to do some of the same. Oh, and he also busted out this when he finally got his ring. Where you at, Jalen?