If you were an NBA player would you care about winning?

[Shock Defeat]

When I was younger I would think, of course, why wouldn't I want to win championships and be a successful player, but as I think about it more, why? You get paid the same regardless. Would you rather be Jordan Poole, getting paid millions, getting featured on offense, and not having to deal with any pressure to win, than say a Obi Toppin, who is playing all the way into June when he could have been on vacation since mid April.

You are signing up for 2 more months of grueling playoff games every other day, not getting paid extra, and exposing yourself to crushing Playoff defeat which will hurt even more.

Meanwhile, Poole is chilling and living the life probably on a yacht somewhere. He is prioritizing his family, friends, you know, the things in life that matter more while Toppin is away from his closest people.

WDYT? Is winning overrated?

[ReggiesKnicks]

Is this satirical?

[Bornstellar]

But you don't get paid the same regardless. Being a good player on a winning teams means you are far more likely to win awards that can impact the type of contract/extension you are eligible for. I guess that doesn't necessarily matter for the playoffs...but still. Plus who wants to lose? I get what you're saying OP but no, I would definitely care about winning

[UcanUwill]

Well, getting paid and winning is not mutually exclusive.

But when I was young, I remember thinking that I would rather be star on bad team than star on stacked team. I was definitely in minority, I remember talking about this with fellow youth, but as a kid, I remember thinking it would be just cool to be head and shoulders best guy. Granted, I was never good at sports and never had much of competitive passion, and never knew what it feels to be best athlete. I have competitive passion in buzzerbeater.com, but thats about it.

[ORLMagicGirl15]

I’m sure they all start with caring about winning but when they stop enjoying the game and don’t want to practice anymore, I’m sure the money becomes more important.

I am saying this as a Magic fan that watched many players no longer care about winning but just wanted a paycheck.

[TheGeneral99]

I think the goal of an NBA player should be to get that bag early in their career and once they get that bag, focus on winning which will pay dividends for them later in their career anyways, because winning mentality players on good teams usually can extend their careers longer and get paid more.

[BigGargamel]

When I was younger I would think, of course, why wouldn't I want to win championships and be a successful player, but as I think about it more, why? You get paid the same regardless. Would you rather be Jordan Poole, getting paid millions, getting featured on offense, and not having to deal with any pressure to win, than say a Obi Toppin, who is playing all the way into June when he could have been on vacation since mid April.

You are signing up for 2 more months of grueling playoff games every other day, not getting paid extra, and exposing yourself to crushing Playoff defeat which will hurt even more.

Meanwhile, Poole is chilling and living the life probably on a yacht somewhere. He is prioritizing his family, friends, you know, the things in life that matter more while Toppin is away from his closest people.

WDYT? Is winning overrated?

I'd rather get Jordan Poole money than Obi Toppin money, but to say Poole is happy to not be playing playoff basketball is just silly. The narrative that athletes don't care about winning is dumb. These guys put in thousands of hours of their lives to get to the NBA. Nearly everyone cares about winning.

[UcanUwill]

I’m sure they all start with caring about winning but when they stop enjoying the game and don’t want to practice anymore, I’m sure the money becomes more important.

I am saying this as a Magic fan that watched many players no longer care about winning but just wanted a paycheck.

I refuse to believe players do not care about winning, but it is their job, they suppose to get paid and took the best financial offers. I would definitely do the same, I would prefer to play in Europe if I had a choice, and there are definitely locations where I would not play no matter how much they would offer me, just cause of my political and ethical principles, but I would seek the bag.

I find it asinine when fans chastise players for taking the bag over going or staying on a ''winning team'', same fans who proclaim American sports superior due to salary cap rules, parity all that. I mean, that all stops working if players start refusing to take money and instead just team up to win titles. The whole sustem is built on belief players would go after the money.

[NZB2323]

Players get paid playoff money, players who play well in the playoffs get paid more, players who win awards get paid more, and players are competitive and like to win.

But I mean, if the choices are to be Bill Sharman and get his championships and career earning or be Tobias Harris and not get any championships but get over a quarter of a billion dollars in career earnings, I’d rather be Tobias Harris.

[TheGeneral99]

Players get paid playoff money, players who play well in the playoffs get paid more, players who win awards get paid more, and players are competitive and like to win.

But I mean, if the choices are to be Bill Sharman and get his championships and career earning or be Tobias Harris and not get any championships but get over a quarter of a billion dollars in career earnings, I’d rather be Tobias Harris.

Plus you get the adulation of being loved forever by the city you played in which counts for something.

[Lenneth]

The reason Poole got his 30+ mils/year contract is because the Warriors won the championship, and he probably won't get that contract if he were a tank commander like now. Any player, who performed well in PO, would likely get a big contract, so they have every incentive to play in the post season.

[SFour]

There are big money bonuses that are associated with winning....Mobley for example, being on a winning team played a role in him getting DPOY & all-NBA, and that gave him a big contract bonus (additional $45 million over five years)

Also there are bonuses for making the all-star game or reaching the finals....these are associated with being on a winning team.

On top of that being on a winning team gives you more exposure, look at Siakam or OG for example, them being in the ECF gives them more exposure for endorsements & marketing rather than being on the Raptors who are rebuilding.

Playoffs is more work but it's also great exposure if you have a good performance.

[Winterfrost]

Contributing to winning helps keep you in the NBA and helps get you to that point of getting the kind contract that Poole got. So in that sense, I think at least at the beginning during the first couple contracts, almost everyone would care about winning. However, I do think that not everyone has that ambition/desire to go at it 100% to do all the hard work to keep winning after they've secured whatever they think is enough money and/or enough legacy for themselves. Or even if they want to win, a lot of people aren't willing to do it unless they are able to play the kind of role that they want to, or get the kind of paycheque that they want, or get the kind of minutes that they want etc.

I doubt anyone in the NBA are able to or want to straight up coast with 0 effort though

[NZB2323]

Players get paid playoff money, players who play well in the playoffs get paid more, players who win awards get paid more, and players are competitive and like to win.

But I mean, if the choices are to be Bill Sharman and get his championships and career earning or be Tobias Harris and not get any championships but get over a quarter of a billion dollars in career earnings, I’d rather be Tobias Harris.

Plus you get the adulation of being loved forever by the city you played in which counts for something.

And you’re more likely to get sponsorship deals, even if they’re local.

[BelgradeNugget]

Jerami Grant is the best example of this. He was a starter in the playoffs on Nuggets team that went to WCF in 2019-20. Nuggets offered him a role that AG latter filled, and the same money as Detroit. Detroit offered him a role of green light scorrer. He accepted Detroit offer, was never good in that role, but made more money than AG in Denver, who won championship.

In the NBA players are often paid by stats.

So it is all about life choices, if it is only about money, go for stats.

[xdrta+]

There are some weird threads here. Anyone who has ever played the game knows that you care about winning, even if there is no money involved.

[FreeBird23]

Otherwise you can make a lot of money, not win, not play and come to watch the games in pyjamas

[dhsilv2]

When I was younger I would think, of course, why wouldn't I want to win championships and be a successful player, but as I think about it more, why? You get paid the same regardless. Would you rather be Jordan Poole, getting paid millions, getting featured on offense, and not having to deal with any pressure to win, than say a Obi Toppin, who is playing all the way into June when he could have been on vacation since mid April.

You are signing up for 2 more months of grueling playoff games every other day, not getting paid extra, and exposing yourself to crushing Playoff defeat which will hurt even more.

Meanwhile, Poole is chilling and living the life probably on a yacht somewhere. He is prioritizing his family, friends, you know, the things in life that matter more while Toppin is away from his closest people.

WDYT? Is winning overrated?

They do get paid for the playoffs, it's a lot less money. But they are getting paid.

[azcatz11]

Winning would be my #1 priority. I would trade $500M for one ring. I am built different

[dhsilv2]

Players get paid playoff money, players who play well in the playoffs get paid more, players who win awards get paid more, and players are competitive and like to win.

But I mean, if the choices are to be Bill Sharman and get his championships and career earning or be Tobias Harris and not get any championships but get over a quarter of a billion dollars in career earnings, I’d rather be Tobias Harris.

Plus you get the adulation of being loved forever by the city you played in which counts for something.

This is actually what I'd most want to avoid.

I'd want to be a completely forgettable bench guy who nobody ever knew after I retired. If I can do that and win, sweet! But the last thing I'd ever want is to be actually famous.

So for me, winning would be ideal, but only if it didn't come with that added risk. Otherwise 12th man for 10 years on the worst team...sounds great. I'll invest and build a business empire post playing career.