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

[Chuck Everett]

Troy Murphy and Rony Seikaly were known for not caring if they missed the playoffs because they would prefer to enjoy the longer offseasons. While NBA teams do get per diem and money from the League's pool should they advance further in the bracket, they don't get game checks once the season is over.

[Warriorguy]

I would ring chase playing for the min after getting paid.

[durden_tyler]

Yeah, i think i'd demand trades left and right because i won't be happy with my team's direction to tank and trade Teammate A, blah blah.

[Beethoven]

I dunno, but I would guess this says more about the op's character and naive perspectives on life more than a topic of being an nba player and not caring about winning. I would assume that having a winning mindset has a lot to do with a person even entering the nba. It's built into him or inspired at a very early time in his life. This applies to all things not just nba.

[pepe1991]

Tony Allen played basketball in "right" way, never making clown of himself, always was professional and played his guts out. Made $40M in nba over 14 years.

Darius Miles couldn't get off drugs, was complete moron, never cared nor liked, let alone understood basketball , sucked life out of every basketball team he was part of, basically was semi retired at age of 24... and made $61M over 9 years ( last 3 played 34 games total, retired at 27).

Adonal Foyle played from 1997- 2008 and had epic 8 playoff games played total (0,7 ppg) and still got payed near 30% more than Allen.


Winning means nothing in nba. Teams always find irrational reasons to overpay for stat padding offensive players and some big game changers always end up being underpaid because their box scores aren't filled.
After 9 years in nba ,Caruso's bank total says $42M.
Kuzma being semi retired, recreative, out of shape dude on Wizards from 2023-2025 made $49M.

Caruso plays his guts out and is huge part of championship run OKC is now on.
Kuzma looks like he hasn't been in gym since 2020. Because he probably - wasn't. Like, by just watching Kuzma run you can tell he spent past 2 years doing everything but basketball related stuff.

NBA players aren't fools, they want to win, but they want to win only after they secured their bank. Often one is not going along with other, it's more beneficial to padd to 20 ppg on trash team than be contributor on 10 ppg that goes on deep championship hunts.

[Sane]

This is why NBA players need better financial training. Most money is made off the court these days. Winning titles is the kind of equity you can capitalize on for a decade or two after retiring. As an entrepreneur, give me a 3x champion with $100m over a 0-time champion with $140m. I will multiply the first guy's money much easier than the second guy.

Taking the most guaranteed money right now is always the least total amount of money you'll make and it makes sense. It's your best option if what you plan to do in your mid 30's is just retire and spend what you made while you earn interest on it. Most humans though will get to that age an feel unfulfilled so they will either start to invest seriously or they will spend on wasteful things to fill the void.

[Statlanta]

No because the GOAT debate is just Kobe, LeBron and MJ anyway. The goal is generational wealth.

/s? No?

The casual fan debate is essentially this, not the general all encompassing debate. Most likely I would think you are an average player, and even if you were a superstar you would be endlessly compared to those 3 players if you had any success.

[tsherkin]

No because the GOAT debate is just Kobe, LeBron and MJ anyway. The goal is generational wealth.

/s? No?

The casual fan debate is essentially this, not the general all encompassing debate. Most likely I would think you are an average player, and even if you were a superstar you would be endlessly compared to those 3 players if you had any success.

Man, my goal in mentality would be to acknowledge how unimportant the casual fan's opinion is and just enjoy my life. You wouldn't see me pulling a Kevin Durant, that's for sure. xD I'd be so boring to the fans, staying off social media and minding my business. xD

[schnakenpopanz]

Lebron is a billionaire. He does not need the NBA salary, not for his life style, not for his kids, not for anything.
He could easily play for vet min to help the team sign better players, but well max 5% of his earnings would be from a NBA yearly contract. Pocket change. But the ego tells him: you have to be the highest paid on the team.

[Calvin Klein]

Of course most want to win, but the main goal is money. Everything else comes after that. If you think any of these guys put winning before money, you are seriously delusional.



NEW YORK -- Deandre Ayton was asked Wednesday to define what success in the NBA looks like to him.

"Definitely getting to my second contract; that's my success," Ayton said at media availability for top lottery picks.

Ayton, a 7-foot-1 big man from Arizona, is widely expected to be the top player taken in Thursday's NBA draft. The Phoenix Suns own the No. 1 overall pick.


https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/23854252/deandre-ayton-nba-success-getting-second-deal

[Hair Jordan]

Depends on whether or not I was a journeyman, an All Star type or a generational player. If I was a journeyman, I wouldn’t really care about winning. I’d be focused on making as much money as possible and extending my career as long as possible. If I was an All Star level player, I’d definitely focus on winning because the money would already be there. Lastly, if I was a generational player, I would care about winning more than anything else because not winning a title (Baylor, Barkley, Ewing, Malone, Stockton, Harden, Luka) or not winning enough titles (Erving, Moses, Giannis, Jokic) or losing more potential titles vs winning potential titles (Lebron 4-6 in Finals) would hurt me in the all time rankings and GOAT debates.

[Optms]

Lebron is a billionaire. He does not need the NBA salary, not for his life style, not for his kids, not for anything.
He could easily play for vet min to help the team sign better players, but well max 5% of his earnings would be from a NBA yearly contract. Pocket change. But the ego tells him: you have to be the highest paid on the team.

He took those paycuts over a decade ago to establish legacy. Legacy secured. So why keep taking cuts, or do what you are suggesting - working for free for other billionaires? You don't get to the level Lebron is now by working with no return on investments.

Tell guys like Jokic or Giannis to take paycuts. Those guys need it more for their own legacy, especially when their fans keep crying the most for help all while their guy eats up most of the cap while taking the team nowhere. When have today's stars ever taken paycuts like Lebron has come to think of it? All these stars just chase money and cry about how unfair it is that their team goes nowhere. Take the money and shut up. Or do what Lebron back in Miami and win.

[NYKnickerbocker]

I wouldn’t be devastated if I didn’t win a chip. I’d be more than satisfied with the fame and money. If I found my self in a situation where I could compete, I’d of course lock in for the goal tho. But I wouldn’t move heaven and earth ( take pay Cut, demand trades) to make it happen

[LofJ]

Yes, winning is more fun and winners get paid, especially if you're not a star player.

[schnakenpopanz]

Lebron is a billionaire. He does not need the NBA salary, not for his life style, not for his kids, not for anything.
He could easily play for vet min to help the team sign better players, but well max 5% of his earnings would be from a NBA yearly contract. Pocket change. But the ego tells him: you have to be the highest paid on the team.

He took those paycuts over a decade ago to establish legacy. Legacy secured. So why keep taking cuts, or do what you are suggesting - working for free for other billionaires? You don't get to the level Lebron is now by working with no return on investments.

Tell guys like Jokic or Giannis to take paycuts. Those guys need it more for their own legacy, especially when their fans keep crying the most for help all while their guy eats up most of the cap while taking the team nowhere. When have today's stars ever taken paycuts like Lebron has come to think of it? All these stars just chase money and cry about how unfair it is that their team goes nowhere. Take the money and shut up. Or do what Lebron back in Miami and win.

This still does not tell me why he has to take the large capsum of the lakers if he cares so much about winning.

[NO-KG-AI]

Lebron is a billionaire. He does not need the NBA salary, not for his life style, not for his kids, not for anything.
He could easily play for vet min to help the team sign better players, but well max 5% of his earnings would be from a NBA yearly contract. Pocket change. But the ego tells him: you have to be the highest paid on the team.

He took those paycuts over a decade ago to establish legacy. Legacy secured. So why keep taking cuts, or do what you are suggesting - working for free for other billionaires? You don't get to the level Lebron is now by working with no return on investments.

Tell guys like Jokic or Giannis to take paycuts. Those guys need it more for their own legacy, especially when their fans keep crying the most for help all while their guy eats up most of the cap while taking the team nowhere. When have today's stars ever taken paycuts like Lebron has come to think of it? All these stars just chase money and cry about how unfair it is that their team goes nowhere. Take the money and shut up. Or do what Lebron back in Miami and win.

I’m glad these guys don’t. Playing for the minimum so that you can get a more stacked team doesn’t make you better at basketball than someone else, it falsely boosts up your team success compared to others.

If everyone isn’t playing by the same ruleset, what are we even arguing about? Imagine if some billionaire decides he’s gonna find a way to pay all these guys off the record, and Jokic, Giannis, Luka, Shai, Ant, etc all mysteriously team up to play for the minimum, are they now all the GOATs becsuse they shatter the NBA title record? Are they better winners now? What if some ultra billionaire’s son enters the league and never seeks more than league minimum and always gets to play with more max level players? Is he a better winner because his dad was rich?

It’s goofy. I’m glad these guys stars have taken the max slot on a team and have their teams attempt to build with similar parameters.

[dhsilv2]

This is why NBA players need better financial training. Most money is made off the court these days. Winning titles is the kind of equity you can capitalize on for a decade or two after retiring. As an entrepreneur, give me a 3x champion with $100m over a 0-time champion with $140m. I will multiply the first guy's money much easier than the second guy.

Taking the most guaranteed money right now is always the least total amount of money you'll make and it makes sense. It's your best option if what you plan to do in your mid 30's is just retire and spend what you made while you earn interest on it. Most humans though will get to that age an feel unfulfilled so they will either start to invest seriously or they will spend on wasteful things to fill the void.

This is just wild...

Most guys who get into the NBA aren't making anything material off the court. Just over 500 guys played last year. Do you think the bottom 400 made more off the court? Hell I doubt outside of the top 50 the made more off the court and I"m not even sure all of the top 50 made more off the court. And 100 million? You're not making 100 million even. Most guys who make the league get 3-4 years at the min and/or are in and out of the G league.

You're like the girls who assume if they were a guy they'd be 6'4 with a trust fund, full head of hair, and ripped abs that they didn't even have to work for.

[dhsilv2]

Lebron is a billionaire. He does not need the NBA salary, not for his life style, not for his kids, not for anything.
He could easily play for vet min to help the team sign better players, but well max 5% of his earnings would be from a NBA yearly contract. Pocket change. But the ego tells him: you have to be the highest paid on the team.

He took those paycuts over a decade ago to establish legacy. Legacy secured. So why keep taking cuts, or do what you are suggesting - working for free for other billionaires? You don't get to the level Lebron is now by working with no return on investments.

Tell guys like Jokic or Giannis to take paycuts. Those guys need it more for their own legacy, especially when their fans keep crying the most for help all while their guy eats up most of the cap while taking the team nowhere. When have today's stars ever taken paycuts like Lebron has come to think of it? All these stars just chase money and cry about how unfair it is that their team goes nowhere. Take the money and shut up. Or do what Lebron back in Miami and win.

I’m glad these guys don’t. Playing for the minimum so that you can get a more stacked team doesn’t make you better at basketball than someone else, it falsely boosts up your team success compared to others.

If everyone isn’t playing by the same ruleset, what are we even arguing about? Imagine if some billionaire decides he’s gonna find a way to pay all these guys off the record, and Jokic, Giannis, Luka, Shai, Ant, etc all mysteriously team up to play for the minimum, are they now all the GOATs becsuse they shatter the NBA title record? Are they better winners now? What if some ultra billionaire’s son enters the league and never seeks more than league minimum and always gets to play with more max level players? Is he a better winner because his dad was rich?

It’s goofy. I’m glad these guys stars have taken the max slot on a team and have their teams attempt to build with similar parameters.

Bingo. I don't mind a "Tim Duncan" pay cut. Where you leave 10-20 over a few years off to let your team get some bench guy or have some flexibility. But guys taking huge cuts would ruin the league.

[Optms]

Lebron is a billionaire. He does not need the NBA salary, not for his life style, not for his kids, not for anything.
He could easily play for vet min to help the team sign better players, but well max 5% of his earnings would be from a NBA yearly contract. Pocket change. But the ego tells him: you have to be the highest paid on the team.

He took those paycuts over a decade ago to establish legacy. Legacy secured. So why keep taking cuts, or do what you are suggesting - working for free for other billionaires? You don't get to the level Lebron is now by working with no return on investments.

Tell guys like Jokic or Giannis to take paycuts. Those guys need it more for their own legacy, especially when their fans keep crying the most for help all while their guy eats up most of the cap while taking the team nowhere. When have today's stars ever taken paycuts like Lebron has come to think of it? All these stars just chase money and cry about how unfair it is that their team goes nowhere. Take the money and shut up. Or do what Lebron back in Miami and win.

This still does not tell me why he has to take the large capsum of the lakers if he cares so much about winning.

Who said all he cares about is winning? Maybe 15 yeas ago. Not so much today. Like I stated, he has already won and established the winning legacy. He is in the investment stage at this point.

[flow]

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?

You answered your own question in your first sentence.

If you're a competitive person who wants to win/hates to lose, that doesn't change over time. And it's not affected by money. It's part of your dna.

Whether you're a kid with no money, or an adult with lots of money, money is not a factor when you get on the court.

.