Winning the Larry O’Brien trophy is usually the highlight of an NBA player’s career. There are lots of all-time greats who never graced the finals stage while some of them ultimately fell short of their goal of winning a championship.
But not everybody on the roster will get a chance to play during a team’s championship run. Some of them aren’t even worthy of a roster spot but somehow ended up with a ring.
Today, we will take a look at the 12 worst NBA players that somehow won multiple NBA championships.
Mark Madsen – Los Angeles Lakers
LOS ANGELES – MAY 14: Mark Madsen #35 and Rick Fox #17 of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrate after defeating the San Antonio Spurs in Game Five of the Western Conference Semifinals during the 2002 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California on May 14, 2002. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
Madsen is perhaps the biggest cheerleader on the Lakers’ bench during their title run in 2001 and 2002. Although he was a rotation piece during the regular season, then Lakers coach Phil Jackson almost had no use for his services in the playoffs.
Madsen won a championship in his first two years in the league. Although he was young at the time, Madsen never really carved a name for himself in the league right up to his retirement in 2009.
DJ Mbenga – Los Angeles Lakers
LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 21: Kobe Bryant #24 and DJ Mbenga #28 of the Los Angeles Lakers play around on the bench during the game with the Washington Wizards on March 21, 2010 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The Lakers won 99-92. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
The second Laker on this list, Mbenga rode LA’s bench en route to securing himself back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010. The Congolese-born big man was a physical specimen but lacked the essential skills to become a consistent contributor to the team.
After his second title with the Lakers, he played for one season with New Orleans and then took his act in Asia.
Matt Bonner – San Antonio Spurs
SAN ANTONIO – MAY 09: Center Matt Bonner #15 of the San Antonio Spurs in Game Four of the Western Conference Semifinals during the 2010 NBA Playoffs at AT&T Center on May 9, 2010 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Widely known as the Red Rocket, Bonner won two NBA titles while playing in San Antonio from 2006 to 2016. He was a decent contributor during his first five years in the league but subsequently became an end-of-the-bench guy as he aged.
Standing at 6 ’10”, you’d think Bonner would be a low post kind of guy but the truth is that he’d happily settle for a three-point shot rather than drive to the basket.
Jud Buechler – Chicago Bulls
Buechler managed to carve out a 12-year career in the association despite his shortcomings as a player. He never once averaged more than 6.2 PPG during his entire career.
He was Chicago’s third-string point guard during their second three-peat from 1996 to 1998. It’s safe to say that he barely contributed to the Bulls during their title run.
James Jones – Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers
CLEVELAND, OH – MAY 24: Mike Scott #32 of the Atlanta Hawks defends against James Jones #1 of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second half during Game Three of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2015 NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena on May 24, 2015 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
If a player can shoot the ball, there’s always a roster spot for him in the league. The problem with Jones is that shooting the ball was all he could do. His defense was almost non-existent at the NBA level.
Even with his limited talent, Jones went on to win three titles during his NBA career – two with Miami and one with Cleveland. The common factor for all three? LeBron James.
Kurt Rambis – Los Angeles Lakers
Rambis, despite his severe limitations on the court, rode on the Lakers’ bench during their dynasty in the 80s and won himself four rings along the way. He was not too bad while serving as a backup to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar but the Lakers could’ve won anyway with or without him on the roster.
But make no mistake as Rambis will not hesitate to get into an ugly brawl if his teammates are disrespected.
Steve Kerr – Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs
EAST RUTHERFORD, UNITED STATES: Steve Kerr (R) of the Chicago Bulls dives for a loose ball in front of Sherman Douglas (L) of the New Jersey Nets during the second quarter of their game 20 December at the Continental Arena in East Rutherford, NJ. The Bulls won 100-92. AFP PHOTO Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP via Getty Images)
Fans may argue that Steve Kerr was not a bum of a player and they could be either right or wrong. In reality, Kerr’s numbers were somehow inflated with the Bulls due to Michael Jordan’s presence.
After winning three rings in Chicago, Kerr won another two with San Antonio. Again, he had a moment or two with the Spurs but played sparsely most nights.
Luke Walton – Los Angeles Lakers
LAS VEGAS – OCTOBER 15: Luke Walton #4 of the Los Angeles Lakers grabs a rebound during the fourth quarter of a preseason game against the Phoenix Suns at the Thomas & Mack Center October 15, 2006 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Suns won the game 99-91. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The third Laker on the list, Walton won two rings throughout his entire NBA career. The son of legendary big man Bill Walton, Luke sadly never inherited his father’s talents on the basketball court.
He was a terrible shooter, defender and rebounder despite standing at 6’8” and weighing 235 lbs during his playing career. One could argue that his presence was merely a forgettable footnote in the league’s history.
Josh Powell – Los Angeles Lakers
LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 28: Ike Diogu #1 of the Portland Trail Blazers grabs a rebound in front of Josh Powell #21 of the Los Angeles Lakers on October 28, 2008 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
The fourth Laker in this list, Powell’s tenure with the franchise was really an afterthought. To come and think of it, with all the subpar players they had on the team during their back-to-back title run in 2009 and 2010, how on earth did Kobe and Pau pull it all off?
Powell was essentially a non-factor in the playoffs for the Lakers. Whenever he relieved Gasol, opposing teams made it a point to directly attack him on defense.
Chris Boucher – Golden State Warriors, Toronto Raptors
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – DECEMBER 09: Chris Boucher #25 of the Toronto Raptors tries to grab the ball under pressure from Daniel Gafford #12 of the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on December 09, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. The Raptors defeated the Bulls 93-92. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
Boucher only played one game as a Warrior but nonetheless won a ring with them in 2018. As luck would have it, he would win another ring the next season – this time with the Toronto Raptors.
Despite playing just 2 games during Toronto’s 2019 title run, Boucher earned another ring himself as a player. He would eventually become a serviceable big man with the Raptors but he is still an end of the bench kind of player in terms of talent.
Patrick McCaw – Golden State Warriors, Toronto Raptors
OAKLAND, CA – JUNE 12: Patrick McCaw #0 and the Golden State Warriors celebrate after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 129-120 in Game 5 to win the 2017 NBA Finals at ORACLE Arena on June 12, 2017 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
McCaw won two rings with the Warriors and one ring with Toronto from 2017 to 2019. He became just the seventh NBA player in history to win a championship during each of his first three years in the league.
What was he like as a player? Let’s just put it this way: McCaw was completely out of an NBA job after the 2020-2021 season, at just 25 years old. He never contributed anything significant to each of his rings. At least he can call himself a champion, I guess?
Slava Medvedenko – Los Angeles Lakers
John Starks (R) of the Utah Jazz dives for the ball with Stanislav Medvedenko (L) of the Los Angeles Lakers before John Crotty (BACK) of the Jazz 01 November 2001 in Salt Lake City, Utah. AFP PHOTO/George FREY (Photo by GEORGE FREY / AFP) (Photo by GEORGE FREY/AFP via Getty Images)
The fifth Lakers in this list, the Ukrainian big man won back-to-back titles in 2001 and 2002 despite playing mostly as a DNP(Did Not Play) member of the team. It did not really matter whether he was with the team or not because the Lakers had Shaq and Kobe at that time.
Medvedenko’s NBA career was largely forgettable and he was out in the league in 2007.
Adam Morrison – Los Angeles Lakers
SAN ANTONIO – JANUARY 12: Forward Adam Morrison #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers on January 12, 2010 at AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
We might as well make a separate list for all the talent-deprived Laker players in the past because Morrison is the sixth one on this list. We all know that Morrison was a huge star in college for the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
After a slew of injuries in the pro rank, Morrison never regained his old college form during his time in purple and gold. He was often regarded as the worst NBA champion of all time and even Jimmy Kimmel got a kick out of it during a segment on his late-night show.
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