ESPN and TNT both offered ‘RINGZZZ’ analysis Sunday, at the expense of P.K. Subban and Charles Barkley

How much do someone’s on-field accolades as a player translate to their ability to analyze a game on a broadcast? That’s a constant conversation. But it’s interesting that both NBA on TNT and  NHL on ESPN broadcasts Sunday saw (perhaps joking) on-air criticism of some of their own analysts for not winning championships:

P. K. Subban is again denied an opportunity to hoist the Stanley Cup. 🏒📺🎙️🏆 #NHL pic.twitter.com/BvuYq2F8sB

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 21, 2025

Charles Barkley: “The guy that got you your two trophies.”

Kenny Smith: “Who got you yours? Oops! Nobody.” #NBA pic.twitter.com/PllBhY1n5b

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 20, 2025

There is, of course, a notable history of on-air chirping of particular broadcasts. And the “Barkley Has No Rings” discussion has metastasized to the point that another colleague, Shaquille O’Neal, has sometimes brought it up in his DJ sets. And both Subban and Barkley certainly get in lots of on-air jabs at their colleagues in their own right.

But these clips certainly help illustrate a focus on trophies, even in team sports. And beyond the on-air bits, that’s often seen in who companies hire as a broadcaster, as “X championships” is certainly a nice line to throw in a press release. That’s worth at least a little bit of further analysis and discussion, though.

The sports in question here are team sports. And there are many people who find tremendous individual success in those sports despite not winning league championships. That has a lot to do with the players a team surrounds any individual with, a major factor in their success.

And while “RINGZZZ” are certainly notable for a hiring press release, they don’t necessarily mean much in terms of broadcasting ability. There’s an argument fans can benefit from the perspectives of incredibly talented athletes like Subban and Barkley even if they never lifted that league’s ultimate trophy. (And the ESPN clip there is notable, as non-player play-by-play voice Steve Levy gets to get closer to the Stanley Cup than Subban, who was much closer to it as a player despite not lifting it.) And even broadcast executives often recognize that, hiring notable talents on teams that didn’t win their league’s highest prize over bit-part players on teams that did.

The two individual comments here aren’t necessarily a huge moment on their own. But, in the last decade, we’ve seen some prominent partings of ways with highly-prominent athletes who found great professional success but not title rings, including Dan Marino. And we’ve also seen a lot of strange “RINGZ” lines. While the ESPN and TNT moments here aren’t necessarily a big deal on their own, this is an interesting addition to both of those codexes.