Vincent Goodwill refers to Larry O'Brien Trophy as a participation trophy Credit: ESPN
By Brandon Contes on

If the New York Knicks are proof that any team can win an NBA championship, then ESPN’s Vincent Goodwill believes the Larry O’Brien Trophy might be on the verge of becoming a participation trophy.

The Knicks won their first championship in 53 years Saturday night after defeating the San Antonio Spurs in five games. With championship hardware in their hands, Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges and the entire Knicks roster have now forever cemented themselves as a great team, right? Depends who you ask.

Tuesday morning on ESPN’s Get Up, Mike Greenberg asked Vincent Goodwill and Alan Hahn to discuss whether the league is better with a dynasty or parity. In a league historically dominated by dynasties, the Knicks are now the eighth different team to win an NBA championship since 2019. It’s great for allowing more teams to believe they have a chance of winning every year, but Goodwill isn’t sure parity it’s ultimately better for the sport.

“Dynasty is better for the sport,” Goodwill said. “I like to know that greatness is validated. How do we know that any of the last eight champions are actually validated because they have not done it again? Giannis is itching to get out, Boston is thinking about trading Jaylen Brown, they don’t believe in their one championship. LeBron’s one championship in LA was not enough. So why would it be enough for us?”

Hahn said the Larry O’Brien Trophy is all the validation players and teams need to prove their greatness, regardless of how many championships they have.

“You mean participation trophy?” Goodwill pushed back.

“I’m sorry,” Hahn interjected. “Larry O’Brien is a participation trophy?”

“If everybody gets one,” Goodwill answered.

Goodwill joined the Awful Announcing Podcast prior to the NBA Finals, where he was similarly asked whether the NBA is better with dynasty or parity. And just as he did on Get Up, Goodwill said he believes the league is better when it has a dynasty, citing the fact that it attracts the casual fan.

After his ESPN appearance on Tuesday, Goodwill called the segment “hyperbole.”

A dynasty attracts casual fans who love to watch the dominant team win game after game, year after year. It also attracts casual fans who are watching to see if the dominant team can be dethroned by an underdog. But saying the NBA is a better league with a dynasty is different than reducing single championships to participation trophies.

Dynasties might attract casual fans and generate more outside interest, but a championship is still a championship, whether you get one, two, three, or more. It will be hard to compare a team that wins one championship to the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls or Boston Celtics dynasties. But winning one championship should need no additional validation.

About Brandon Contes

Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com

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