Matt Barnes Refused To Accept A Championship Ring With The Warriors Because He Felt Like He Had A Free Ride To A Title

[NBC] - "I came in when [Kevin Durant] went down, playing a consistent 20-25 minutes, the game KD comes back, I get hurt maybe a week before the playoffs and I’m out of it," Barnes said. "Worst ankle sprain of my life. I’m not healthy until the end of the second round when they’re already 8-0. So me being a vet knowing they’re not going to change the rotation, I’m not expecting them to change the rotation, I’m just going to sit here and be a super vet, cheer these mother f----rs on, talk to people when they need to be talked to and just enjoy the ride.

"I didn’t sweat. I wasn’t in the mother f--king dog hole with these dudes," Barnes continued. "I didn’t get to guard LeBron. I got a free ride, I got a free ring.”

Of all the dudes to actually do this Matt Barnes is so high on the list. He's an old school dude so I could absolutely see him refusing a ring because he was hurt. Although he 100% deserved it. He played a bunch during the season. He was a key part on the bench during the year after he signed with them when KD got hurt. But like he said, during the playoffs the rotation stayed the same as he was hurt. 

I know he refuses to call himself a champion, but he won a title. I get that you're a competitor and you want to feel like you deserved it. But that's crazy. I'd 100% be telling everyone I won a title. You can't help an injury. It's not like you signed just so sit on the bench and do nothing. He helped them win regular season games. That helps win a title. He averaged 20.5 minutes per game for the Warriors during the regular season and scored 6 points per game. That counts! 

The Warriors fucking cruised those playoffs too. They went 16-1 and the one loss was in the NBA Finals to the Cavs. Although the Western Conference Finals was the Zaza play on Kawhi, which led to a complete change for the Spurs and why the Warriors swept them. 

Now fire off all the Kevin Durant free ride jokes.