Why the whereabouts of two Spurs’ NBA championship rings are unclear

NEW YORK — De’Aaron Fox has known Harrison Barnes for eight years, first as a teammate in Sacramento and now as a teammate in San Antonio.

In all that time, Fox has never laid eyes on one of Barnes’ most prized possession.

“I’ve actually never seen HB’s championship ring,” Fox said.

Barnes, now a 34-year-old elder statesman with the Spurs, earned an NBA championship ring with the Golden State Warriors in 2015. That title represented one of the highlights of Barnes’ life as a professional basketball player.

The jewelry that came with it, however, is not a bauble Barnes is likely to flaunt. There is a good reason for that. He doesn’t necessarily know where his championship ring is currently located.

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“My mom probably knows where it is better than I do,” Barnes said.

Luke Kornet, the other member of the Spurs’ roster to own a championship ring, is equally cryptic about the whereabouts of his.

“I’m not 100% sure where I’ve got it,” said Kornet, who won his with Boston in 2024.

Barnes, Kornet and the Spurs are in New York this week, fighting an uphill battle against the Knicks in the NBA Finals.

If the Spurs are successful and wind up winning the sixth title in franchise history, every player on the team will receive a ring. If the two players on the squad who already own one are any indication, those rings will quickly become out of sight and out of mind.

“It’s not something I carry around a lot,” Barnes said.

“It’s not exactly something you wear,” Kornet said.

NBA players spend a lifetime scrapping and clawing to win a championship. Most never will.

Those lucky enough to know the feeling of capping a season covered in champagne and kissing the Larry O’Brien trophy remember the experience forever.

The championship ring that accompanies such a triumph, however, can often end up in a junk drawer somewhere.

If it feels like a contradictory sentiment, it is.

All Kornet knows about his ring is that it is not located anywhere in his house.

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Given the theft risk involved — diamond-studded and gold-plated NBA rings can be worth five figures — Kornet has changed the ring’s location numerous times over the past two years.

“It’s kind of a funny thing where it’s like a liability,” Kornet said, “so you find other things to do with it.”

Barnes has another reason for forgetting his championship ring. He doesn’t need it to rekindle memories of the Warriors’ 2015 title run.

“I lived it,” Barnes said. “I had the experience.”

For some NBA players, it turns out the actual ring isn’t the thing.

“A lot of people think, you won a championship ring, you hung a banner, but it’s really about the journey that you had,” Barnes said. “That’s what you want to share the experience of.”

When Barnes thinks back on his championship chase at Golden State, he thinks of days sweating with his teammates in the summer, the gauntlet of 82 games to reach the playoffs, and three rounds of postseason tussles it took for the Warriors to a chance to face Cleveland in the 2015 Finals.

He does not need to gaze at a ring to remember the feeling of winning it all.

“It’s July when the guys first get together, then all these months you go through to get to the playoffs, the go through the first three rounds to get to this stage,” Barnes said. “That’s what you cherish the most, more than just the material.”

Barnes seems certain about one thing. He has no plans to show his 2015 championship ring to anyone in the Spurs’ locker room.

“I don’t bring it around the locker room and show guys,” Barnes said.

If Fox and the rest of the Spurs want to see an NBA championship ring, they are going to have to win one of their own.