"All these other idiots who don't play basketball and never played basketball, when they say you wanna judge a guy's greatness by number of championships ... they're idiots."
It's safe to say Robert Horry is fed up with NBA fans using rings instead of common sense in debates ... telling TMZ Sports titles don't mean a damn thing when talkin' G.O.A.T.s.
"Here's the thing that people are so stupid about. They measure great players by how many championships they win. It's the stupidest thing," Big Shot Bob told us at the California Strong charity softball game on Sunday.
Of course, the reason we brought it up with Horry is because his old teammate, Kobe Bryant, recently joined the "All The Smoke" podcast and admitted he's "pissed" he didn't catch Michael Jordan in the ring count.
But, Horry says the whole debate over championships is pointless ... 'cause not everyone is able to win in their careers.
"That's like saying Karl Malone, Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing are not great players."
Horry points out using that logic would make him one of the greatest hoopers to ever walk the earth, considering he's got 7 championships.
Big Shot Bob says Kobe having one less ring than MJ should have ZERO impact on his legacy ... but admits Mamba has always compared himself to Jordan.
We also asked Horry which of his 7 title runs was his favorite ... and you'll have to check out the clip to get his answer.