Skip to main content

Tracy McGrady Reveals Who He Would've Rather Played With Between Kobe Bryant And Shaquille O'Neal: "Shaq Is The No. 1 Choice Always. It Would’ve Been Nice To Play With Kobe, But Shaq Was So Dominant…"


 


Tracy McGrady was one of the most dangerous offensive players during his career. McGrady was sensational, often being able to dominate opposition defenders and getting his shots with relative ease. One of the reasons McGrady wasn't able to win an NBA championship was because he didn't have the caliber of superstar teammates that he needed. And it appears he has a set choice of whom he wanted to play with.


In a recent interview with Shannon Sharpe, Tracy McGrady was asked which player he would have wanted to play with while he was in the NBA. McGrady noted that he wanted to play with Shaquille O'Neal. McGrady also added that while playing with Kobe Bryant would have been fun, Shaquille O'Neal's sheer size and dominance would have worked very well with his talents and they would've been successful.


Tracy McGrady on who he’d rather play with between Kobe & Shaq:


“Shaq is the No. 1 choice always. It would’ve been nice to play with Kobe, but Shaq was so dominant…He could do a backflip.”



“This a trick question? Shaq! Who else?… Shaq bro. Shaq is the No.1 choice always. It would’ve been nice to play with Kobe, but Shaq was so dominant… Man, look, Shaq, I forgot who said this, I think KG said this, Shaq was raised right, because Shaq had punished… Shaq could’ve averaged 35-40 points a game. That’s how dominant Shaq could have been if he was really nasty, if he wanted to do that. He didnt have to because of what he had surrounding him. This dude was strong, he had big hands, strong hands. I learnt my lesson playing against Shaq. When we played against him, obviously, we had to double team him. So I was one of the guys who would try to double team him when he has to ball… I went one time and tried to double team Shaq but he was in a shooting motion coming up and I tried to knock the ball out of his hands. I about broke my wrist. I said never again will I ever try to do that… And he still scored… And he could do a backflip.”


Considering the success Shaq found with Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade, two players who were also extremely skilled scorers, the prospect of McGrady and Shaq playing together would have been quite exciting. On top of that, McGrady had shown in his career that he could play well alongside a dominant big when he was paired with Yao Ming in Houston.


O'Neal and McGrady both played for the Orlando Magic at different points in their career, but playing together never seemed like a realistic option. But according to McGrady, he almost played with Tim Duncan, who was looking to leave the San Antonio Spurs, but a disagreement with Doc Rivers during negotiations led to that move falling apart.



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Shaquille O'Neal says Dennis Rodman was his worst teammate: 'He was a great player, but he made it hard'

  Shaquille O'Neal played for six franchises over a 20-year NBA career. That's a lot of teammates. Speaking on The Big Podcast with Shaq, the four-time champion and Hall of Famer revealed which one of those teammates was the worst.  "Worst teammate? Dennis Rodman," O'Neal said. "He was a great player, but he made it hard. Like when you try to corral the guys together and the people above you [are] letting this one guy do whatever he wants. So we had to be there an hour before the game. He'd come in fifteen minutes before the game eating chicken and rice. While the coaches are talking, he would jump in the shower. Cold shower. Come and give you 15-20 rebounds." O'Neal played with some characters in his time. We know about his beef with Kobe Bryant, who we know wasn't always the easiest teammate to get along with, though Shaq has long expressed regret over the way he and Bryant handled their relationship as young superstars, and eventually, he ...

Bill Russell Once Explained Why He Didn't Bother With Celtics Fans: "When I Was A Star, The Fans Called Us The 'Boston Globetrotters' Because The Celtics Had Black Players."

  While the NBA is a beacon for freedom and tolerance in America, things didn't start off that way. In a place like Boston, during the 50s and 60s, racial tension was a pretty serious problem, and superstar big man Bill Russell had to deal with it on a game-to-game basis. Today, it can be hard for us to imagine just how difficult being a black basketball player really was back then. Fortunately, we have some clips: "The number one paper was the Boston Herald and they didn't like the idea of an NBA team having black players. Out there, the star was Bob Cousy. No matter what I did, Cousy was the star. I remember I had a game where I had 25 points, 25 rebounds, 10 blocks, and the Boston Herald said I was lucky to play with Cousy." Unfortunately, the media didn't give Russell his respect back then. Despite being the best player on the court, and on his team, Cousy and others always got the spotlight. Even the fans weren't very accepting of Bill: "I didn't...

From Deep: At long last, Nikola Jokic's Nuggets can envision getting to the top of the mountain

  Jamal Murray tore his ACL on April 12, 2021. Leading up to that night, he'd been playing at an All-NBA level for two months: In a 25-game stretch, Murray averaged 24.1 points on .509/.459/.935 shooting splits, 4.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists. He was even more efficient than he was in the bubble playoffs, and his defense had improved, too. Murray only got to play with Aaron Gordon, the Denver Nuggets' big trade-deadline addition, for five games. They won them all except the one in which Murray got injured. In 110 minutes, their new starting five scored slightly more efficiently than any iteration of the Kevin Durant-era death lineup in Golden State and defended like a top-five team. Two Nikola Jokic MVP awards later, Murray is back. So is Michael Porter Jr., who signed a five-year extension about a year ago and needed back surgery nine games into the 2020-21 season. The Nuggets remember how easily everything slid into place with Gordon in the mix. Newcomer Kentavious Caldwell-Pop...