A notable time in the Los Angeles Lakers’ history was when Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal joined forces. They were a dynamic duo that dominated and accomplished the rare feat of winning three championships in a row, being the last NBA team to do so.
O’Neal was a force of nature and arguably no center was on his level in terms of physicality as no one could guard him. Meanwhile, Bryant was developing into a dynamic scorer, forming a one-of-one pairing that unfortunately flamed out due to personal differences.
If that breakup did not happen, an interesting what-if is how many more titles O’Neal and Bryant could have won. On the other hand, another debate that has become popular is people saying other guards at the time could have replaced Kobe and won titles given how dominant Shaq was.
Tracy McGrady notably has been adamant that he would have had the same amount of success if he had swapped places with the Black Mamba.
When the topic arose again, McGrady doubled down that he and O’Neal would be a championship-caliber duo, via The Arena:
“When we talking basketball, we talking hypotheticals all the f—–ing time, and it was around the ring culture of what we was talking about. And we talking early 2000s. People went to the Rockets years. We specifically talking about a very minute time in my career when I was on that level. That’s what we were talking about. When I look at who I was as a player at this time, and I’m looking at Shaq, the most dominant basketball player, and I’m seeing myself playing with a cat like Shaq, based off of the conversation around ring culture, I would have won a ring with the big fella. And the reason I say that is when you look back to the early 2000s, and when you look at that All-NBA list, who’s right there with Kob’?”
McGrady was an underrated scorer during the prime of his career, especially with the Orlando Magic. He has a lot of respect for Bryant though so wanted to make sure his comments were not taken as disrespect even if he stands by them.
McGrady has a case because during his time with Orlando and the Houston Rockets, he averaged 25 or more points for five straight seasons. His athleticism is what made him special and he was able to stand toe-to-toe with Kobe at times.
Seeing how Bryant turned out to be a five-time champion, who knows if McGrady would have had that same success, because he notably did not make it out of the first round in his career. The Lakers legend left his impact on L.A. and in totality, McGrady was not on his level but could have made a dynamic duo with O’Neal at the very least.
Shaquille O’Neal agrees he could’ve won championships with Tracy McGrady
Three out of the four rings Shaquille O’Neal has came from his stint with the Lakers. He formed an immediate bond with Kobe Bryant and they were able to run off three straight championships.
However, when he was presented with this hypothetical swap with Tracy McGrady, O’Neal agreed that he would have won championships with him.
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