As the argument over ring culture continues to dominate NBA headlines, so do the “what-if” stories. One big “what-if” theory was presented by Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady. T-Mac recently claimed that he could have won a ring if he were on the Lakers in Kobe Bryant’s spot alongside Shaquille O’Neal.
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“Replace me with Kobe with Shaq, I don’t win a championship?” McGrady asked during an appearance on First Take. “I felt like if I was put in that position to win a championship, I damn sure would show up and do what I do in the playoffs to elevate my team to that level.”
The take by the seven-time All-Star has turned a lot of heads due to it seeming like a slight against the Black Mamba. In reality, all T-Mac was referring to was that The Diesel was such a dominant force in the 5 position that it would have made his life as a guard/forward that much easier. He’s not the only one who thinks that, either.
Fellow Hall of Famer Paul Pierce weighed in on this convo during his interview with Paul George on Podcast P. “Yeah, I completely agree with that,” said The Truth after someone asked his thoughts on what McGrady implied.
This prompted Pierce to sing the praises of McGrady, where he claimed that he was just as much that guy as any other superstar of that era, and wondered how much further he could have gone if he had someone else to carry the load.
“I’m telling you dog. T-Mac was another level,” he began. “He needed that one other superstar. If you had to put T-Mac with KG. If you had put T-Mac with Shaq. Yeah, people were like, ‘He played with Yao.’ Yao was kind of hurt. You put T-Mac with LeBron. It would have been ridiculous.”
Someone on the pod then wondered what a team that featured McGrady and Kobe would have looked like. “That team would have been tough to beat,” responded Pierce. “Kobe and T-Mac? Man, that would give me nightmares. You wouldn’t be able to sleep.”
Pierce joked that since he usually guarded the 2 or 3 that the fictitious T-Mac and Mamba team would have exhausted him. “Ain’t no break with either of them,” the 47-year-old joked.
All kidding aside, to think of McGrady as anything other than one of the most dynamically skilled players in history would be disrespectful to his game. Sure, he played next to Vince Carter, and sure, he played next to Yao Ming. But neither of those players is Shaq, who created a different layer of issues for defenders to have to worry about.
What McGrady said is not crazy, nor was it a shot at a Kobe who can’t defend himself. It was him declaring that if that path landed in front of him, he’s pretty certain he would have finished the story and won a ring. Pierce’s agreement only further cements his point.
That said, it’s another example of a “what-if” becoming too big a deal. It’s fun to hear old NBA heads talk about how a team that never existed would have performed. It’s part of the fun of the league’s legacy.
