Kobe Bryant has had some amazing matchups against star players that people still talk about to this day. One of Bryant’s matchups was in the mid-2000s against Tracy McGrady. Recently, Paul George went on to his podcast to highlight one specific matchup between Bryant and T-Mac and how that ended up shaping his outlook on the game.
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On one of the most recent episodes of Podcast P with Paul George, PG13 extensively talked about that specific Kobe Bryant-Tracy McGrady matchup. George said, “I remember walking away from that game. I’m obviously a big fan of both of them but that’s what really made me into who I am today.”
“T-Mac was busting Kobe’s a**. I won’t sugarcoat that one. T-Mac was on Kobe that day. But what I took away from that game was Kob was matching up with T-Mac, but T-Mac wasn’t matching up with Kob.”
Going into the details, the Clippers star said that Kobe wanted that matchup with T-Mac as initially he was guarded by Shane Battier.
“Kobe wanted that matchup and I was just like, ‘Man, this is dope, that’s how I wanna play. I wanna guard the best player. Just that perspective of the game, that’s kind of where it all started for me of really wanting to play both sides,” he added.
Paul George has been a two-way star for most of his career. But during the 2018-19 season, the world saw the peak of Paul George who was in the top three for the MVP voting while also being considered for the Defensive Player of the Year award as well. George was also named to the All-NBA first team that year.
So, that matchup between Kobe and T-Mac, seeing Bryant matching up with McGrady on defense while T-Mac didn’t was what shaped George to be that way as well.
Paul George took inspiration from this Kobe Bryant matchup
The game Paul George was talking about on his podcast was when Tracy McGrady was the sole star and the team’s leader on the Orlando Magic. Both players had 38 points in the game but T-Mac and the Magic ended up prevailing in the end.
Tracy McGrady was one of those players who will come under the ‘What could’ve been’ argument. One of the most prolific scorers in his prime only to be slowed down due to multiple injuries, even Kobe Bryant credited McGrady on his game.
Bryant had once even mentioned that McGrady was one of the toughest matchups on defense for him. But that did not stop The Black Mamba from going out and giving it his all on the defensive end as well apart from carrying the team’s offense.
And so, that is where Paul Geroge decided to shape his game in a certain manner. To not just mold it after Bryant’s offensive capabilities but his defensive prowess as well.
