Shaquille O’Neal has never been shy about making bold statements, but his latest hypothetical championship predictions on the Off The Record podcast might be his most fascinating yet.
Reflecting on some of the NBA’s greatest “what-ifs,” Shaq weighed in on recent comments from Tracy McGrady, who lamented never having the supporting cast needed to compete for a title. O’Neal didn’t just agree, he took it a step further.
“What T-Mac said was correct too. I think about that all the time. You switch our positions. Well, let me ask you. You think I could have got three with T-Mac in a row? Let me go on record and say T-Mac was a bad mother***er.”
“But see, you gotta understand, when T-Mac out there by himself, he don’t really have room to operate. Our guy had room to operate because I got three people on me, right? You got three people on me.”
“T-Mac, double, quadruple, triple team. And you know, Kenny Smith said this all the time: Kobe didn’t get double and triple-teamed a lot. He was free to roam around and do all that stuff. So what T-Mac said, I believe to be true because T-Mac was a bad boy.”
“So I agree with what T-Mac said. Probably get a lot of flack, but I always say to mysel, I think I could have got three in a row with T-Mac. I think I could have got two with Vince. Oh, I know I’d get six with Steph.”
Shaq’s point was simple: McGrady’s scoring brilliance was often smothered by defensive attention because he never had a dominant interior force to draw defenders away. In contrast, Kobe Bryant had the luxury of playing with Shaq, a man who often drew double and triple teams, opening up space on the perimeter. In that system, McGrady could have thrived.
Shaq believes that had he been paired with McGrady during his prime, the duo could have won three straight titles, just like he and Kobe did from 2000 to 2002. And he didn’t stop there. When asked about Vince Carter, Shaq didn’t hesitate, claiming he would win two titles with him.
But the most headline-grabbing statement came when Shaq imagined what it would’ve been like playing alongside Stephen Curry.
It’s hard to argue. Curry’s unprecedented shooting would’ve created impossible choices for defenses. Leave Curry open, and he torches you from deep. Double Shaq, and Curry dance in space.
The spacing Curry provides would have given Shaq more room than ever, and Shaq’s gravity near the basket would have opened Curry’s path even further. It would’ve been the deadliest inside-outside combination the NBA has ever seen.
These hypotheticals underscore a larger point, Shaq wasn’t just a dominant force, but also a uniquely adaptable teammate. He believes the key to his success was always about how teams defended him.
If you surrounded him with elite scorers, they’d thrive. And if those scorers were also playmakers like T-Mac, athletic freaks like Vince, or system-breaking geniuses like Steph, championships would’ve followed.
In the end, Shaq’s confidence isn’t just nostalgia. It’s a reminder of how much unfinished business and unrealized potential exists in NBA history and how a few different roster decisions might have produced even more legendary dynasties.
