One of the most interesting conversations around the NBA in recent times has been the difference between ‘hoopers’ and basketball players. Hoopers are generally players that are considered to be pure ballers, players that could dominate at the park, have the flashy skills to put on a show when they play, and essentially live and breathe basketball in a very pure way.
Conversations about who can beat whom one-on-one in the NBA go hand in hand with these arguments and there are very few players that can claim to be an authority on this like Tracy McGrady can. One of the most exciting and skilled players of the early 2000s, McGrady could score in any which way and his abilities would make him an incredible 1-on-1 player.
So when he says LeBron James isn’t the best 1-on-1 player in the league, that carries quite a bit of weight. And that’s exactly what he did, saying that there are players in the NBA today that the King wouldn’t be able to beat if teams were taken out of the equation.
“If you line LeBron James up with everyone in the NBA, you think he’ll come out on top as the best one-on-one player? I don’t think so. I think there are guys that are better one-on-one than LeBron James.”
The game is a team sport when one breaks it down, so the one-on-one moniker may not mean much to the King but this is still a bold take from McGrady. LeBron still has the size, athleticism, and shot-making ability to dominate any player. However, Kyrie’s handles, Steph’s shooting, and KD’s unstoppable moves might all end up being too much for even LBJ to handle with nobody else to help. Fans constantly want to see the best go head-to-head but I guess they’ll never definitely know on this front.
