Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady are two of the most dynamic players in NBA history. McGrady is a cult hero in the NBA, as his explosive play caught the eye of several fans during the prime years of his career.
As for Kobe, he is remembered as one of the all-time greats in the league. Kobe entered the NBA in 1996 as an 18-year old with a lot of potential. After a legendary 20-year career where he exceeded most expectations with his incredible play, Bryant walked away from basketball as one of the greatest to ever do it.
But what would happen if someone did try to embarrass Kobe. McGrady and the Orlando Magic learned this lesson the hard way. During a Lakers-Magic game, an affair that was tense at the time because of Shaq’s history with the Magic, it was Kobe who shocked everyone.
McGrady faked out Kobe Bryant and scored on him, bamboozling him to the point where he fell to the floor. Unwilling to accept this, Kobe came back in the game and pulled off one of the most ferocious dunks of his career on the Orlando Magic as an act of revenge on McGrady for trying to make him look bad.
Kobe was incredibly athletic and is widely considered one of the most skilled scorers of all time. But the thing that made him so scary to opposing players was his determination.
Bryant was wildly competitive, much like his idol Michael Jordan. And at no point during his career would Bryant allow his opponents to outshine him, let alone embarrass him.
It was this will to win that made Kobe one of the all-time greats. He was able to win 5 championships in his career, including a 3-peat by the time he was only 26 years old. On any given night, Kobe wanted to compete with the best of the best, and prevail on each occasion.
