Tracy McGrady was one of the most dangerous offensive players during his career. McGrady was sensational, often being able to dominate opposition defenders and getting his shots with relative ease. One of the reasons McGrady wasn’t able to win an NBA championship was because he didn’t have the caliber of superstar teammates that he needed. And it appears he has a set choice of whom he wanted to play with.
In a recent interview with Shannon Sharpe, Tracy McGrady was asked which player he would have wanted to play with while he was in the NBA. McGrady noted that he wanted to play with Shaquille O’Neal. McGrady also added that while playing with Kobe Bryant would have been fun, Shaquille O’Neal’s sheer size and dominance would have worked very well with his talents and they would’ve been successful.
Tracy McGrady on who he’d rather play with between Kobe & Shaq:
“Shaq is the No. 1 choice always. It would’ve been nice to play with Kobe, but Shaq was so dominant…He could do a backflip.” pic.twitter.com/267cJKdult
— Club Shay Shay (@ClubShayShay) April 20, 2022
“This a trick question? Shaq! Who else?… Shaq bro. Shaq is the No.1 choice always. It would’ve been nice to play with Kobe, but Shaq was so dominant… Man, look, Shaq, I forgot who said this, I think KG said this, Shaq was raised right, because Shaq had punished… Shaq could’ve averaged 35-40 points a game. That’s how dominant Shaq could have been if he was really nasty, if he wanted to do that. He didnt have to because of what he had surrounding him. This dude was strong, he had big hands, strong hands. I learnt my lesson playing against Shaq. When we played against him, obviously, we had to double team him. So I was one of the guys who would try to double team him when he has to ball… I went one time and tried to double team Shaq but he was in a shooting motion coming up and I tried to knock the ball out of his hands. I about broke my wrist. I said never again will I ever try to do that… And he still scored… And he could do a backflip.”
Considering the success Shaq found with Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade, two players who were also extremely skilled scorers, the prospect of McGrady and Shaq playing together would have been quite exciting. On top of that, McGrady had shown in his career that he could play well alongside a dominant big when he was paired with Yao Ming in Houston.
O’Neal and McGrady both played for the Orlando Magic at different points in their career, but playing together never seemed like a realistic option. But according to McGrady, he almost played with Tim Duncan, who was looking to leave the San Antonio Spurs, but a disagreement with Doc Rivers during negotiations led to that move falling apart.
