Shaquille O’Neal Backs Tracy McGrady on Recent Kobe Bryant Take

NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal spoke his mind regarding his former teammate Kobe Bryant and rival, Tracy McGrady on the OTR Podcast.

Shaquille O’Neal Backs Tracy McGrady on Recent Kobe Bryant Take

Tracy McGrady and Shaquille O'Neal (Image by FirstSportz)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

The Los Angeles Lakers, back in the 2000s, were one of the most successful teams in the NBA at that time, led by none other than the deadly combination of Shaquille O’Neal and the late legendary Kobe Bryant, winning multiple NBA titles in the process. Now, the Hall of Famer is someone who doesn’t shy away from speaking his mind.

O’Neal recently gave former NBA player Tracy McGrady his flowers on his recent appearance on the Off The Record podcast show. For context, McGrady claimed that he would have won the same number of titles if he were on the Lakers’ roster rather than Kobe Bryant. Now, O’Neal at first hesitated on this matter, but then also agreed with T-Mac in the process.

O’Neal claimed on the podcast that, unlike T-Mac, Kobe, his teammate, had room to operate mostly because O’Neal had three people marking him on the court. So, the NBA legend agreed with T-Mac’s recent claims.

Our guy (Kobe) had room to operate cuz I got 3 people on me…I agree with what T-Mac said. Probably get a lot of flak, but I always said myself, I think I could’ve got 3 in a row with T-Mac, I think I could’ve got 2 with Vince, Oh I know I get 6 with Steph

Shaquille O’Neal said

As soon as McGrady made these comments about Bryant, he was dealt with immense criticism and hate from the NBA community in general. However, with O’Neal’s recent claims on the Off The Record podcast, it would surely have relieved some flak over the former NBA player. O’Neal recognizes greatness, and Tracy was one of the best players back in his time, going toe-to-toe with these aforementioned stars.

The NBA has never seen a more deadly scorer than McGrady. With his listed height of 6’8″, T-Mac was a couple of inches higher than Bryant. Additionally, his skill set was nearly equal to that of the “Black Mamba,” thus there’s no doubt that T-Mac was just as good at scoring points as Kobe. In his defence, he also did not have a top center like the Diesel on his side.

He was left all alone, but still impacted the league like no other shooter back in his heyday. To this date, McGrady has been recognised by all the legendary NBA players who played during his era, just like O’Neal, for instance.

Shaquille O’Neal dropped the hammer on Kobe Bryant

As much as Tracy McGrady can claim that he could have won the NBA titles alongside Shaquille O’Neal with the Lakers, he did not. In actuality, Kobe Bryant did, and he did it in some style. So much so that O’Neal, to this day, does not take the credit away from the Black Mamba. O’Neal dropped the hammer regarding Bryant on the same podcast show.

Kobe’s not your average passenger, that’s what made him different… people respect Kobe … That’s a silly conversation. The man is vital to my three championships.

Shaquille O’Neal said on the Off The Record Podcast
Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille O’Neal (Credits: MARCA)

Shaq took McGrady’s remarks differently than others, who perceived them as a strike on Bryant. To him, T-Mac was just expressing faith in his skills and admitting that he, too, could have won a championship under the correct circumstances. Both players were different and special in their own way, but Bryant got the better outcome over the two.

Shaquille O’Neal made a bold claim regarding the Lakers’ 3-peat back in the 2000s

If one were following the NBA from the 90s, then he or she surely knows that the sport was going through a transition phase from the 90s to the 2000s. Led by the legendary Michael Jordan in the 90s, the NBA witnessed one of the best moments in its league history.

But that was just the beginning, as the likes of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant entered the stage in the 2000s, modernizing the game and reaching new heights in the sport, leaving fans amazed. Especially regarding the duo’s tenure at the Los Angeles Lakers, winning 3 NBA titles in Los Angeles together.

Both stars announced themselves in the star, but the big question was, who was the leader between them? O’Neal recently dropped the hammer on this question.

I can say this now, it doesn’t really matter whose team it was, but don’t ever get it twisted about who was in charge.

Shaquille O’Neal said

This was the big man’s way of saying that he was the leader of the Lakers’ team back then. By the looks of it, no one could predict this because both O’Neal and Bryant possessed leadership abilities and were a nuisance for opponents. So this particular question would rather be valid for the fans to debate upon for years to come.

Also Read: