Tracy McGrady is a Hall of Famer and was one of the best players in the NBA at his peak. Jason Williams faced off against him on quite a few occasions and he believes McGrady could have gone down as the greatest ever if he had Kobe Bryant's work ethic.
"I mean, there was nothing you could do with buddy (McGrady)," Williams said on No Media. "I always thought to myself if T-Mac – he was so good, that he didn’t have to work like Kobe... If T-Mac worked like Kobe, I’m thinking T-Mac might be the greatest ever."
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Williams also added that he believes McGrady doesn't get enough respect, as there was nothing you could do to slow him down. I do agree that at his peak, he was almost unstoppable.
McGrady was a seven-time All-Star, who won back-to-back scoring titles in 2003 and 2004. The 2002-03 campaign might have been his finest, as he averaged 32.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.7 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game for the Orlando Magic.
McGrady, who stood at 6'8", could score from anywhere on the court and gave opposing defenses nightmares on a nightly basis. He would end up making seven All-NBA teams and had career averages of 19.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game.
Could he have been the greatest ever if he had Bryant's incredible work ethic? I doubt it. The issue for McGrady was that his peak was cut short by injuries. In the 2005-06 season, he suffered back spasms and only ended up playing 44 games for the Houston Rockets.
From then on, it was mostly all downhill. McGrady still had some solid seasons after that, but by the 2008-09 campaign, he had become a shadow of his former self. Even if he had Bryant's work ethic, the injuries would have slowed him down before he achieved enough to be considered the greatest of all time.
Also, McGrady, unfortunately, wasn't on great teams for much of his career. It was thought that he and Grant Hill would form an incredible duo on the Magic when they both signed with the team in 2000, but Hill could never stay healthy.
McGrady put up great numbers and won scoring titles when he was with the franchise, but was never going to lead the team to glory without another co-star. You could argue he and Yao Ming could have achieved more when they were teammates on the Rockets, and that is true. There were some missed opportunities there, but both he and Ming had their injury problems as well.
Someone like Bryant, meanwhile, was fortunate to have Shaquille O'Neal and then Pau Gasol as teammates, and they helped him win five championships.
Tracy McGrady Thinks He Was In The Same Conversation As Kobe Bryant At His Peak
McGrady and Bryant had many epic battles on the court over the course of their careers. They were dynamic players who could score at will and McGrady believes he was in the same conversation as Bryant at his peak.
“That was a conversation of who was the best players in the league,” McGrady said. “It was me and Kobe — of barbershop talk and around the league. Real hoopers, real basketball people know.”
I am not entirely sure if McGrady ever was in the conversation for the best player in the NBA, but there certainly was a debate in the mid-2000s as to who was the better player between him and Bryant. Ultimately, though, the lack of team success was what was always held against McGrady.
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