'Living With Regret': Ex-Lakers Center Declares Tracy McGrady 'Soft,' Lashes Out at Kobe Bryant Comparison

Tracy McGrady, though regarded as one of the best scorers in NBA history, has never had his career dissected quite as much as it has been in recent months. His claim that he would have won three championships with Shaquille O’Neal on the Lakers if he had replaced Kobe Bryant did not sit well with many. Kwame Brown recently weighed in on the matter, and he didn’t hold back.

After looking at an old video where T-Mac was talking about the trade involving Brown and Pau Gasol (from 2008), the former No. 1 Draft pick couldn’t hold back. McGrady had claimed that he was mad at the NBA for allowing the move to materialize, claiming that the whole thing was unfair. He went on to lament that nothing even remotely so lucky happened to him in his career, and laughed with his hosts.

In the trade, Gasol moved to the Lakers and Brown moved the other way to the Memphis Grizzlies. Brown understood that T-Mac did not consider him and Gasol to be on the same level. To be fair, that’s true. But it still wasn’t fun  for the 43-year-old to hear, and he let him know that.

Brown went on a spectacular rant aimed at McGrady, claiming the Houston Rockets legend would never have been able to carry the Lakers to a championship because he was never as good as Bryant.

Brown insinuated that McGrady was “living with regret” over how his career panned out, and that he was trying to rewrite history. “I’m not living with regret like this punk,” he said. “This n**** trying to rewrite history and put himself next to Kobe. This fragile knee, fragile back, jelly spine punk that played with Yao Ming and some of the best point guards you can find.”

“Hell no, you can’t carry the Lakers to a championship,” Brown went on. “You ain’t carry a team out the second round. You didn’t carry a team out of the second round but all of a sudden we’re gonna talk championships. At least get to the Finals. You didn’t get close to winning a championship.”

“These guys need to stop comparing themselves to Kobe, when they don’t have the work ethic as Kobe. When they don’t have the will and mentality as Kobe,” the former Lakers forward continued.

To be fair to T-Mac, there were times in the 2000s when even Bryant admitted that he was one of the hardest players to guard in his prime. Unfortunately for him, his body never stayed healthy long enough for him to make a serious impact in the postseason, and so he never had the opportunity to challenge for titles. His legacy remains that of one of the most lethal scorers ever, evidenced by his seven All-Star appearances and two scoring titles.

Who knows? If he and Yao Ming had managed to stay injury-free throughout their careers with the Rockets, supported by strong role players like Shane Battier, they might have changed history a little. But that is all in the realm of what-ifs. As far as Brown and many others are concerned, T-Mac is just another ‘great’ player in a large pool of them.