Tracy McGrady Says He Never Got Title Shot Like Kobe Bryant
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
NBA Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady is one of the greatest players to have ever graced the basketball court. His skill set at his size was almost unheard of at the time.
There is no question about his skill, but while that's the case, he has never been to the mountaintop. Despite his skill and resume, leaving the game of basketball without a championship is among the biggest things lacking for McGrady.
Winning a championship is a feat only a few star players get to accomplish, and McGrady is not one of them. However, if you ask him, he feels he was never given a legitimate opportunity to win one.
During a recent appearance on ESPN's First Take, McGrady didn't hold back, offering a bold take on the topic. He suggested that if you swapped Kobe Bryant for himself during that era, the Los Angeles Lakers would have still achieved the same level of success.
Tracy McGrady attends the game between the Orlando Magic and the Atlanta Hawks at the Kia Center on January 07, 2024 in Orlando, Florida.
Tracy McGrady attends the game between the Orlando Magic and the Atlanta Hawks at the Kia Center on January 07, 2024 in Orlando, Florida.
Photo by"We have too many talented players that come through this league that are championship worthy," said McGrady. "What I mean by that is, if you take them off a team that is a championship-quality team -- replace me with Kobe with Shaq. You don't think I could carry the Lakers to a championship? I never had the opportunity. I felt like that if I was put in that position to win a championship, I damn sure would show up and do what I do in the playoffs to elevate my team to that level. I just never had the chance. So, do I get diminished because I never won a championship? I was never put in that position."
McGrady finished his career without a championship, but he still made seven All-Stars, a two-time scoring champion, a seven-time All-NBA player and won Most Improved Player in 2000-01. While his resume is not one to boast about, Bryant's resume and accomplishments in the game far surpass McGrady's.
As for the late great legend, he is not only a Hall of Famer himself but also an 18-time All-Star, a five-time NBA champion, a two-time Finals MVP, a 2008 NBA MVP, a 12-time All-Defensive team member, a 15-time All-NBA selection, a two-time scoring champion, and a member of the 75th NBA Anniversary team.
While Bryant always spoke highly of McGrady — once noting that McGrady could do everything he could, only with more height—it's clear the Lakers icon had more than just talent on his side.
Bryant had the benefit of stronger supporting casts throughout much of his career, but more importantly, he possessed a rare mentality and competitive edge that separated him from the pack and helped push him to the next level.
More NBA news: Bucks Projected to Make Major Move to Entice Giannis Antetokounmpo to Stay
Mavericks Projected to Pair Star Free Agent With Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis
Luka Doncic Hints at Lakers Future With Team Sale Comments
For more on Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady and general NBA news, head on over to Newsweek Sports.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
44 minutes ago
- USA Today
NBA Finals Game 7 keys to victory: It all starts with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
The 2024-25 NBA season – through the promise of a fresh start in October to the dog days of late January to the late-season push for the postseason in late March, early April to the two-month playoffs schedule to determine a champion – comes down to one more game. Game 7 between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals on Sunday, June 22 (8 p.m. ET, ABC). Forty-eight minutes – possibly more – between two talented, deep, well-coached and exhausted teams. "One game for everything you ever dreamed of," Thunder star and this season's MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. "If you win it, you get everything. If you lose it, you get nothing. It's that simple." Simple in theory. Difficult in practice. Because winning a championship isn't easy. It shouldn't be. One more game. The 20th Game 7 in NBA Finals history. Pacers-Thunder. Indiana has never won an NBA title; since relocating to Oklahoma City from Seattle in 2008, the Thunder have never won a title. "Just really focused on Game 7 and trying to take it just a moment at a time," Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton said. "Really enjoying what we're doing. Understanding this is going to be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, game most of us ever play in in our lives, and for our organization from a historical standpoint, as well. That's something that you don't take for granted and you enjoy as a competitor." Here's how each team can win Game 7: How Thunder can win NBA Finals Game 7 The MVP needs to play like the MVP, and he can't have more turnovers than made shots as he did in Indiana's Game 6 victory. Making mid-range shots, getting to the rim and free throw line, knocking down the occasional 3-pointers and making sure his teammates are involved. The Thunder are at their best when Gilgeous-Alexander scores around 30 points, five assists, two steals and attempts 10 free throws and has no more than three turnovers. In Indiana's Game 3 victory, the Thunder committed 19 turnovers, and in Indiana's Game 6 victory, the Thunder turned the ball over 21 times. It's one thing if shots are falling, it's another to have that many possessions with a field goal attempt. The Thunder don't need 40 points from Williams like they got from him in Game 5. However, an efficient Jalen Williams who is attacking the basket off the dribble and in transition and scoring 20-plus points while rebounding and collecting assists gives the Thunder a much better chance of winning. It's clear Holmgren needs to be involved offensively. He had just six points in the Game 1 loss and four points in the Game 6 loss and was 4-for-18 from the field in those two games. He's averaging 12.7 points and 10.7 rebounds in Finals victories and 10 points and 7.3 rebounds in Finals losses. The Thunder have used depth to their advantage all season. Getting 3s from Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso and Aaron Wiggins is important. Caruso has scored just two points in the past two games and was scoreless in Game 6. Wallace, Caruso and Wiggins were 1-for-6 on 3s in Game 6 and 7-for-14 in Game 5 and 14-for-26 in Game 2. The Thunder are not immune to home losses – they lost Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals to Denver and Game 1 of the NBA Finals to Indiana at home. However, they were 35-6 at home during the regular season and 10-2 during the playoffs. Oklahoma City provides one of the best home crowds in the league, and the Thunder can use that energy. LeBron James often said home-court advantage doesn't mean anything until a Game 7. How the Pacers can win Game 7 Haliburton has a strained calf, and if this were the regular season and even earlier in the playoffs, he might not be playing. But in Game 6 and Game 7 of the Finals, he is. He only played 23 minutes in the Pacers' Game 6 blowout victory and had 14 points, five assists and two steals. That kind of per-minute production should keep the Pacers in the game with a chance to win. The Pacers' improved defense is a major reason they are in this position. They like to pressure the basketball, sometimes full court, and that kind of intensity for four quarters wears down an opponent. Indiana wants to force turnovers, limit Oklahoma City's offensive opportunities and keep Gilgeous-Alexander from dominating with his scoring. In Game 6, the Pacers held the Thunder to 91 points, which is the Thunder's lowest-scoring game of the playoffs and just the second time they didn't reach 100 this postseason. The Pacers have been the best 3-point shooting team percentage-wise in the playoffs (.390) and have made 36.4% against the Thunder in the Finals. In their three Finals victories, they have outscored the Thunder 126-87 on 3-pointers. Aaron Nesmith, Andrew Nembhard, Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner, Obi Toppin and Haliburton need to combine for about 15 3-pointers. The Pacers average 14 made 3s in their Finals victories and 12 in their Finals losses. When T.J. McConnell, Bennedict Mathurin and Toppin are providing quality minutes, the Pacers are tough to beat. McConnell's bulldog mentality is an important part of Indiana's success. Siakam is the only Pacers player with championship experience (Toronto Raptors, 2019), and he has been a fantastic two-player in this series. If the Pacers win the title, he just might be Finals MVP. He's averaging 19.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.3 blocks and shooting 46.4% from the field and 82.5% on free throws. Carlisle has extracted the maximum from this roster. Can he yield another victory? He has a great coaching staff, and Carlisle and his assistants have assembled outstanding game plans for this series. He has found ways to get points against Oklahoma City's top-rated defense and slow down the Thunder's No. 3 offense. It's no secret he's one of the league's best coaches over the past two decades, and he has been at the top of his game during the past two seasons with Indiana.
NBC Sports
an hour ago
- NBC Sports
NBA Finals Game 7 history: Looking back at the last seven Game 7s
OKLAHOMA CITY — Sunday night we will witness the 20th Game 7 in NBA Finals history — one game with everything on the line. 'One game. I mean, this is what it's all about,' Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. 'This is what you dream about growing up, this kind of opportunity.' It's a stage where the biggest, most legendary names in the game — as well as some role players with impeccable timing — have etched their name in NBA lore. 'When I think of Game 7, at least in the Finals, I think of San Antonio and Miami, and I think of Lakers/Celtics,' Alex Caruso said. On Sunday, people will be thinking of Pacers vs. Thunder. Either Indiana or Oklahoma City will win its first NBA championship (we're not counting the title the former Thunder won as the SuperSonics in Seattle, they will have an expansion team in that city that can count that title soon enough). In honor of Game 7, let's look back at the last seven Game 7s of the NBA Finals. 2016: Cavaliers at Warriors This is the Game 7 that sticks in many people's minds. 'I think that's probably one of the greatest games I've ever been able to watch as a basketball fan,' Tyrese Haliburton said. 'That's what makes Game 7 so fun.' '2016, that was the Kyrie step back on the wing,' the Pacers' Obi Toppin said when asked about his favorite Game 7 memory. 'Yeah, that was probably the coldest one, for sure.' We can only hope Sunday's Game 7 lives up to the drama of the last NBA Finals Game 7, when LeBron James put up a line of 27 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists and three blocks — although we only remember one of them. "The Block" On this day in 2016... LeBron James completed a jaw-dropping chasedown block late in Game 7 of the 2016 #NBAFinals setting the stage for a historic comeback. #NBA75 LeBron's effort helped Cleveland cap a 3-1 series comeback and beat Golden State on its home court. Don't forget about Kevin Love's defense on Stephen Curry late in that game, either. 2013: Spurs at Heat This NBA Finals is remembered more for Game 6, when Ray Allen's corner 3 off a Chris Bosh offensive rebound forced a Game 7 just as it looked like San Antonio would be celebrating a title. After that, the Heat still had work to do. In Game 7, LeBron took charge with 37 points and 12 rebounds, while Dwyane Wade added 23 points and 10 rebounds in the 95-88 Miami win. 2010: Celtics vs. Lakers The Lakers had come from 3-2 down in the series to force a Game 7 (and don't ask Celtics fans 'what if Kendrick Perkins had been healthy?'). Like a lot of Game 7s, this one wasn't pretty. Kobe Bryant stepped up with 23 points and 15 rebounds, and Pau Gasol added 19 points and 18 boards. However, with the Lakers up by just 3 and more than a minute left in the game, it was Ron Artest's 3-pointer that proved to be the biggest shot of the night, leading to the greatest postgame podium session in NBA history. "He never passes me the ball. And he passed me the ball! Kobe [Bryant] passed me the ball!" On this day in 2010, Ron Artest hit a clutch three against the Celtics in Game 7 of the NBA Finals and had a classic postgame interview after winning the title 😂 2005: Pistons at Spurs This was the peak defense NBA Finals — only one team broke 100 all series long — and San Antonio won Game 7 in an 81-74 slugfest. Tim Duncan did his thing with 25 points and 11 rebounds, but it was Manu Ginobili scoring 11 points in the fourth quarter that locked the title up for the Spurs. 1994: Knicks at Rockets New York had a 3-2 series lead, but under the old 3-2-3 format, had to go to Houston and seal the deal. Hakeem Olajuwon proved to be too much. In Game 7 he had 25 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and three blocked shots. This was the first of back-to-back Rockets titles. 1988: Pistons at Lakers 'Big Game' James Worthy lived up to that reputation in this one with a triple-double of 36 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists. Magic Johnson also stood out with 19 points and 14 assists to help the Lakers come back from a 3-2 deficit in the series and win. 1984: Lakers at Celtics Of course this classic 1980s Finals Game 7 featured a big game from Larry Bird — 20 points, 12 rebounds — but this game is remembered as the Cedric Maxwell game: 24 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and two steals. The Celtics got to hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy that year.
Indianapolis Star
an hour ago
- Indianapolis Star
Pascal Siakam explains 'demonic' viral moment: 'I have this problem where I can't really close my eyes'
OKLAHOMA CITY – One of Pascal Siakam's agents once told him after a game a camera had caught him during the National Anthem looking like his eyes had rolled up into his head. His eyes were open but his pupils weren't visible — just the sclera or the white part of the eye — so he looked like something out of "The Exorcist" or some other movie about demonic possession. The irony was Siakam had actually been caught in the act of praying. He comes from a devout Catholic family in Cameroon and his father sent him to seminary school in hopes that he would become a priest. Though he graduated, Siakam opted against that life, but still remains religious. He prays multiple times before every game with his eyes closed — well, mostly closed. "I have this problem where I can't really close my eyes," Siakam said Saturday in an off-day media availability at the Paycom Center before Game 7 of the NBA Finals. "Sometimes I'll be thinking I'm closing my eyes, but they are not really closed. Even sometimes having conversations, sometimes I look up and it feels like I'm thinking, and my eyes just go up." And that's what happened Thursday night, he said, when television cameras caught him in a pre-game huddle with his teammates in the hallway outside the Pacers' locker room at Gainbridge Fieldhouse just before Game 6. He had his head bowed but then raised it up and when he did, his pupils were under his eyelids but enough of the whites of his eyes were still visible. This of course, made the rounds on social media with various jokes about Siakam being a demon, accessing some kind of dark magic or that he'd entered the Ancestral Plane from the "Black Panther" movie franchise. Siakam didn't find out about until after the game. He said in a video on Instagram teammate Myles Turner had showed him pictures and videos. Siakam had 16 points and 13 rebounds in the Pacers' 108-91 win but he joked that he wished he'd scored 30 because he could say the spirits took him over. "I'm glad people are enjoying it and having fun with it," Siakam said. "Literally I was praying and trying to close my eyes and I was thinking in my head my eyes were closed, but clearly they weren't closed. That's just all it is, really." Siakam has tried to be cognizant about keeping his eyes as closed as he can, and sometimes even covering his face with his hands. But in the NBA Finals with cameras everywhere, that's not easy to do. "I've got to do better," Siakam said. "I've got to start doing this (covering eyes with hands) or I can put my head down and y'all can't look at me no more. And the NBA with all these cameras, it's too much, man. Get the cameras away from us."
