Tracy McGrady is widely regarded as one of the best players of his generation.
On the offensive side of the ball, especially, few could compete with McGrady’s skillset.
Although he didn’t necessarily win as much as some of his more notable counterparts, few would argue with McGrady’s place in hoops lore. Because of that, his opinion carries serious weight.
Recently, McGrady weighed in on something that bothered him about Kobe Bryant’s legacy. Namely, the fact that people use his time with Shaquille O’Neal against him.
“Didn’t Magic Johnson play with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was the all-time leading scorer? But you wanna sit here and talk about Kobe playing with Shaq? You gotta play with great players to win championships right?” McGrady said.
“‘[Kobe Bryant] played with Shaq’… Didn’t Magic Johnson play with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar?… You ask anybody [who] has played against [Michael Jordan & Kobe], they would tell you [he’s] top 5.”
Do you agree with Tracy McGrady? 🤔
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McGrady didn’t stop there, though.
“Why are we excluding Magic Johnson playing with James Worthy, Michael Cooper, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar…like Hall of Famers bro,” he continued.
McGrady ended his argument on an emphatic note.
“They so disrespectful when it comes to Bean bro,” he added.
“That man is top five. You ask anybody that has played against Michael Jordan and played against Kobe ‘Bean’ Bryant, they will tell you ‘Bean’ is top five.”
Whether McGrady wins any of the doubters over with his sentiments or not, he will forever live on fondly in the hearts and minds of Kobe fans everywhere just for making this argument.
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Jennifer Withers Hoey is a former Business Development Manager who transitioned to writing about sports. With valuable connections all over the West Coast, she has used those contacts to break some of the most interesting stories pertaining to the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon Ducks, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Seattle Supersonics (RIP), and more.
