Tracy Mcgrady Says He Would Have Been the Scottie Pippen to Kobe Bryant’s Michael Jordan if He Had Joined Lakers

During his appearance as an analyst on the ESPN show "The Jump," NBA Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady has tackled the possibility of teaming up with the dynamic duo, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, in Los Angeles Lakers early in his NBA career.

Being one of the most successful guards in the NBA during the late 90s, McGrady averaged 19.6 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 1.2 SPG on a 43.5 percent shooting during his career. Drafted by the Toronto Raptors, "T-Mac," the 6'8 shooting guard was a dominant force in the offensive end.

Tracy McGrady and Kobe Bryant

The talent showed by Tracy McGrady attracted former Lakers GM Jerry West in orchestrating a possible deal that would land him playing for the LA Lakers. Analysts noted that the 2x scoring champion would have been an ideal fit alongside Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal.

Despite being rivals on the court, the Black Mamba and T-Mac enjoyed a great friendship outside the basketball world. Kobe Bryant even mentioned on several occasions that McGrady was one of the toughest players that he guarded in his 20-year NBA career.

According to The Sports Rush, the feeling was mutual as Tracy McGrady believed that if he teamed up with the iconic duo of Bryant and O'Neal, it would help him greatly from a developmental standpoint as a player.

T-Mac also shared that he believes his role on the team would be the Scottie Pippen on Bryant's Jordan-like performances.

During the episode of ESPN's "First Take," host Rachel Nichols floated the idea of what would have happened if the prolific scorer, T-Mac, joined the Lakers during the Kobe Bryant-Shaquille O'Neal era in the early 2000s.

Ex-Lakers GM Jerry West Embraces the Idea of Drafting Tracy McGrady

During Tracy McGrady's workouts, the former LA Lakers GM was impressed and had tried to pull some strings to draft him to the city of Angels. West was willing to sacrifice some key players just to have T-Mac on the roster.

However, West was not able to materialize the plan of T-Mac teaming up with Bryant and O'Neal. The possible Lakers Big 3 would have been a nightmare for the rest of the teams in the NBA.

The idea would have been a great help in T-Mac's career since the only thing missing from his Hall of Fame resume was a championship ring. In his interview, the 7x All-Star said that he was willing to sacrifice on the offensive end and wanted a role of distributor among Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal.

During the show, co-panelist David Fizdale added some salt to McGrady's wound. Fizdale said the Lakers would have probably won 6-7 championships if T-Mac was on the purple and gold roster.

This article is owned by Latin Post

Written by: Jess Smith

WATCH: Tracy McGrady on Almost Playing for Lakers With Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal | The Jump - From ESPN