Former Magic franchise star claims he would have won big with Shaq

Tracy McGrady and Shaquille O'Neal were two of the most significant players in Orlando Magic franchise history.

But, of course, it wasn't at the same time.

O'Neal was with Orlando from 1992 until 1996, when he left for the Los Angeles Lakers, and then proceeded to win titles in 2000, 2001 and 2002. McGrady wasn't drafted out of high school until 1997, and spent three seasons in Toronto before becoming the Magic's next big free agent splash in 2000 -- proceeding to finish 6th in MVP voting.

McGrady has often ruminated on what they might have been like together, and recently did again.

Tracy McGrady says you don’t have to be a Kobe-level player to win a championship with a dominant player like Shaq

“I'm not saying I'm Kobe. I don't have to be Kobe to play with Shaq and win a championship. D-Wade proved that, didn't he? D-Wade proved that. We're talking about a… pic.twitter.com/GCMYXrFakT
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 21, 2025

McGrady claimed that it wasn't necessary to be Kobe Bryant to win with O'Neal, and that "Dwyane Wade proved that." Well, Wade did, but Wade did the heavy lifting to get that title with the Miami Heat in 2006, averaging nearly three times what O'Neal did in the Finals.

And while McGrady certainly was as offensively dynamic as Wade, and even Bryant, at times during his career, he struggled with injuries more than both (yes, even Wade after reaching age 29) and he never advanced out of the first round until doing so as a bit player with the San Antonio Spurs near the very end.

On March 10, 2004, Tracy McGrady dropped a career-high and franchise record 62 points on the Washington Wizards in the Adidas TMac 3.5.
📸: Fernando Medina pic.twitter.com/k1Y1HyfHsF
— SoleCollector.com (@SoleCollector) March 10, 2019

McGrady could score with anyone, and shot just 42.6 percent in 50 playoff games, and lost nine of his 12 playoff series -- again, all of them until joining the Spurs, who basically won without him.

McGrady did specify that he was talking about "a small moment in time" when he was considered top five in the NBA. And during that time, he wasn't playing with anyone close to O'Neal's caliber; after all, McGrady left his cousin Vince Carter in Toronto. So maybe he could have risen to the occasion with greatness beside him, especially if it was taking double teams like O'Neal typically did.

Those who will back McGrady's opinion might cite O'Neal's advancement to the NBA Finals with Penny Hardaway, another elite versatile star whose time at the top was curtailed by unfortunate ailments. Hardaway never got close to the NBA Finals after O'Neal left, even with esome elite individual play.

So maybe McGrady has a point; with Shaq, he could have worked wonders.

But we will never know.

And that, when you make a statement like that, is the beauty of it.

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