Shaq says he could’ve won 3 rings with T-Mac instead of Kobe

NBA icon Tracy McGrady is widely regarded as one of the best players to never win a ring in the league. Despite winning two scoring titles and having a decorated career, he was never able to get over the championship hump or even advance beyond the first round of the playoffs as a meaningful contributor to a team.

As McGrady started to become a superstar in the NBA, fellow NBA greats Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant started winning titles together with the Los Angeles Lakers. They put together a three-peat as co-stars, with the Lakers winning the NBA Finals in 2000, 2001 and 2002.

Both O’Neal and Bryant were invaluable during those runs, but in O’Neal’s view, he still could’ve won three rings with the Lakers had McGrady been his running mate instead of Bryant.

“T-Mac made a statement the other day,” O’Neal began. “… He said if you switch him and Kobe out, as far as playing with me, the outcome is the same. … You don’t think I could’ve won three with T-Mac? I think I could have.”

O’Neal and Bryant were teammates on the Lakers for eight seasons. Their three rings together came around the middle of their partnership.

Their first season together was the 1996-97 campaign, which adds a little bit of a quirk to the hypothetical because McGrady wasn’t in the league until the following season. In addition, McGrady wasn’t an All-Star at the NBA level until the 2000-01 season.

As such, there are a few ways to look at the hypothetical in order to make it as fair as possible. Perhaps the best way to look at it is to imagine how many rings O’Neal would’ve won if he’d been teammates with McGrady for the first eight seasons of McGrady’s career, as that’s exactly how his partnership with Bryant looked.

In McGrady’s first eight seasons, he had two scoring titles, five All-Star nods, five All-NBA selections and was often involved in the MVP race. That’s a strong resume, so it’s reasonable to assume that O’Neal might’ve been able to do some damage with him.

Still, winning three rings is no easy task, and changing the factors that led to L.A.’s dynasty is a risky game to play.

O’Neal retired with four championships after he won one with the Miami Heat, and Bryant later earned two more with the Lakers.