TMac wasn't near the player Kobe was when they were both 21 which is the first year the Lakers won a championship with Kobe and Shaq
Well in 99-2000, the first Lakers championship, McGrady was in his finals season in Toronto, and over there he was having a breakout season, he would have been a 20,5,5,1.5blk guy that year if he was the primary source for offense.
You can't just say that TMac or Vince or AI or whatever will win with Shaq. The fact is, Kobe and Shaq might have been the greatest duo ever.
They were a great duo, but they won during a time when the NBA was going through major changes, new players were emerging and at the time the NBA wasn't as strong as previous years. Magic and Kareem, Jordan and Pippen, etc. all come to mind before Shaq and Kobe.
Yes, Shaq was crazy dominant in his prime but all his weaknesses were Kobe's strengths.
I'll agree that both players complimented each other greatly, and it was a strong combo, but Shaq was the main reason they won 3 championships, or even get out of the first round, for evidence look at 2005-2007 seasons, also look at the impact Shaq had on the Heat until last season.
Kobe can't get out of the first round without a good big man? Who can get out of the first round without a good big man? Seriously. You need good big men to go anywhere in the playoffs.
A lot of players can, but its not all about the big man, you also have to put into consideration that your supporting cast maybe horrible, which it has been for both guys. Kobe(without Shaq), McGrady(Orlando).
And TMac has gone where with Yao who's arguably the best center in the league?
Look at McGrady's playoff stats and then look at Yao's and see who shows up and who performs better. In 2005, the depth was horrible, our PF was out, Ryan Bowen was our starting PF, and Yao wasn't considered a superstar. In 2007, Yao wasn't 100% healed from his foot injury, we didn't have a backup PG, our starting PF was Chuck Hayes, and our 6th man was Luther Head, and in 2008, Yao wasn't even here. You can measure the amount of success a duo will do in just 2yrs in the playoffs, they didn't do that for Jordan and Pippen, nor even Shaq and Kobe. McGrady has also the past two seasons carried a lackluster supporting cast into the playoffs with 50+ wins each yr, something I haven't seen Kobe do without Gasol and Shaq
McGrady's playoff stats are also much better, he is 5th all time in ppg in the playoffs, and puts up 28, 6, 7, something only a handful of players have done, and not even Michael Jordan was one of them.
Like I said, talent wise they are both not far off at all, they were very similar in their prime, it just came down to who won and who didn't.
