Comparing Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady is like asking who is more dominant: Shaq or Vin Baker? This is a no brainer. Tracy McGrady is the best shooting guard in the league and he is far better than Kobe.
If Kobe Bryant is so great he would have at least one Finals MVP award; but he has just as many as T-Mac does, and that is zero.
Kobe benefits from having the most dominate person to ever play basketball on his team- Shaquille O’Neal. If Tracy had Phil Jackson for a coach and Shaq in the middle he would have three rings too.
Instead Tracy has no help in Orlando; Mike Miller was far too inconsistent to be any help to T-Mac. Former NBA star and current Magic head coach Doc Rivers could produce more than Grant Hill can or will for the Magic.
Tracy is alone when it comes to superiority. Kobe had the opportunity to change my mind at the beginning of this year, but his leading the Lakers to a 3-9 start with out the Big Daddy only furthered my belief in how he is garbage compared to Tracy.
T-Mac and Kobe have nearly identical numbers. Tracy brings 32 points, 6.4 boards and 5.5 assists a night while Kobe brings 30, seven, and six.
What makes McGrady so much better than Bryant is the fact that if he doesn’t score 30 to 35 a night the Magic have no shot of winning, and currently they sit in seventh place in the East with a 39-34 record.
Kobe on the other hand does not have to carry the load every night in order for his team to be successful. The Lakers November record (6-11) not only shows how well Kobe can handle carrying the load, but carry the load without a healthy Shaq.
If any other smooth shooting swing-man were in Kobe’s position the Lakers would still have their three peat.
That’s all that needs to be said.
Shaq is the Lakers; when he is on, they are unstoppable. Kobe is just a very good shooting guard.
T-Mac, on the other hand, is the Magic. He is the leader, the playmaker and the catalyst for any playoff run that they may have.
Kobe may be a little more clutch than T-Mac right now, the playoffs will do that to someone. But Tracy is the real deal. If Kobe were in T-Mac’s position the Orlando Magic would be in bad shape.
Will Brown, 18, is a freshman broadcast journalism student from Rockledge, Fla. He is The Famuan’s assistant sports editor. He can be reached at willbitsgood48@aol.com.