Mcgrady without the injuries?

[DorianRo]

And some more quality teams to play on. Top 5 all time? Even Kobe said he was the toughest player he ever had to guard and said Mcgrady could do anything on the court he could do except he was bigger

 

[True Lakers Fan]

Good player without the injuries

 

[thunderc]

Top 5 player of his era, all I’m willing to concede.

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

Of all time? Not even close to top 5.

He was a great player and fun to watch but didn't have that killer instinct that Kobe or Jordan had.

 

[trojanfan12]

Top 5 all time? No

Top 10 all time? Probably

Top 15 all time? Definitely

 

[True Lakers Fan]

Of all time? Not even close to top 5.

He was a great player and fun to watch but didn't have that killer instinct that Kobe or Jordan had.

McGrady and Yao Ming was what I wanted for Shaq Oneal to go with Kobe the year Shaq was traded

That was before McGrady was injured though

 

[Hornsstampede2.0]

If he didn't have to waste his prime years playing for Doc Rivers and Jeff Van Gundy, he probably could have been.
They are two of the most over-rated coaches of all time who squandered hall of famers in their primes.

Imagine if Jordan never got to see Jackson hired.
He had a very similar pathways of 1st round exits and otherworldly talent wasted until Jackson arrived in his late 20s.

Healthy and with a good coach, McGrady had the stuff to be maybe the 2nd best ever at his position

People forget he was better than Kobe during his pre-injury prime ascending years.
Phil Jackson would have Kobe or MJed his talents into a few rings as his two guard.

McGrady was a high character dude as well for the most part with a photogenic look and well spoken demeanor.
He could have been the face of the NBA with any luck besides bad luck.

 

[tlance]

Of all time? Not even close to top 5.

He was a great player and fun to watch but didn't have that killer instinct that Kobe or Jordan had.

McGrady had more physical talent than both.

Injuries hurt him, but it was more about his work ethic. Not saying TMac was lazy, but he wasn't competitive enough to crack top 10 all time.

LeBron and Shaq are the only two players I have seen with more natural physical talent.

 

[handicappers]

Grady was LeBron before there was BronBron.

Oden without injuries is what we all missed out on, tho.

 

[Mecca of the “B” Team]

McGrady had more physical talent than both.

Injuries hurt him, but it was more about his work ethic. Not saying TMac was lazy, but he wasn't competitive enough to crack top 10 all time.

LeBron and Shaq are the only two players I have seen with more natural physical talent.

 

[shopson67]

Grant Hill > Tracy McGrady

 

[huskers1217]

Grant Hill > Tracy McGrady

Orlando really got screwed on HIll

 

[tducey]

Would have been one of the all time greats for sure. Such a talented player. Probably not top 5 all time though.

 

[SJ76]

Good athlete and great scorer.

We really don’t even pay attention to defense anymore do we. And what was Tmacs bball IQ? 5?

 

[CitySushi]

Grant Hill had a bigger potential upside than McGrady had both stayed healthy. McGrady could have been a top 5 scorer of all time. He's closer to a Kevin Durant type player, pre-Warriors. He didn't play much defense but could put the ball in the bucket.

 

[tlance]

Grant Hill had a bigger potential upside than McGrady had both stayed healthy. McGrady could have been a top 5 scorer of all time. He's closer to a Kevin Durant type player, pre-Warriors. He didn't play much defense but could put the ball in the bucket.

I disagree.

McGrady's physical tools were insane.

Grant Hill might have been a better player pre-injury because he was more polished. But he also spent 4 years at Duke and was always lauded for doing the right thing on and off the court. McGrady defintely had more talent. I like the KD comparison, but he was an even better athlete. If he had put the effort in to become an elite defender and playmaker, he could have been a top 5 player all time.

Grant Hill never had that type of upside.

 

[CitySushi]

I disagree.

McGrady's physical tools were insane.

Grant Hill might have been a better player pre-injury because he was more polished. But he also spent 4 years at Duke and was always lauded for doing the right thing on and off the court. McGrady defintely had more talent. I like the KD comparison, but he was an even better athlete. If he had put the effort in to become an elite defender and playmaker, he could have been a top 5 player all time.

Grant Hill never had that type of upside.

But then that's just the thing. If he never got hurt, would he have done those things or just coasted by. I'm factoring in what was already ingrained into them instead of posing more questions about the way they carried themselves and worked on their games. All we're taking into account is their peaks, as determined by what their games were, just simply taking away the injury.

I mean, we could really be having this same argument about Russell Westbrook, if you just swap his name for McGrady's. Westbrook's arguably the most athletic player to ever play the game. His physical tools are off the chart.

 

[Hook'Em0608]

Meh, I loved me some Tracy McGrady, but he wasn't quite as injury plagued as some of you are acting like. He was in his 9th season before the back problems hit and ruined his career. Before that is was just minor aches and pains mostly. All the other major injuries came after the back problems, they were the real culprit IMO.

In those 9 season, he was on a 50+ win team one time. The 04/05 Houston Rockets.

 

[tlance]

But then that's just the thing. If he never got hurt, would he have done those things or just coasted by. I'm factoring in what was already ingrained into them instead of posing more questions about the way they carried themselves and worked on their games. All we're taking into account is their peaks, as determined by what their games were, just simply taking away the injury.

I mean, we could really be having this same argument about Russell Westbrook, if you just swap his name for McGrady's. Westbrook's arguably the most athletic player to ever play the game. His physical tools are off the chart.

Sure.

Might be semantics, but when we are talking about upside, I am going with the more talented player every single time. And the Westbrook comparison isn't quite right. Westbrook' issue is decision making and ability to read the game, but he works as hard as anybody. I don't know how much realistically Russ has to give.

McGrady had more in him. His issue was his motor.

 

[True Lakers Fan]

Meh, I loved me some Tracy McGrady, but he wasn't quite as injury plagued as some of you are acting like. He was in his 9th season before the back problems hit and ruined his career. Before that is was just minor aches and pains mostly. All the other major injuries came after the back problems, they were the real culprit IMO.

In those 9 season, he was on a 50+ win team one time. The 04/05 Houston Rockets.

As I remember it McGrady was with another team - my thought at the time Shaq was traded to Miami was to trade Shaq to the Rockets for Yao Ming and Grady - then the Lakers would have had Yao Ming, Kobe and McGrady. Then McGrady went for that surgery and was never the same after