Shaquille O’Neal’s latest opinion didn’t sit well with fans.
Shaquille O’Neal’s Latest Take on Titles With Kobe Bryant Leads to Angry Fans on Thursday originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady believes he would have won multiple NBA titles if he had played with Hall of Fame center Shaquille O’Neal.
McGrady, 46, said on ESPN’s “First Take” at Fanatics Fest on Sunday that if O’Neal had played with him instead of Kobe Bryant, they might have won more championships because he has a strong relationship with O’Neal and they wouldn’t argue as much.
“Replace Kobe with me to play alongside Shaq,” he said. “I don’t win a championship? If I was put in that situation to win, I’m damn sure I would’ve showed up and done what I do in the playoffs to elevate my team.”
O’Neal Agrees with McGrady, but Fans Don’t
O’Neal said during a recent episode of “The Big Podcast With Shaq” with special guests and former NBA forwards Marcus and Markieff Morris that he believes “I think I could’ve” won three championships with McGrady as he did with Bryant. However, the Morris twins disagreed with him.
“You can’t just say you're switching out Kobe and you're going to be what Kobe was,” Markieff Morris claimed in defense of Bryant. “T-Mac is a great player, but he’s not Kobe.”
“My difference is that mentality, that killer mentality everybody doesn’t have,” Marcus Morris added. “He’s a great player, don’t get me wrong, but at times [Michael Jordan] gave Kobe something to imitate and have that mentality. No other players had that.”
Shaq says that if you switched Kobe with T-Mac on the Lakers, he still would’ve won three rings 😳
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 24, 2025
(🎥 @bigpodwithshaq / https://t.co/xlVhD8o3eA) pic.twitter.com/YWhTefPK6F
O’Neal’s comment received backlash from fans, who either thought Shaq was disrespecting Bryant or that McGrady doesn’t compare to how great of a player Bryant was.
“Kobe carried him so badly, what is he saying 😂😂,” one commented on X.
“I can’t tell if this is hate, ego, or doing it for clicks, but there’s absolutely no good reason to even say this,” one fan wrote.
“Whoa, calm down, T-Mac is not Kobe,” another shared.
“To be fair, Mac certainly had the cerebral mindset,” one wrote. “Definitely ain’t Kobe though.”
“Chill bro damn,” another shared.
“Not surprised Shaq would disagree, but realistically he’d win one with T-Mac,” another commented. “Don’t see a three-peat at all.”
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 24, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Basketball
