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When Tracy McGrady makes claims that he could have won championships had he replaced five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant on the Los Angeles Lakers, it gives modern-day NBA fans another reason to wonder why T-Mac simply never found himself in the right environment to maximize his talent.
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There is no denying that when Tracy was an All-NBA First Team selectee and leading the league in scoring, he was widely compared to Kobe during that brief stretch.
However, Jeff Teague wants McGrady to hold his horses, reminding the former Houston Rockets star that when the conversation shifts from peak ability to overall career legacy, the gap may not be as close as T-Mac feels.
In fact, from Teague’s point of view, nine-time All-Star Paul George, who has never won an MVP award or an NBA championship and is considered a “what-if” due to persistent injury woes, may already have a better legacy than McGrady.
“Low-key, Paul George had a better career than T-Mac. It’s not no-shade; he was healthier. And that’s crazy because Paul George had one of the worst injuries in NBA history,” Teague
. “T-Mac was cold, (but) Paul George took his team to the Eastern Conference a couple of years in a row against Bron. I just don’t remember T-Mac having a moment in the playoffs. The only thing I remember about T-Mac was saying, ‘This series is over,’ and they lost.”
PG13 has more team success than T-Mac
There is ample evidence supporting the distinction Teague was making.
McGrady led the NBA in regular-season scoring twice, yet throughout his prime years in Houston and Orlando, he was never able to lead his respective teams past the first round of the playoffs. On the other hand, even though T-Mac has more All-NBA First Team nods than PG13, it is the latter who led his Indiana Pacers to two consecutive Conference Finals, with only the “Big 3” Miami Heat stopping him.
Then, even though George managed to cross the 60-game threshold merely once during his tenure with the Clippers, he did help them reach the Conference Finals in 2021. So those accomplishments help explain why Teague was so adamant about reminding McGrady of the distinction between individual dominance and team success.
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Teague knows McGrady was unlucky
At the same time, Teague also did not pretend that McGrady always had the ideal environment around him.
On one hand, George has had the luxury of sharing the court with the most athletic version of Russell Westbrook and a two-time Finals MVP in Kawhi Leonard; McGrady never had that by his side. Whether it was witnessing Grant Hill battle injury woes in Orlando or dealing with miserable back spasms while sharing the court with Yao Ming in Houston, T-Mac was always on the back foot.
And Teague recognizes that context and made it clear that McGrady’s individual peak may rank higher than PG13’s.
“I think his peak was better than Paul George,” Teague continued. “He did; T-Mac squad was a-. I’m just saying Paul George’s peak is not much lower than T-Mac’s peak.”
Clearly, no one intends to downplay McGrady’s career trajectory or accomplishments, but his lack of postseason success is impossible to overlook.
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This story was originally published September 18, 2026 at 1:47 AM.