Kevin Durant is the second best player in the NBA today and nobody would argue that. The gap he and LeBron James have on the rest of the league is obvious and huge. Simply put, these two guys are the best the league has to offer. Durant is the best scorer in the league, however, and that is undisputed (save for a few Knicks fans). But, I wanted to see who was the better player: Kevin Durant or Tracy McGrady.
Tracy McGrady had an eight-year run to where he made seven All-Star teams, two All-NBA first teams, three All-NBA second teams, two All-NBA third team, and won two scoring titles. T-Mac could fill it up like no other, particularly in his Orlando days. He started out as a wunderkind, straight out of high school, playing next to his cousin in Toronto. Vince Carter and T-Mac could have probably won a few Eastern Conference titles had they stayed together. The Toronto Terrors could have pushed Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal to much further limits than AI’s Sixers and the Nets. T-Mac in Orlando was a killer, playing with some of the worst talents in the league, eventually putting up 32 points a game. T-Mac didn’t want to have to score, but when he had to; and he could do so with the best of them.
Kobe Bryant has been on record stating that Tracy McGrady is the hardest player he has ever had to guard. Wow. When one of the top five basketball players from the past 20 years says he was the hardest to guard, means something. Kobe has played against Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and hundreds of other players, but he chose T-Mac. So what made T-Mac so great? Let’s find out.
Tracy McGrady was a 6-8 swingman in every sense of the word. He had the athleticism to dunk on anyone (cough cough Shawn Bradley), the range to space the floor, the vision to find anybody he needed to, and the defensive ability to defend like Scottie Pippen. T-Mac could simply do it all, and he could do it with ease. However, he was often criticized for lacking a killer instinct or having a true love for the game. While T-Mac has said personally that he didn’t want to be a leader, he had to be for the teams he played on. T-Mac played with some of the worst teammates I have ever witnessed and it’s unfair he had to play with them.
T-Mac’s greatest achievement is my favorite basketball in my life. This basketball clip is the greatest thing to ever grace my eyes.
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The first shot that T-Mac takes is from the right wing down 76-68, right over Malik Rose, Rockets are down 76-71. The next shot comes after the Spurs hit a shot and the score is 78-71. T-Mac comes back down, comes off a pic from Yao Ming, leans into Tim Duncan (after evading Bruce Bowen: Defensive Savant), same spot as before, for the four point play. T-Mac, like a boss, nails the free throw, 78-75. The Spurs hit 2 more free throws to push it to 80-75. The fact that the Spurs didn’t collapse to aid T-Mac makes this one of the most incredible things in the 21st century. Third shot: T-Mac catches a terribly thrown pass, beats a double team, gets to the right wing, rises up with Bruce Bowen draped all over him and splashes in another three. 80-78. T-Mac is going to do it, he is going to bring the Rockets back from being down 8 with 40 seconds to go. 80-78, the Spurs inbound from half court; Devin Brown catches the inbounds pass, spins right, and is stripped by our hero. T-Mac steals the ball, sprints to the left wing, rises up, splash. T-Mac has done it. He has beaten the Spurs; he has engineered one of the greatest comebacks in history singlehandedly. 81-80 had never felt so great.
Now that we are done with the T-Mac love fest, it is Durant’s turn. Excuse me while I type in all caps. THIS DUDE IS ALMOST SEVEN FEET TALL AND HE IS A SHOOTING GUARD. I DON’T UNDERSTAND HOW A 6’11 205 POUND WALKING TWIG CAN UTTERLY DOMINATE THE BEST ATHLETES ON THE PLANET. DURANT WILL TAKE 9 STEPS AND BE ACROSS THE ENTIRE 92 FOOT COURT. HE SHOOTS SO FAR ABOVE HIS HEAD THAT HIS JUMPSHOT COULDN’T BE BLOCKED BY THE SHAWN BRADLEY MONSTAR. MAYBE HE CAN SHOOT FROM HALFCOURT BECAUSE ARMS EXTEND LIKE MICHAEL’S IN SPACE JAM, I DON’T KNOW. ALL I KNOW IS THAT DURANT IS ONE OF THE FREAKIEST FREAKS IN THE LEAGUE OF FREAKY FREAKS AND I HAVE NO IDEA HOW YOU CAN HOPE TO STOP HIM.
Whew, that was needed. Durant’s freakiness cannot be understated. But other than his unbelievable measurables, Durant is one of the most skilled scorers in the league. He can truly score from anywhere on the court, in a myriad of ways as well. Simply put, Durant can do whatever he wants when the ball is in his hand. Crazy thing is, Durant might be better OFF the ball. Playing with a ball dominant guard in Russ Westbrook, Durant had to learn how to play off the ball, and boy did he. Durant might be the deadliest catch and shoot threat in history. Durant is in the rarefied air of Larry Bird when it comes to playing off the ball. It’s that good. Durant is one of the few players that wouldn’t see his percentages drop if they moved the three point line back another two feet. Durant is a master at offense and he can’t be stopped.
Now, to the real question; who is better? Kevin Durant or Tracy McGrady? Looking at their best seasons, it is tough to tell. In T-Mac’s greatest season, he averaged 32.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 5.5 assists. Oh, and he had a 30+ PER, something only 7 guys have done in history. Durant’s best season reads as: 32 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 5.5 assists. Both of these seasons can only be described as bonkers. Neither one of these guys could be guarded this year. But the guy, who could guard other players much better, was T-Mac. McGrady has been described as a Scottie Pippen-esque defender, able to guard four positions and the other team’s best player. Durant is an above average defender, but he never guards the other team’s best player, let alone four positions. I give Durant the edge on scoring, Tracy defense, Durant rebounding, and Tracy playmaking.
It is truly a tossup on who to pick in this situation. I am going to side with T-Mac on this one. Neither man has been able to win a title in their careers so no rings arguments. T-Mac’s defense puts it over the edge for me. Durant can end up being better than McGrady; all he has to do is improve his defense. Here’s to hoping that Durant doesn’t get injured like T-Mac.
