Shaquille O’Neal was one of the most physical and dominant centers to ever play the game. During his peak, he was a championship-level quality player. Any team who had him was considered a title contender immediately. Shaq was a force to behold when he was in full flow. 7-time All-Star Tracy McGrady agrees with this sentiment. Both Shaq and McGrady played for the Orlando Magic, at various times.

He was asked which player he would have liked to play with? His answer: Shaquille O’Neal. T-Mac, in fact, gave his answer without any hesitation and in a matter-of-fact way.

“Shaq was the common denominator to championships for everybody in our era,” according to McGrady. “He’s the player. Shaq”. The interviewer thought it was an easy answer and then talked about him potentially teaming up with Kobe and having no teams, then having more than two stars, to which McGrady replied, “It will be Shaq. Shaquille O’Neal.”

READ MORE: Childhood NBA Fan Roger Federer Offered ‘Invaluable Insight’ to Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson’s Warriors

Shaq and Tracy McGrady are good friends. In fact, the latter appeared on O’Neal’s podcast months back. He talked about how he should have won the MVP in 2003, to which Shaq disagreed hilariously. T-Mac has also said that he doesn’t follow Shaq in front of the latter, in jest during an NBA on TNT show.

Why is Shaquille O’Neal so highly regarded?

It is no surprise that T-Mac thinks that highly of O’Neal. Other than being friends post-retirement, they played against each other every season. During McGrady’s prime, Shaq was the most dominant no.5 on the team. His dominance was seen each time he made his presence felt in the paint.

He had a career field goal accuracy of .582. Shaq was second only to Artis Gilmore as the highest field goal percentage of all time. He also led the league in field goal percentage ten times, one time more than another dominant no.5 Wilt Chamberlain. His jump hooks and dunks were worthy of highlight reels.

Often, teams used their big men to foul him. It led to many teams changing their strategies. His three-point shooting was literally non-existent and free throw numbers weren’t that great as well. Having a 52.7% FT percentage is something Shaq blamed on his mental block. During the defense, his presence itself led teams to hesitate while taking a shot. He had 2.3 blocks per game in his career.

Watch this Story: Lewis Hamilton Joins Zendaya As the Latest Face for Fashion House Maison Valentino

Hence, Shaq was one of the most dominant players ever and was championship quality. A big-game player like him is still hard to find in today’s NBA.