Could someone from Kobe Bryant‘s era have surpassed him following Black Mamba‘s own work ethic? Ex-Memphis Grizzlies star Jason Williams has a name on his mind. “I always thought to myself if T-Mac—he was so good, that he didn’t have to work like Kobe… If T-Mac worked like Kobe, I’m thinking T-Mac might be the greatest ever,” Williams stated recently. And it seems Gilbert Arenas too believes in this opinion to some extent.

Appearing on an episode of the ‘Nightcap’ show, Gil faced the question about Williams’ comparison of Tracy McGrady and Kobe Bryant. Gil stated that the question of “Who was better?” was a big one when the two players were playing. Arenas went back to the time when ‘Dawg’ was not being used in the present context but for someone lazy. “Kobe’s gonna be on another planet than T-Mac. Right now, T-Mac is better, but he’s like a dawg player. He don’t have that ‘it’ of what Kobe has. So when time goes on, the laziness is gonna stop one while the work ethic is gonna go,” Arenas recollected his coach’s words from back then.

The ex-Washington Wizards star further highlighted the fact that McGrady was chill. “If he had the mamba mentality. I mean, shit, he was taller, more athletic, shot the ball better. Those were the debates,” Arenas stated. A number of fans reacted in different ways on the podcast clip posted on Instagram.

While some believe T-Mac having more career injuries was also an issue, some believe that Kobe Bryant was a better player either way. While it’s impossible to verify Williams’ claim about the two players, a statistical and physical comparison between the two players can paint a clearer picture.

Closer analysis of the Kobe Bryant vs Tracy McGrady debate

In terms of career stats, awards, and accolades, the Black Mamba had a clear edge over the Big Sleep. However, the difference was not so huge for the first 10 seasons of both their careers. Kobe averaged 23.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists in his first 10 NBA seasons. While McGrady averaged 22.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game in his first 10 seasons. But this gap kept on widening towards the latter half of Tracy’s NBA career.

In terms of the NBA championships, Season MVP and Finals MVP as well, Kobe has a 5-0, 1-0 and 2-0 lead respectively in each department. In fact, McGrady had himself stated Bryant to be one of the best players ever. So much so that he believed Black Mamba had the potential to challenge Michael Jordan. “I’m going with Kob because I think Kobe was the most skilled basketball player I’ve ever seen. I think he took what MJ was and enhanced that skill set,” T-Mac once stated.

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Why Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady Puts Kobe Bryant Ahead of Lebron James on This Exclusive List

However, a certain section of the basketball community believes Tracy McGrady could have given a tough competition to Kobe Bryant because of superior athletic abilities and similar initial skill-set. It is worth mentioning that he had a 2 inch height advantage over the ex-LA Lakers’ icon. And he even had a 4 inch advantage in terms of vertical jump. While Kobe Bryant’s vertical was 38″, Tracy boasted a 42″ vertical. However, all of this could have possibly made a difference only if the Big Sleep would have followed Kobe Bryant’s work ethics, as per Jason Williams’ claims.

What is your opinion of the Jason’s statement? Do you think had Tracy McGrady followed Kobe’s work ethic, he could have been the best there ever was?

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