Tracy McGrady Believes He and Vince Carter Could've Won NBA Title If He Stayed on Raptors
Tracy McGrady believed that he could have won a championship alongside Vince Carter on the Toronto Raptors if he remained with the organization.
"I think we could have won a championship," McGrady told Carter on the Cousins With Vince Carter & Tracy McGrady podcast, an AMP Sports Original Series (18:45 mark). "I do feel that because I look at who I became as a basketball player, and who you were. Looking at the Eastern Conference at that time, what was going on in the East I think we could have challenged anybody."
Carter also reflected on the duo's potential.
"On top of that, a 1-2 punch that got along too…I just felt like it was easy for us to play because there was no at that point, no hate, jealousy, none of that, which brings me to the point about the media at the time going back and forth wanting to turn us against each other at the time…Every time they show a video of us, it's always the what if and we have that conversation too," Carter explained.
McGrady brought up Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant's endorsement of the pair as well.
"Kobe even said it! Kobe said had we stayed together, they would have been playing us," McGrady said.
Bryant discussed McGrady and Carter in a 2008 interview with Slam magazine.
"He gave up playing in Toronto—which, I think, if he would've stayed in Toronto, we probably would've played them in the Finals the last two years," Bryant said at the time. "I mean, you're talkin' about McGrady and Vince. Those two motherf--kers can hoop, man. They'd definitely be a championship contending team."
The Raptors selected McGrady and Carter with first-round picks in the 1997 and 1998 NBA drafts, respectively.
While Toronto only went 23-27 in their first year as teammates, the two cousins led the team to the playoffs with a 45-37 record the following season.
McGrady eventually signed with the Orlando Magic as a free agent in 2000, earning All-Star nods in each of the next seven years and winning two scoring titles over that span.
As for Carter, he also ended his career with eight All-Star selections and helped the Raptors reach the playoffs two more times before his tenure with the organization came to an end.
While Toronto eventually captured a title in 2019 led by Kawhi Leonard, McGrady and Carter feel that they could have helped the team experience even more playoff success.
