Why is McGrady s talent higher than Kobe? He also debuted as a high school student, McGrady s pick higher than Kobe

On May 23, in the history of the NBA, Tracy McGrady and Kobe Bryant are undoubtedly two highly representative shooting guards. The two of them both entered the NBA directly from high school, but embarked on completely different career trajectories. Kobe has become a five-time champion and a historical superstar, while McGrady has failed to fully realize his talent due to injuries and luck. However, from the perspective of talent alone, McGrady's talent is even considered to be above Kobe. This view is not groundless, but a conclusion drawn based on the physical conditions, technical characteristics and early career performance of the two.

First of all, from the perspective of physical talent, McGrady's advantages are very obvious. McGrady's height is 2.03 meters and his wingspan is even more amazing, which gives him a natural misalignment advantage in shooting guard and small forward positions. His first step started very fast, had amazing explosive power, and his excellent bounce and coordination made his breakthroughs almost impossible to defend. In addition, McGrady's ball-handling skills and passing vision are far superior to those of players at the same position, and are even considered to have the ability to organize a defender. In contrast, although Kobe's physical condition is also very good, his height (1.98 meters) and arm span are slightly inferior to McGrath. Although his early athletic ability was top-notch, he did not reach the level of McGrath's "God's Reward". McGrady's talent even made basketball god Michael Jordan admire him. He once publicly stated that McGrady was one of the players he wanted to partner with the most.

Secondly, McGrady's technical comprehensiveness was fully demonstrated early in her career. His performance in the Raptors and Magic, especially in the 2002-2003 season, averaged 32.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game, becoming the league's scoring leader. This data not only demonstrates his scoring ability, but also reflects his versatility in the organization and rebounding. McGrady's pull-up jump shot is hailed as one of the most difficult offensive methods in NBA history. His shooting points are high and fast, so the defenders can hardly interfere. By contrast, Kobe was more of a substitute and O'Neal's deputy early in his career, and did not gradually grow into a superstar until 2000. Although Kobe's skills later reached the level of transformation, the talent and dominance displayed by McGrady at the same age was indeed amazing.

However, talent is only one of the cornerstones of success, and hard work and professional attitude are equally crucial. Kobe is famous for his "Mamba spirit", and his training intensity and professional attitude are almost unmatched. He often starts training at four in the morning, and his desire for victory and his almost harsh demands on himself allow him to constantly break through himself. Although McGrady is better in talent, she is far less hard than Kobe in terms of effort. McGrady's training attitude and professional spirit have been questioned many times, especially during the Rockets, where frequent injuries and insufficient training have a lot to do with his lack of systematic training. Kobe once said: "McDy is the most talented player I have ever met, but if he had my professional attitude, he might be the best in history." This sentence pointed out the key to the difference in their careers.

Injuries and luck are also important factors that lead to the difference in the two's achievements. McGrady's career has been plagued by injuries, especially back and knee injuries, which seriously affected his athleticism and game status. In the 2005-2006 season, McGrady missed many games due to a back injury and her condition declined sharply; during the Rockets period, his combination with Yao Ming was expected to win the championship, but failed because of the two people's injuries. In contrast, although Kobe has suffered serious injuries (such as the rupture of the Achilles tendon in 2013), his recovery and willpower allow him to return to the field and continue to perform at a high level. In addition, Kobe had super teammates like O'Neal in his early career, and later there were effective helpers such as Gasol, while McGrady was often led by a single core team, and the gap in team configuration also made it difficult to directly compare the achievements of the two.

From a psychological perspective, Kobe's competitive spirit and stress resistance are also difficult for McGrady to achieve. Kobe's cold-blooded performance and ultimate killing ability at critical moments have made him one of the greatest "killers" in NBA history. Although McGrady showed extraordinary personal abilities in the "McDie Moment" at 35.13 seconds, overall, his performance in the playoffs and high-intensity games is not stable. Especially during the Magic and Rockets period, McGrady stopped in the first round of the playoffs many times and failed to prove that he could lead the team further.

To sum up, McGrady's talent is indeed above Kobe. His physical condition and technical comprehensiveness even make many experts and players think that he is "synonym for talent." However, basketball is not just a game of talent. Diligence, professional attitude, injury management and psychological qualities also determine the ultimate height of the player. Kobe used his efforts and persistence to make up for some gap in talent, while McGrady failed to fully realize his potential for various reasons. The career trajectory of the two tells us that talent is important, but how to use talent and how to face challenges is the key to determining whether a player can become a legend.