NBA cousins Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter both had Hall of Fame NBA careers, but neither was able to lead a team to a championship. As ring culture becomes a centerpiece of sports debate and legacy-defining, players who have fallen short of championship glory often use their podcasts to defend their shortcomings. Or inadvertently devalue winning at the highest level.
While neither player has won an NBA regular season MVP either, McGrady ruffled some feathers on social media when he proclaimed on the “Cousins” podcast with “Vinsanity” that “the MVP of the regular season has more weight than a championship” when it comes to player’s career résumé.
Tracy McGrady Agrees With KD That MVP Holds More Weight Than NBA Championship
Vince Carter was actually regurgitating something that the great Kevin Durant said on the “Fred VanVleet” podcast recently. He asked McGrady if he agreed with KD.
“Hell yeah. Why wouldn’t it?” McGrady answered.
Vince Carter wasn’t too sold on that and went on to explain how the greatest players ever also tend to have multiple rings.
“We talk about the totality of a player’s career, even when you talk about Hall of Fame or best players, first thing you say is ‘oh but he didn’t get a ring or he got a ring [as the determining factor],” Carter said.
To which McGrady replied:
“Name the 10th or 11th player on the Chicago Bulls, or the Los Angeles Lakers, or the Detroit Pistons or the Boston Celtics. Who are they? Any of those (championship) teams. Name me the 11th or 12th guy. He has a ring and you can’t even think of him. He has a ring but he doesn’t have an MVP. Can he win an MVP? Absolutely not.”
Carter chimed in with more support for McGrady, who continued:
“It holds more weight than a championship. MVP … that’s you putting in some work. Against all of the great players that played the same 82 games and played the same teams three and four times. I’m going with the MVP. We all want to win a championship, but that’s a collective thing. That MVP is individual getting it done.”
Did McGrady Win NBA Title Or MVP?
T-Mac was a gifted seven-time All-NBA selection and a two-time scoring champion (2003, 2004). One could say he came closer to winning an MVP than an NBA title. McGrady was in the mix of several MVP races — including 2004, 2005, and 2007, but his best finish was second place in 2004 behind Shaquille O’Neal. Vince Carter is known as the greatest in-game dunker in NBA history and played a ton of seasons.
NBA Fans Don’t Agree With Tracy McGrady
Most fans attacked McGrady’s credentials, implying that he wasn’t qualified to speak on this topic with any authority.
“Has a player that won both ever said this?” one fan asked.
“How would he know? He never won either,” added another fan on X.
“I guarantee you if you asked Malone or Barkley or Rose or Nash. If they’d trade an MVP for a championship. They’d all do it in a heartbeat,” one user commented, speaking on behalf of several legendary MVPs who are haunted by never winning a ring.
“Of course, broke back Mac would say This. Lame ass couldn’t get out of the 1st round, and a finals MVP holds more weight than a league MVP,” one netizen said, while blasting T-Mac’s playoff shortcomings and health issues.
“I think if you’ve won neither you shouldn’t chime in on this one,” said one dismissive X user.
“Lmao unless you’ve got an MVP and a ring, nobody cares what you have to say,” one fan said, before another chimed in, “It’s always the ppl with no rings lol.”
Vince Carter & Tracy McGrady Are NBA Legends Without MVP or Rings
Both Vince and McGrady have played enough basketball at the highest level that their knowledge of the game can’t be questioned. However, debates such as these are more opinion-based. But with Carter and McGrady both ending careers without hardware or MVPs, most fans felt they weren’t any more qualified than the people reacting to the podcast to determine which award holds more weight.
That would be a better question for folks such as Steph Curry, LeBron James, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Nikola Jokić, who all have won both.
