O'Neal: If McGrady replaced Kobe and teamed up with me, we could also achieve a three-peat. If I partnered with Curry, we could win six championships.

On July 19, Beijing time, O'Neal responded to previous comments made by Arenas and McGrady on a podcast, agreeing with McGrady's viewpoint that if McGrady replaced Kobe and partnered with him, they could indeed win three consecutive championships. O'Neal also added that if he could team up with Curry, they could secure six titles.

The host asked O'Neal, "There has been a saying that when Kobe won three championships, he was often compared to McGrady, who has none. Arenas said, 'People don’t respect the second-in-command; they only respect the top guy. The second-in-command is like a passenger,' which implies that you are the top guy and Kobe is the passenger. Do you think this statement is fair and accurate? After all, you played alongside Kobe at that time."

O'Neal replied, "Often, a statement can be interpreted positively or negatively. What he said is actually correct, but Kobe isn’t just any 'passenger'; that’s what makes him special. Now I can say, it doesn’t really matter who is the team leader, but you should never mistake who the true leader is. That said, he’s right; people do respect Kobe."

"This debate is quite pointless. Kobe was crucial to my three championships; I couldn't have done it alone. In some series, his contribution was even greater than mine. I did what I was supposed to do, but if he didn’t do his part, could we have won three championships? It’s hard to say.I can confidently say I could win one championship alone, but three? Absolutely not.After I left, it was also difficult for him to win another title. Later, they brought in two seven-footers (Gasol and Bynum), which helped him achieve what I had done at that time, assisting him in winning two more championships."

"So Arenas is right; it just might be interpreted negatively. Many fans say, 'You won three championships because of Shaq,' while others say, 'You won three because of Kobe.' I often see posts saying, 'You say Shaq carried Kobe, then show Kobe's stats saying he averaged more than I did.' We accomplished each other’s success, just like a combination punch."

"For a long time, I’ve never seen a fighter knock out an opponent with just one hand. I’ve seen various fighting styles, where they set up first and then suddenly strike; I’ve also seen them build up multiple times before exploding. We are like that—sometimes I take the lead, sometimes he does, and in some games, we both contribute together. At critical moments, I would step up, and he would rise to the occasion too."

"Tracy McGrady is not wrong; I’ve always thought so. Just think, if the roles were reversed... So let me ask you, do you think if I teamed up with McGrady, we could win three consecutive championships?"

"I officially declare that McGrady is a tough character. But you have to understand, when McGrady is alone on the court, he doesn’t have much room to operate. Our guys had enough space to play because there were three people focused on me. Yes, three people were guarding me. McGrady was always double-teamed, even sometimes triple-teamed. As for Kobe, Kenny Smith often says that Kobe hardly faced double or triple teams; he could move freely on the court and play as he wished. So I think McGrady is right; he is indeed a tough player; I believe what Arenas said too, but it might have been misinterpreted negatively. However, McGrady is definitely a tough character, no doubt about it."

"McGrady's scoring ability is top-notch; he can score at will. Remember that game against the Spurs? That classic moment when he hit four three-pointers in a few seconds. McGrady is indeed a tough player, but he really had little room to operate at that time. I agree with what McGrady said; some might criticize him, butI’ve always believed that if I teamed up with McGrady, we could win three consecutive championships; with Vince (Carter), we could win two; and with Stephen (Curry), I believe we could win six.""