Tracy McGrady went from a promising start with Toronto and Orlando to playing for five other NBA teams over the next decade. He finished his career without winning a championship.
Tracy McGrady, AKA T-Mac, played basketball at Florida’s Auburndale High School before transferring to North Carolina’s Mt. Zion Christian Academy for his senior year. After gaining national attention there, he was drafted by the Toronto Raptors ninth overall in the 1997 NBA draft.
McGrady in Toronto (photo, Mill Creek Sports)
Making the team and playing well, McGrady averaged seven PPG on 18 MPG off the bench in the 1997-1998 season. But he didn’t get playoff experience until his third year (1999-2000), when the Knicks swept the Raptors in the first round. It wasn’t because of McGrady, though: he contributed 17 PPG on 37 MPG play.
Then McGrady was expected to leave Toronto to join forces in Orlando with two other stars on the move, Grant Hill (Pistons) and Tim Duncan (Spurs). Anticipation aside, the move set didn’t happen because the Magic rejected Dunan’s stream of requests. Hill and McGrady opted in, and McGrady’s performance level from the previous year in Toronto increased by 12 PPG. Again, though, his team got bounced in the first round (Bucks this time).
What might have been an episode of getting to the playoffs but not winning a series became a pattern. The Magic were first-round losers again in the 2002 and 2003 seasons, but (as before) McGrady produced (e.g., 32 PPG in 2003).
The Magic’s challenge was playing a large share of games without Grant Hill. Hill played only 47 regular-season games and missed all the playoff games. That left Tracy to carry the team.
McGrady ended his tenure with Orlando after the 2003-2004 season and joined the Houston Rockets via a trade. The venue change didn’t change the pattern. Even when teamed with Chinese big man, Yao Ming, the Rockets were ousted that year in the first round of the playoffs.
Despite his individual brilliance, McGrady’s teams often lacked depth and, most importantly, health. That meant that good teams weren’t great, and squads couldn’t advance when it came playoff time.
McGrady persisted, playing for four other teams (Knicks, Pistons, Hawks, and Spurs) until he called it a career after the 2013 season. That said, after 2010, he never averaged double-digit in points. Consequently, his playing time slowly declined. He averaged 13 minutes a game in 2012, which was a shart decline for a player who averaged 30+ MPG for most of his pro career.
He had a chance to capture a ring in his final NBA season with the Spurs. He joined the team in the playoffs following a stint playing in China, but San Antonio lost to the Miami Heat in the Finals. McGrady didn’t return the next season, when (of all things) he missed embracing the Holy Grail. The Spurs reversed seats with the Heat and won the NBA crown.
Still, all in all, Tracy McGrady had a great career. He came out of the shoot fast, winning the 2001 Most Improved Player Award. Then he went on to nab two NBA scoring titles, make seven All-Star appearances, and be named to four All-NBA teams (two on the first team).
Tracy McGrady is an NBA legend. But NBA fans know there’s a brutal reality in the league. It’s having career glory measured by the number of rings on a player’s finger. McGrady fell far short on that score … he has none.
