Tracy McGrady

Tracy Lamar McGrady, Jr., (born May 24, 1979, in Bartow, Florida) is an American professional basketball player, who is currently a free agent. He is a shooting guard, but can also play as a small forward. He is commonly referred to as "T-Mac".

Entering the league after graduating from high school, McGrady eventually became a seven-time All-Star and a seven-time All-NBA Team member. He led the league in scoring in 2003 and 2004. He spent the first seven years of his career with the Toronto Raptors and Orlando Magic before being traded to the Houston Rockets in 2004. He spent 6 years with the Rockets before being traded to the New York Knicks in 2010. McGrady's style of play has been compared to that of George Gervin.^[1]

Early years

Tracy McGrady played high school basketball at Auburndale High School in Auburndale, Florida for three years. He then transferred to Mount Zion Christian Academy, in Durham, North Carolina. McGrady created a national buzz after his performance in the Adidas ABCD Camp, where the best high school players in the U.S. are invited annually. He was named High School Player of the Year by USA Today.

NBA career

Toronto Raptors (1997•2000)

McGrady was drafted ninth overall in the first round of the 1997 NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors.

In McGrady's first two seasons with the Raptors, he averaged less than 10 points per game, mainly coming off the bench. In his second season, he began playing alongside his third cousin, Vince Carter, who would go on to win the Rookie of the Year Award that season. The 1999•2000 season was McGrady's first breakout season in the NBA. He was a starter in 34 games out of 79, averaging 15.4 points per game, and a career-high 1.9 blocks per game. McGrady also competed in the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest, finishing third, behind Carter and Steve Francis.

In 2000, the duo of McGrady and Carter helped lead the Raptors to the playoffs, for the first time in franchise history. However, the team was swept 3•0 by the New York Knicks in the first round. McGrady was often overshadowed by Carter during his time in Toronto, and he became a free agent in the summer of 2000. In the off-season, he expressed interest in playing for family and friends in his home state of Florida.

Orlando Magic (2000•2004)

On August 3, 2000, McGrady was dealt to the Orlando Magic in a sign-and-trade deal for a first round pick. In Orlando, he played alongside Grant Hill, who had been acquired that summer in hope of bringing Orlando back among the Eastern Conference's elite teams. However, ankle injury limited Hill to only 4 games and McGrady became the leader and 1st scoring option of the team. For the first time in his career McGrady was selected as an All-Star when he was voted by the fans to start in the midseason classic for the Eastern Conference. At season's end he was presented with the 2001 NBA Most Improved Player Award. Even though McGrady had elevated his game from solid contributor to star, the Magic were ousted in the first round of the playoffs by the Milwaukee Bucks.

The following season, McGrady continued his great play. With Hill struggling with injuries, the Magic were a one-man show. He made his second All-Star team and First Team All-NBA while averaging 26 points per game. The Magic posted a 44•38 record for the year but they were beat again in the first round of the playoffs, this time by the Charlotte Hornets.

In the 2002•03 season, McGrady averaged 32.1 points per game and captured the NBA scoring title, becoming the youngest player to do so since the ABA-NBA merger. Despite McGrady's personal accolades, the Magic failed to reach the second round of the playoffs. In a rather infamous moment, during the 2003 NBA Playoffs, the Magic (who were an #8 seed) surprisingly took a 3•1 series lead against the heavily favored #1 seed Detroit Pistons. Prior to the fifth game in Detroit, McGrady was quoted as saying that how wonderful it was to "finally be in the position to advance to the second round (of the playoffs)". Orlando, however, lost Games 5, 6, and 7 by an average of more than 20 points, and Detroit advanced to the second round.

In the 2003•04 season, he once again captured the NBA scoring title, averaging 28 points per game, and set a career high with 62 points against the Washington Wizards on March 10, 2004. With this performance, he became the fourth player in the past 12 years to score over 60 points in a game.

Houston Rockets (2004•2010)

On June 29, 2004, McGrady, Juwan Howard, Tyronn Lue, and Reece Gaines were traded to the Houston Rockets in a seven-player deal that sent Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley, and Kelvin Cato to the Magic. In his first year with the Houston Rockets, McGrady teamed with 7' 6" center Yao Ming, to end the season ranked 5th in the Western Conference. On December 9, 2004, he scored 13 points in the last 33 seconds of a game against the San Antonio Spurs, with four consecutive 3 pointers (one of which was part of a four-point play), including a steal and the game-winning 3 pointer with 1.7 seconds left in the game that helped the Rockets win 81•80.^[2][3]

The Rockets first season with McGrady started off slowly as they struggled to find a compatible point guard to play with McGrady's skill set in the backcourt. The solution was found when they named Bob Sura, who was returning from an injury, played well enough to earn the starting PG job. The Rockets traded Tyronn Lue for Jon Barry for 3-point shooting off the bench. The Rockets also acquired David Wesley from the Hornets to bolster their backcourt defense, particularly on smaller guards. With these new trades, McGrady was moved to SF, with a starting lineup of Bob Sura, David Wesley, Juwan Howard, and Yao Ming. The Rockets then ran the offense through McGrady, utilized the inside game of Yao, and used the perimeter game of Howard's baseline jumper and 3-point shooting effectively. The Rockets finished the 2004•05 season 51•31 as the 5th seed in the playoffs.

Despite McGrady's stellar play in the first round of the 2005 NBA Playoffs where he averaged 30.7 ppg, 6.7 asg, and 7.4 rpg, Houston was eliminated by the Dallas Mavericks in game seven by 40 points, despite having a 2•0 lead to start the series. McGrady missed 6 of his first 7 shots in Game 7 and the Rockets were never able to match the intensity of the Dallas Mavericks. McGrady's signature moment in the Dallas playoffs series was in Game 2, where he blew past Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki and dunked over Dallas center Shawn Bradley

In the early 2005•06 season, McGrady missed eight games because of multiple back spasms. His back problems resurfaced on January 8, 2006 when he had to be taken out at halftime in a game against the Denver Nuggets on a stretcher to the hospital because of severe back spasms. He had been out for five games. Since his return, the spasms have still been a problem for McGrady. In the 2005•06 season the Rockets were 2•15 in games he did not play in and 2•16 in games McGrady did not finish. While McGrady was injured for five games with his back injury, the Rockets did not win a single game. Other injuries include him falling on his back in a game against the Indiana Pacers.Tracy McGrady, being guarded by Roger Mason, Jr. of the Washington Wizards. Despite his back injuries, McGrady was voted into the 2006 All-Star Game in Houston. His western conference teammates constantly put the ball in his hands to put him in contention for the All-Star MVP award in front of his Houston home crowd. A controversy resulted in the final minute when McGrady attempted a jump shot that would have given the West the lead and control of the game. Replays showed LeBron James, who was guarding McGrady appearing to make contact with McGrady's elbow, causing the shot attempt to fall way short of the basket. However, no foul was whistled, the East won, and LeBron James was named All-Star MVP.

In the 2006•07 season, McGrady started out slowly, and after missing 7 games with back spasms he visited a doctor. In an interview with TNT, McGrady said that he thought that his body was slowing down. He believed that he could no longer be as explosive as he was in the past due to his back injury. Shortly after another bout with back spasms, McGrady went to Waco, Texas where Dr. John Patterson performed "Synergy Release Therapy" to cure his chronic back problems, particularly the back spasms.^[4] However, since Yao Ming was having another breakout season, he was deferring to Yao as the number one option.^[5] Since Yao went down with a leg injury, McGrady stepped up his overall play, re-establishing himself as one of the game's premier players and by doing so led Houston to the 5th best record in the league. On December 29, 2006, he became the third youngest player in NBA history to reach 14,000 points and 4,000 rebounds.^[6] However, in the playoffs, the Rockets lost their first round series to the Utah Jazz 4•3, again preventing McGrady from advancing to the second round of the playoffs. A tear fell down his cheek during the press-conference after losing game seven 103•99 to the Utah Jazz in the 2007 Playoffs.^[7] Prior to the series with the Jazz, McGrady had stated in an interview with Stephen A. Smith that if he and the Rockets failed to make it out of the first round again, it was "on me".^[8]

After the 2006•07 season, following the Rockets first round playoff defeat, Jeff Van Gundy was fired as head coach by Rockets management. Rick Adelman was hired as head coach as Rockets owner Leslie Alexander wanted a more uptempo offense to utilize the offensive skill set of Yao and McGrady.

The 2007•08 season for the Rockets was decimated by injuries, most notable Yao Ming being placed on injured reserve in February. Incredibly, the Rockets won 22 straight games (10 without Yao). The Rockets finished as the 5th seed in the West and earned a rematch with the Utah Jazz. However, by the time playoffs came, McGrady was already nursing shoulder and knee injuries as he had bandages placed on his shoulder knee throughout the playoff series. The Jazz again eliminated the Rockets in six games, despite McGrady recording 40 points and 10 rebounds in the decisive Game Six, a 113•91 loss.^[9]

On February 18, 2009, McGrady announced on his website that he would have surgery on his left knee and miss the remainder of the 2008•09 season. He had already missed 18 games before the All-Star break, including a two-week stretch in January, and said before the season that his knee was not healed from his off-season surgery. Head coach Rick Adelman, who found out about the announcement when he read the newspaper in the morning, criticized McGrady for not informing the team of the decision.^[10] He decided to have microfracture surgery in Chicago on February 24, 2009. Despite McGrady being on injured reserve, the Rockets beat the Trail Blazers 4•2 in the first round of the playoffs to advance in the playoffs for the first time since 1997. The Rockets would compete in a memorable series against the eventual NBA champion LA Lakers, before losing Game 7 in LA. The Rockets lost Yao Ming to a foot injury after Game 3, yet the Rockets employed a spread "smallball" style to beat the Lakers in Game 4 and Game 6 without Yao or McGrady. Since McGrady was on the Rockets' roster during the 2009 playoffs, he officially advanced past the first round of the playoffs for the first time in his career.

New York Knicks (2010-present)

On February 18, 2010, McGrady was traded to the New York Knicks as part of a 3-team trade involving Houston, New York, and the Sacramento Kings.^[11] On Saturday, February 20, 2010, McGrady made his debut as a Knick as the New York Knicks faced the Oklahoma City Thunder at home.^[12] He scored 26 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, and dished 5 assists in 32 minutes of play as New York lost in an overtime thriller.^[13] This was McGrady's first game since Wednesday, December 23, 2009 against the Orlando Magic.^[14] It was also his first 26-point game since Friday, January 9, 2009, when he had 26 for the Rockets against the Thunder in Oklahoma City. That game took place about a month before his season-ending microfracture surgery.^[15] McGrady has stated he may retire if he cannot recover from his surgery and be in shape to play after his summer training. ^[16]

Personal life

McGrady has four children—daughters Layla Clarice, Laycee Aloe, and sons Laymen Lamar, Layden—with his wife CleRenda Harris, whom he had dated for 10 years. Their first son was born on December 27, 2005 during a 82•74 loss against the Utah Jazz in which McGrady left during halftime to see his girlfriend going into labor.^[17] The couple were married on September 12, 2006 in Mexico. McGrady and Vince Carter are third cousins; McGrady learned that his grandmother and Carter's grandmother were cousins at a family reunion while he was still in high school and Carter played at the University of North Carolina.^[18] The two played together with the Toronto Raptors for two years before McGrady left for free agency. After McGrady left, he and Carter had a short feud- but this was resolved in a short period of time.^[19]

Tracy's younger brother, Chancellor "Chance" McGrady, played for the 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Runner-Up Memphis Tigers basketball team, but saw limited playing time throughout his collegiate career.

In 2002, McGrady signed a longterm partnership with Adidas, agreeing to an endorsement deal that will last through his playing career and beyond.^[20] He also appeared on the cover of NBA Live 07.

In 2008, McGrady was criticized for his comments on the All-Star game being held in New Orleans, only 3 years removed from the destruction of Hurricane Katrina. McGrady publicly questioned the quality of public safety and protection of NBA players. ^[21] His critics^[who?] pointed out that McGrady makes annual trips to Asia during the NBA offseason for his promotional campaigns with Adidas.^{[citation needed]}

McGrady has traveled to the Darfurian refugee camps in Chad with John Prendergast and Omer Ismail of the ENOUGH Project. McGrady is actively recruiting NBA players to support a sister schools initiative linking schools in Darfurian refugee camps to American middle schools, high schools and universities.

In 2009, McGrady changed his jersey number to #3. He made the switch to promote his humanitarian efforts in the Darfur region of the Sudan and a documentary on his summer 2007 visits to refugee camps in the region. The documentary is called 3 Points.^[22]

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

NBA career achievements

• 2× NBA scoring leader: 2003 (32.1), 2004 (28.0)
• 7× NBA All-Star: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
• 7× All-NBA:

• First Team: 2002, 2003
• Second Team: 2001, 2004, 2007
• Third Team: 2005, 2008

• NBA Most Improved Player Award: 2001

Orlando Magic franchise records

• All-Time Free Throws Made (1,819)
• Most points in one game with 62 (March 10, 2004 vs. Washington Wizards)
• Most points in one half with 37 in the first half (March 9, 2003 vs. Denver Nuggets)
• Most points in one quarter with 25 in the second quarter (March 9, 2003 vs. Denver Nuggets)
• Most free throws made in one game with 18 (December 25, 2002 vs. Detroit Pistons)
• Most points in a playoff game with 46 (in Game 2 of the 2003 Eastern Conference playoffs, First Round vs. Detroit Pistons)
• Most three-point field goals made in one half with 8 (January 26, 2004 vs. Cleveland Cavaliers)

Career achievements

• Career 40+ point games (regular season): 45
• Career 50+ point games (regular season): 4
• Career 60+ point games (regular season): 1
• Career triple-doubles (regular season): 4
• Shares NBA record for most three-point field goals made in one half with 8 (January 26, 2004 Orlando vs. Cleveland)

See also

• List of individual National Basketball Association scoring leaders by season
• List of National Basketball Association players with 60 or more points in a game

References

1. ^ "That Was Then ... This Is Now: Iceman and T-Mac". NBA.com. 2003-01-27. http://www.nba.com/allstar2003/then_now_gervin_mcgrady.html. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
2. ^ "McGrady's Big Finish Sends Rockets Past Spurs". NBA.com. 2004-12-09. http://www.nba.com/games/20041209/SASHOU/recap.html. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
3. ^ Tracy McGrady: 13 points in 33 seconds at YouTube
4. ^ "Back treatment has McGrady feeling good". Chron.com. 2006-12-29. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/4432126.html. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
5. ^ (TNT) McGrady discusses 2007 All-Star Game Selection at YouTube
6. ^ Tracy McGrady Info Page - Bio, NBA.com, accessed 2008-01-28.
7. ^ "Jazz deliver Rockets first franchise Game 7 loss at home". ESPN.com. 2007-05-05. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=270505010. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
8. ^ "Tracy McGrady Takes Responsibility". sports.aol.com. 2007-05-01. http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2007/05/01/tracy-mcgrady-takes-responsibility. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
9. ^ "Third-quarter surge sends Jazz into Western Conference semis". Associated Press. May 2 2008. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=280502026.
10. ^ Duncan, Chris (February 18 2009). "McGrady says he's out for season with knee injury". Associated Press. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i02FY-RwvL1srw7F8gqUY_B8dsIAD96E839O1.
11. ^ "Knicks Acquire Seven-Time All-Star Tracy McGrady". NBA.com. 2010-02-18. http://www.nba.com/knicks/news/mcgrady_trade.html. Retrieved 2010-02-19.
12. ^ http://www.nba.com/games/20100220/OKCNYK/gameinfo.html?ls=iref:nbahpt2
13. ^ http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap;_ylt=Ar5AZjOXsaiKpH2vtPzB.6y8vLYF?gid=2010022018&prov=ap
14. ^ http://blog.taragana.com/sports/2010/02/20/mcgrady-scores-26-points-in-knicks-debut-but-durant-has-36-in-thunders-8th-straight-win-77735/
15. ^ "Kevin Durant, Thunder spoil Tracy McGrady's Knicks debut". USA Today. 2010-02-21. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/2010-02-20-knicks-thunder_N.htm. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
16. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/nba/news/story?id=5092348
17. ^ Okur, Jazz take advantage of McGrady-less Rockets 82-74
18. ^ "Raptors' Skywalker Cousins". TheCanadianEncyclopedia.com. 1999-04-26. http://thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=M1ARTM0011949. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
19. ^ "Vince, Tracy no longer a family feud". ESPN.com. 2001-01-23. http://static.espn.go.com/nba/columns/stein/1034855.html. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
20. ^ "NBA marketers look for next Mike". USAToday.com. 2002-05-27. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/nba/stories/2002-05-28-endorsements.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
21. ^ http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/4591942.html
22. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4324833

External links

• Tracy McGrady's Official Website
• NBA.com profile

Categories: 1979 births | African American basketball players | Living people | Houston Rockets players | McDonald's High School All-Americans | National Basketball Association high school draftees | New York Knicks players | Orlando Magic players | People from Florida | Toronto Raptors draft picks | Toronto Raptors players | Shooting guards | Small forwards