Tracy McGrady
Teams
Toronto Raptors - 1997-00
Orlando Magic - 2000-04
Houston Rockets - 2004-10
New York Knicks - 2010
Detroit Pistons - 2010-11
Atlanta Hawks - 2011-12
San Antonio Spurs - 2013
Playoffs
Appearances - 9 (2000,2001,2002,2003,2005,2007,2008,2012,2013)
Conference Finals - 1 (2013)
NBA Finals - 1 (2013)
Championships - 0
Awards and Honors
All-NBA First Team - 2 (2002,2003)
All-NBA Second Team - 3 (2001,2002,2004,2005,2007)
All-NBA Third Team - 2 (2005,2008)
Hall of Fame - 2017
*(actual in bold, deserved in italics)
All-Time Ranks
Total Points - #75
Points Per Game - #77
League Leads
Total Points (#2-2003, #3-2004, #4-2002)
Points Per Game (#1-2003,2004, #4-2002)
Three-Pointers Made (#4-2004, #5-2003)
Tracy McGrady had a dominant senior year in high school, averaging 27.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 7.7 assists per game for a nationally ranked team, which got him enough attention that he decided to skip college and jump straight to the NBA, where he was the #9 overall pick by the Toronto Raptors.
He didn't get much playing time during his first two seasons, but he earned a starting spot late in his third season, and went on to finish with averages of 15.4 points and 6.3 rebounds while helping his cousin Vince Carter lead the Raptors to their first-ever playoff appearance. After that season, McGrady left Toronto to join the Orlando Magic, who had also signed Grant Hill that summer.
When Hill suffered an ankle injury early in the season, the Magic became McGrady's team, and he stepped up big time. He made the All-NBA Second Team after averaging 26.8 points and 7.5 rebounds, and was named the league's Most Improved Player as well. The Magic reached the playoffs, but as was the story for most of McGrady's career, they were eliminated in the first round.
The next year, he had very similar numbers to those of his first year in Orlando, but was still voted to the All-NBA First Team. His third year in Orlando was his masterpiece. He led the league in scoring, with 32.1 per game, along with 6.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists, and led the Magic to a 3-1 lead in the first round of the playoffs, but they once again failed to advance to the second round.
The 2003-04 season was a rough one in Orlando, with a lot of players missing time with injuries, a coach getting fired, and McGrady feuding with management, and it led to the Magic finishing with the worst record in the East, even with McGrady repeating as the league scoring leader. After the season, he was traded to the Houston Rockets.
In Houston, he joined young star Yao Ming in leading the Rockets to the #3 record in the West, averaging 25.7 points along the way, but the team still fell in the first round, getting blown out by Dallas in Game 7. Sadly, it would be the final season where McGrady was fully healthy.
He missed nearly half of the season in 2005-06, and the Rockets missed the playoffs as a result. Treatment started working the next season, and he was able to play most of the season, but lost to Utah in 7 games in the first round of the playoffs. They had a rematch with the Jazz the next season, but again failed to advance.
He had surgery on his shoulder and knee right after that playoff loss, and it caused him to miss quite a bit of time early in the season before it was determined that he would need season-ending surgery on the knee. That season, the Rockets were finally able to advance past the first round, but with McGrady on the bench in street clothes.
He attempted to come back the next season, but after a few games, the Rockets decided to stop using him and focus on trading him, and they were finally able to trade him to the Knicks. After short stints in New York, Detroit, and Atlanta, each with diminishing returns, McGrady left the NBA to play in China.
After having a solid regular season in China, McGrady signed with the San Antonio Spurs for the 2013 playoffs, and it would be his only foray past the first round of the playoffs. They advanced to the NBA Finals, and McGrady played sparingly in every round, and he ended up playing 31 total minutes in the playoffs without scoring a single point. He retired after the season.
For a while there, McGrady was one of the best scorers the league had seen. He had 7 straight seasons scoring at least 24 points per game split between his time in Orlando and Houston, but he was never able to get a team to advance in the playoffs, though he almost never had another star-level teammate who was healthy at the same time as him. Even without almost zero playoff success, his amazing scoring prowess is enough to earn him a spot as one of the greatest players of all time.
No comments:
Post a Comment