Flashback ten years ago, and you will meet a 23 year old rising
NBA star, Tracy McGrady. Just 6 years into his NBA career, McGrady was already
featured in SLAM Magazine’s “Top 75 Players of All-Time,” and was a human
highlight real who posterized defenders, hit clutch shots, and scored at will.
Ten years later, Tracy McGrady is a 7 time NBA All-Star, 2 time Scoring
Champion, 2 time All-NBA First Team member, and up until April 16, 2013, a
member the Chinese Basketball Association’s Qingado Eagles. However, today is a
new day for Tracy McGrady, as the San Antonio Spurs made an end of the season
free agent pickup to add the 33 year old former super-star to there roster to
compete for an NBA championship. Now that McGrady has finally landed on the
number 2 seed Spurs, many critics are already asking “will Tracy McGrady rise
up to the occasion and get his first NBA tittle, or will his previous injuries
come back to haunt him, and send him into permanent retirement?”
To understand why the Spurs made sports headlines across the
world with there acquisition of Tracy McGrady, any reader must understand who
Tracy McGrady is, and what he has accomplished. Coming straight out of high
school, McGrady was selected with the 9th overall pick of the 1997 NBA Draft by
the Toronto Raptors. Playing alongside his third cousin, Vince Carter, McGrady
participated in the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest, averaged 15.4 points per game, and
even lead the Raptors to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.
His tenure in Toronto only lasted 3 seasons, as in 2000 the Orlando Magic
traded for McGrady in exchange for a first round pick. Immediately, McGrady
took over the Orlando Magic while earning himself an All-Star selection, his
second playoff appearance, and the NBA’s Most Improved Player award. The
following season McGrady advanced to the playoffs yet again, and even was
selected to his second All-Star game, and first appearance on the All-NBA First
Team. If his progression hasn’t impressed critics yet, McGrady silenced them in
the 2002-2003 season. Besides making the All-NBA First Team and All-Star team
again, McGrady made history by averaging an astonishing 32.1 points per game to
successfully capture the NBA scoring tittle, making him the youngest player to
do so since the merger of the NBA and ABA in 1976. From then on, McGrady played
one more season in Orlando where he again captured the NBA scoring tittle, and
scored a career high 62 points in a single game.
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| T-Mac returns to the NBA just in time for the playoffs. |
McGrady then got traded to the Houston Rockets in a multi-player
blockbuster deal, which included Steve Francis, Juwan Howard, and more. In
Houston, McGrady expanded his public image through endorsements by Adidas,
staring in several commercials, and appearing on the cover of NBA Live 07. His
game also flourished as McGrady earned himself several more All-Star game
selections, All-NBA Second and Third Team rights, and stellar stats. As McGrady
dominated the regular season, McGrady soon became plagued with unlucky playoff
appearances, and injuries. Tracy was never able to go past the second round
only once in his career. As McGrady continued to fail in the post season, his
body deteriorated at a tremendous rate. Constant knee surgeries and back
problems, McGrady lost his ability to electrify the court like he once did, and
failed to live up to the hype he once created for himself. In 2009 McGrady’s
time in Houston was finally up. He then attempted to resurrect his career in
New York, Detroit and Atlanta. All of these attempts failed, and help make a
strong argument to support that despite McGrady’s early success, he is not
entitled to a Hall of Fame selection.
Let’s fast forward to present day in mid-April 2013, where Tracy McGrady was playing basketball in the Chinese Basketball Association for the Qingado Eagles. Averaging an impressive 25 points per game, 7.2 rebounds per game, and 5.1 assists per game, McGrady proved he was capable of playing the game he once dominated. April 16, 2013, the San Antonio Spurs announced that they signed Tracy McGrady to help them beat out the tough Western Conference, and take the 2013 NBA championship.
The Spurs had a great season, as they currently hold the number 2
seed in the Western Conference. But alike the past three years, the Spurs seem
to be getting worse at the wrong time. The Spurs are bruised up and rattled
from a tough season. The Spurs are lead by two future Hall of Famers, coach
Greg Poppvich and big man Tim Duncan. But beyond those stars, the Spurs main
contributors have shown sudden weakness. Clutch shooting guard Manu Ginobilli
has been rattled up for the past couple of weeks, All-Star point guard Tony
Parker has been injured, and young assets Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green are
showing maturity issues.
Both looking for a championship, the Spurs and Tracy McGrady signed a contract for the remaining of the season on April 17, 2013. McGrady isn’t the player he used to be, and there’s no surprise he’ll be coming off the bench playing limited minutes. However, McGrady’s experience and scoring potential could be extremely helpful in the playoffs. If he’s able to effectively under Popovich’s system, McGrady could give the Spurs anywhere from 8 to 16 points off the bench. These points may not seem that big in playoff time, but for a bench player coming on the court in the mid second and third quarter, these numbers can give the Spurs the push they need to succeed.





