Tracy McGrady From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Tracy McGrady Position Shooting guard / Small Forward Height 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) Weight 226 lb (102.5 kg) League NBA Team Houston Rockets Jersey #1 Born May 24, 1979 (1979-05-24) (age 29) Bartow, Florida Nationality American High school Mount Zion Christian Academy Draft 9th overall, 1997 Toronto Raptors Pro career 1997–present Former teams Toronto Raptors 1997–2000 Orlando Magic 2000–2004 Awards 7-time All-Star 7-time All-NBA Selection 2000–01 NBA Most Improved Player 2-time NBA Scoring Champion Official profile Info Page Tracy Lamar McGrady, Jr (born May 24, 1979, in Bartow, Florida) is an American professional basketball player, currently positioned at starting shooting guard for the Houston Rockets in the National Basketball Association (NBA), but he can also play 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. 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. McGrady was ranked #75 on SLAM magazine's Top 75 NBA Players of All Time in 2003. McGrady has never advanced to the second round of the playoffs in his whole career despite his seven trips to the playoffs: one with the Toronto Raptors, three with the Orlando Magic and three with the Houston Rockets. McGrady's style of play has been compared to that of George Gervin.[1] Tracy McGrady played high school basketball at Auburndale Senior High School in Auburndale, Florida for three years. He then transferred to Mount Zion Christian Academy, in Durham, North Carolina. He would have attended the University of Kentucky had he not entered the NBA right after high school. 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. Contents [hide] 1 NBA career 1.1 Toronto Raptors (1997-2000) 1.2 Orlando Magic (2000-2004) 1.3 Houston Rockets (2004-present) 2 Personal life 3 NBA career statistics 3.1 Regular season 3.2 Playoffs 4 NBA career achievements 4.1 Orlando Magic franchise records 4.2 Career achievements

5 See also 6 References 7 External links [edit] NBA career [edit] Toronto Raptors (1997-2000) McGrady was drafted ninth overall in the first round of the 1997 NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors. Chicago Bulls General Manager Jerry Krause had arranged a draft-day trade to send Scottie Pippen to the Vancouver Grizzlies for the fourth overall selection, which he would have used to draft McGrady. Krause was forced to call off the deal when Michael Jordan threatened to retire if it was made. 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. [edit] Orlando Magic (2000-2004) On August 3, 2000, McGrady was dealt to the Orlando Magic in a sign-and-trade deal. 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 was a one-man show. He made his second All-Star team and First Team All-NBA while averaging 25 a 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

NBA/ABA 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 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. [edit] Houston Rockets (2004-present) In 2004, McGrady joined the Houston Rockets.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] Despite McGrady's play in the first round of the 2005 NBA Playoffs, Houston was eliminated by the Dallas Mavericks in game seven by 40 points. 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 tailbone in a game against the Indiana Pacers. McGradyIn 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] Since Yao Ming was having another breakout season, he was deferring to Yao as the number one option.[5] However, 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 has 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] McGrady is currently under a contract which will end following the 2009–10 NBA season, and the contract is worth an estimated $21.1 million per year.[9] In the 2008 NBA Playoffs, Tracy McGrady and the Houston Rockets were able to push the Jazz to six games without Yao Ming, due to an injury, but still weren't able to get out of the first round. [edit] Personal life McGrady has three children - daughters Layla Clarice, Laycee Aloe and son Laymen Lamar- with his wife CleRenda Harris whom he had dated for 10 years. Their 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. The couple were married on September 12, 2006 in Canada. 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.[10] The two played together with the Toronto Raptors for two years before McGrady was traded. After McGrady left, he and Carter had a short feud, but this was resolved in a short period of time.[11] Tracy has a younger brother Chance McGrady who was a part of the National Finalist Memphis

Tigers basketball team but saw limited playing time. In 2002, McGrady signed a lifetime partnership with Adidas, agreeing to an endorsement deal that will last through his playing career and beyond.[12] He was on the cover of NBA Live 07. [edit] NBA career statistics Legend GP Games played GS Games started MPG Minutes per game FG% Field-goal percentage 3P% 3-point field-goal percentage FT% Free-throw percentage RPG Rebounds per game APG Assists per game SPG Steals per game BPG Blocks per game PPG Points per game Bold Career high [edit] Regular season Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG 1997–98 Toronto 64 17 18.4 .450 .341 .712 4.2 1.5 .8 .9 7.0 1998–99 Toronto 49 2 22.6 .436 .229 .726 5.7 2.3 1.1 1.4 9.3 1999–00 Toronto 79 34 31.2 .451 .277 .707 6.3 3.3 1.1 1.9 15.4 2000–01 Orlando 77 77 40.1 .457 .355 .733 7.5 4.6 1.5 1.5 26.8 2001–02 Orlando 76 76 38.3 .451 .364 .748 7.9 5.3 1.6 1.0 25.6 2002–03 Orlando 75 74 39.4 .457 .386 .793 6.5 5.5 1.6 .8 32.1 2003–04 Orlando 67 67 39.9 .417 .339 .796 6.0 5.5 1.4 .6 28.0 2004–05 Houston 78 78 40.8 .431 .326 .774 6.2 5.7 1.7 .7 25.7 2005–06 Houston 47 47 37.1 .406 .312 .747 6.5 4.8 1.3 .9 24.4 2006–07 Houston 71 71 35.8 .431 .331 .707 5.3 6.5 1.3 .5 24.6 2007–08 Houston 66 62 37.0 .419 .292 .684 5.1 5.9 1.0 .4 21.6 Career 749 605 35.1 .437 .337 .747 6.2 4.7 1.3 .9 22.4 All-Star 7 6 24.6 .500 .351 .619 3.0 3.9 1.6 .4 17.1 [edit] Playoffs Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG 1999–00 Toronto 3 3 37.0 .386 .286 .875 7.0 3.0 1.0 1.0 16.7 2000–01 Orlando 4 4 44.5 .415 .200 .816 6.5 8.3 1.8 1.2 33.8 2001–02 Orlando 4 4 44.5 .462 .313 .739 6.3 5.5 .5 1.8 30.8 2002–03 Orlando 7 7 44.0 .448 .340 .773 6.7 4.7 2.0 .9 31.7 2004–05 Houston 7 7 43.0 .456 .370 .824 7.4 6.7 1.6 1.4 30.7 2006–07 Houston 7 7 40.0 .394 .250 .737 5.9 7.3 .7 .9 25.3 2007–08 Houston 6 6 41.2 .425 .208 .623 8.2 6.8 1.5 .8 27.0 Career 38 38 42.2 .430 .301 .756 6.9 6.2 1.3 1.1 28.5 [edit] NBA career achievements 2-time NBA scoring leader: 2003 (32.1), 2004 (28.0) 7-time NBA All-Star: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 7-time All-NBA: First Team: 2002, 2003 Second Team: 2001, 2004, 2007 Third Team: 2005, 2008 NBA Most Improved Player Award: 2001 [edit] 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 45 (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) [edit] 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): 3 Shares NBA record for most three-point field goals made in one half with 8 (January 26, 2004 Orlando vs. Cleveland) [edit] 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 [edit] References ^ "That Was Then ... This Is Now: Iceman and T-Mac", NBA.com (2003-01-27). Retrieved on 2008-01-28. ^ "McGrady’s Big Finish Sends Rockets Past Spurs", NBA.com (2004-12-09). Retrieved on 2008-01-28. ^ Tracy McGrady: 13 points in 33 seconds at YouTube ^ "Back treatment has McGrady feeling good", Chron.com (2006-12-29). Retrieved on 2008-01-28. ^ (TNT) McGrady discusses 2007 All-Star Game Selection at YouTube ^ Tracy McGrady Info Page - Bio, NBA.com, accessed 2008-01-28. ^ "Jazz deliver Rockets first franchise Game 7 loss at home", ESPN.com (2007-05-05). Retrieved on 2008-01-28. ^ "Tracy McGrady Takes Responsibility", sports.aol.com (2007-05-01). Retrieved on 2008-01-28. ^ HoopsHype - NBA Salaries - Houston Rockets, HoopsHype.com, accessed 2008-01-28. ^ "Raptors' Skywalker Cousins", TheCanadianEncyclopedia.com (1999-04-26). Retrieved on 2008-01-28. ^ "Vince, Tracy no longer a family feud", ESPN.com (2001-01-23). Retrieved on 2008-01-28. ^ "NBA marketers look for next Mike", USAToday.com (2002-05-27). Retrieved on 2008-01-28. [edit] External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tracy McGradyTracy McGrady's Official Website NBA.com profile [show]v • d • eHouston Rockets current roster 0 Brooks | 1 McGrady | 2 Head | 3 Francis | 4 Scola | 8 Strawberry | 11 Yao | 12 Alston | 13 Wafer | 14 Landry | 15 Dorsey | 17 Barry | 19 Harris | 31 Battier | 44 Hayes | 96 Artest | Coach Adelman [show]v • d • e1997 NBA Draft First Round Tim Duncan • Keith Van Horn • Chauncey Billups • Antonio Daniels • Tony Battie • Ron Mercer • Tim Thomas • Adonal Foyle • Tracy McGrady • Danny Fortson • Olivier Saint-Jean • Austin Croshere • Derek Anderson • Maurice Taylor • Kelvin Cato • Brevin Knight • Johnny Taylor • Chris Anstey • Scot Pollard • Paul Grant • Anthony Parker • Ed Gray • Bobby Jackson • Rodrick Rhodes • John Thomas • Charles Smith • Jacque Vaughn • Keith Booth Second Round Serge Zwikker • Mark Sanford • Charles O'Bannon • James Cotton •

Marko Milič • Bubba Wells • Kebu Stewart • James Collins • Marc Jackson • Jerald Honeycutt • Anthony Johnson • Ed Elisma • Jason Lawson • Stephen Jackson • Gordon Malone • Cedric Henderson • God Shammgod • Eric Washington • Alvin Williams • Predrag Drobnjak • Alain Digbeu • Chris Crawford • DeJuan Wheat • C. J. Bruton • Paul Rogers • Mark Blount • Ben Pepper • Nate Erdmann • Roberto Dueñas NBA Drafts 47 • 48 • 49 • 50 • 51 • 52 • 53 • 54 • 55 • 56 • 57 • 58 • 59 • 60 • 61 • 62 • 63 • 64 • 65 • 66 • 67 • 68 • 69 • 70 • 71 • 72 • 73 • 74 • 75 • 76 • 77 78 • 79 • 80 • 81 • 82 • 83 • 84 • 85 • 86 • 87 • 88 • 89 • 90 • 91 • 92 • 93 • 94 • 95 • 96 • 97 • 98 • 99 • 00 • 01 • 02 • 03 • 04 • 05 • 06 • 07 • 08 [show]v • d • eNBA Most Improved Player Award winners 1986: Robertson | 1987: D. Ellis | 1988: Duckworth | 1989: Johnson | 1990: Seikaly | 1991: Skiles | 1992: Ellison | 1993: Jackson | 1994: MacLean | 1995: Barros | 1996: Mureşan | 1997: Austin | 1998: Henderson | 1999: Armstrong | 2000: Rose | 2001: McGrady | 2002: O'Neal | 2003: Arenas | 2004: Randolph | 2005: Simmons | 2006: Diaw | 2007: M. Ellis | 2008: Türkoğlu [show]v • d • eEA Sports NBA Live Cover Athletes '95: 1994 NBA Finals action shot • '96: Shaquille O'Neal • '97: Mitch Richmond • '98: Tim Hardaway • '99: Antoine Walker • '00: Tim Duncan • '01: Kevin Garnett • '02: Steve Francis • '03: Jason Kidd • '04: Vince Carter • '05: Carmelo Anthony • '06: Dwyane Wade, Yuta Tabuse (Japanese cover) • '07: Tracy McGrady, Pau Gasol (Spanish cover), Boris Diaw & Tony Parker (French cover), Dirk Nowitzki (German cover) • '08: Gilbert Arenas, Dirk Nowitzki (German cover) • Andrea Bargnani (Italian cover) • '09: Tony Parker • Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tracy_McGrady" Categories: 1979 births | Living people | African American sportspeople | American basketball players | Houston Rockets players | National Basketball Association high school draftees | Orlando Magic players | People from Florida | Toronto Raptors draft picks | Toronto Raptors players | Shooting guards | Small forwards