Tracy McGrady

Tracy Lamar McGrady Jr. (born May 24, 1979), nicknamed T-Mac, is an American former professional basketball player, best known for his career in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

McGrady was born on May 24, 1979, in Bartow, Florida, to Melanise Williford.

Because his father was not a part of their everyday lives, Melanise raised McGrady with the help of her mother, Roberta, in Auburndale.

As a youth, McGrady played high school basketball and baseball at Auburndale High School for three years before transferring to Mount Zion Christian Academy in Durham, North Carolina for his senior season.

During his final year at Auburndale, McGrady posted averages of 23.1 points, 12.2 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4.9 blocks per game.

A relatively unknown player coming out of Florida, McGrady made a name for himself after a strong performance at the Adidas ABCD Camp, an experience that helped him recognize his true talent.

He later reflected, "Nobody had a clue who Tracy McGrady was. Sonny Vaccaro gave me that platform, and I played against the best players in the world at that time. I left that camp the No. 1 player in the nation, 175 to No. 1." Behind his leadership, Mt. Zion emerged as the number two-ranked team in the country, and McGrady was named a McDonald's All-American, USA Today High School Basketball Player of the Year, and North Carolina's Mr. Basketball by the Associated Press.

McGrady entered the NBA straight out of high school and was selected as the ninth overall pick by the Toronto Raptors in the 1997 NBA draft.

Beginning his career as a low-minute player, he gradually improved his role with the team, eventually forming a duo with his cousin Vince Carter.

He also played at the 1997 Roundball Classic, scoring 13 points.

His senior year averages were 27.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, 7.7 assists, 2.8 steals, and 2 blocks per game.

Initially, McGrady considered playing college basketball at the University of Kentucky, but he ultimately decided to enter the NBA draft as he was a projected lottery pick.

McGrady was selected as the ninth overall pick by the Toronto Raptors in the 1997 NBA draft.

For most of the 1997–98 season, he received little playing time, averaging only 13 minutes per game under head coach Darrell Walker.

McGrady has described his rookie year as "hell", feeling lonely in Toronto and sleeping for up to 20 hours a day.

Late in the season, Walker resigned, and McGrady began playing more under new coach Butch Carter, who agreed to increase McGrady's minutes on the condition that McGrady would improve his work ethic.

Before the lockout-shortened 1998–99 season, the Raptors drafted McGrady's second cousin once removed, Vince Carter.

The two became inseparable; teammate Dee Brown once said, "They say they're cousins ... But Siamese twins is more like it."

By the 1999–2000 season, the duo had developed a reputation for their athleticism, giving memorable performances at the All-Star Weekend Slam Dunk Contest.

McGrady, now playing significant minutes, was a contender for the Sixth Man of the Year Award before being elevated to Toronto's starting backcourt in late March.

On April 4, in what would be one of his last regular season games in Toronto, McGrady scored a tenure-high 28 points in a loss against the Pistons.

Behind McGrady and Carter's play, the Raptors finished the season with a 45–37 record, qualifying for the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

McGrady's final averages were 15.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and a career-high 1.9 blocks per game.

In the first round of the postseason, the Raptors were swept by the New York Knicks.

In 2000, he left the Raptors for the Orlando Magic, where he became one of the league's most prolific scorers and a candidate for the NBA Most Valuable Player Award.

Following Toronto's first-round exit, McGrady became a free agent and signed with the Orlando Magic on August 3, 2000 through a sign-and-trade deal that sent a future 2005 1st round draft pick (Fran Vázquez was later selected) to the Raptors.

He signed a seven-year, $92.8 million contract with the Magic.

He elected to join the Magic in part because he disliked his secondary role playing behind Vince Carter, in part so that he could return home to Florida, and in part to play with their other newly acquired free agent, Grant Hill.

Hill would go on to play in only 47 games total throughout his tenure with the team, forcing McGrady into a more significant leadership and scoring role than anticipated.

During the 2000–01 season, McGrady defied the expectations of many, emerging as one of the best players in the NBA, with Milwaukee Bucks General Manager Ernie Grunfeld going so far as to call him "one of the top five talents in the league".

McGrady's play earned him his first All-Star Game appearance and, behind averages of 26.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game, he was selected to his first All-NBA Team, being named to the All-NBA Second Team.

He was also voted the league's Most Improved Player.

With a 43–39 record, the Magic entered the playoffs as the East's seventh seed, drawing a matchup with the Bucks.

McGrady is a seven-time NBA All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection, two-time NBA scoring champion, and winner of the NBA Most Improved Player Award in 2001.

In 2004, he was traded to the Houston Rockets, where he paired with center Yao Ming to help the Rockets become a perennial playoff team.

His final seasons in the NBA were plagued by injuries, and he retired in 2013 following a brief stint with the Qingdao DoubleStar Eagles of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and the San Antonio Spurs.

Since retiring, McGrady has worked as a basketball analyst for ESPN.

From April to July 2014, he realized his dream of playing professional baseball, pitching for the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.

He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2017.

McGrady is regarded as one of the greatest scorers and shooting guards in NBA history.