Last Updated on September 13, 2024 by Mathew Diekhake
Here’s the information on Tracy McGrady:
- Full Name: Tracy Lamar McGrady Jr.
- Nickname: T-Mac, Pumpkin Head, The Big Sleep
- Nationality: United States
- Age: Born on May 24, 1979
- Hometown: Bartow, Florida
- Wingspan: 7 feet 2 inches (218 cm)
- Weight: 225 lbs (102 kg) during his playing career
- Height: 6 feet 8 inches (203 cm)
- Shoe Size: Size 15 (US)
- Shoe Brand: Adidas Top Ten 2000, Adidas Real Deal, Adidas Silk, Adidas KB8 II, Adidas KB8 III, Adidas Lithicon, Adidas Mad Handle, Adidas Amazing Handle, Adidas Bromium II, Adidas TMac 1, Adidas TMac 2, Adidas TMac 3, Adidas TMac 3.5, Adidas TMac 4, Adidas TMac 4.5, Adidas Team Mac 1, 2 and 3, Adidas TMac 5, Adidas TMac 6 , Adidas TS Lightspeed, Adidas TS Creator.
- Number: #1 (Raptors), #1 (Magic), #1 and #3 (Rockets), #1 (Knicks), #1 (Pistons), #1 (Hawks), #9 (Qingdao DoubleStar Eagles)
- Position: Shooting Guard / Small Forward
- High School: Mount Zion Christian Academy (Durham, North Carolina)
- College: Did not attend college (entered the NBA directly from high school)
- Draft: 1997 NBA Draft, 9th overall pick by the Toronto Raptors
- Teams:
- Toronto Raptors
- Orlando Magic
- Houston Rockets
- New York Knicks
- Detroit Pistons
- Atlanta Hawks
- San Antonio Spurs
- Qingdao DoubleStar Eagles
- 2K Rating: 85 (Raptors) 95 (Magic), 92 (Rockets)
- Rings: 0 NBA Championships as a player
- Accolades:
- NBA Career Achievements:
- 7× NBA All-Star (2001–2007)
- 2× NBA Scoring Champion (2003, 2004)
- 7× All-NBA Team:
- First Team: 2002, 2003
- Second Team: 2001, 2004, 2007
- Third Team: 2005, 2008
- NBA Most Improved Player (2001)
- Other Career Highlights:
- Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (2017)
- Named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team (2021)
- His jersey #1 was retired by the Orlando Magic in honor of his contributions to the franchise.
- Accolades:
- Kids: 4 children (Layla, Laymen, Layden, and Laycee McGrady)
- Retirement Age: Officially retired in 2013 at the age of 34
- Net Worth: Made $162,978,278 in the NBA
Tracy McGrady is one of the rare players who went straight to the NBA from high school. Once McGrady found out that he was likely to be drafted in the top 15 picks, he decided that he would declare for the NBA Draft and sign a lucrative shoe deal with Adidas. McGrady was drafted 9th overall by Toronto. He left Toronto for his hometown team, the Orlando Magic, and was given the reins of the offense once Grant Hill was injured. It was then that McGrady discovered that he could be an NBA superstar.
Notes:
- Similar players to Tracy McGrady include Penny Hardaway, Scottie Pippen, Magic Johnson, and Kobe Bryant.
- McGrady signed a shoe deal with Adidas before his NBA rookie season; the Adidas deal made him rich before any NBA contract. He signed a lifetime deal with Adidas, but they didn’t start making a McGrady signature shoe until the 2001-02 season when Adidas released the Adidas TMac 1 basketball shoe.
- McGrady broke off the Adidas lifetime deal in 2023. McGrady said that Adidas didn’t believe he would be able to start his own 1-on-1 basketball league successfully.
Fun Facts
- He grew up around Tampa Bay and played for the team most near there, the Orlando Magic.
- He thought he would have contended for a championship with the Orlando Magic if Grant Hill was healthy.
- The Houston Rockets owner at the time, Leslie Alexander, was a huge McGrady fan and was happy to have him when McGrady decided to leave Orlando for a better chance at winning.
- After McGrady retired from the NBA, he remained living in Houston and had a house in Sugar Land, where he and his wife Clerenda continued to raise their children.
- McGrady would attend Houston Rockets games sitting courtside after his retirement because Leslie Alexander would invite him.
- Leslie Alexander sold the Rockets to Tilman Fertitta and we didn’t see McGrady at games after that. Also, Fertitta decided not to retire McGrady’s jersey.
- McGrady can be spotted wearing Orlando Magic clothing from time to time and has shown up to Magic games and practice sessions in his 40s.
- McGrady doesn’t have regrets because he is happy where his life ended up now, but he noted several times when his winning chances could have been different. For instance, he left Vince Carter and the Raptors to advance his career elsewhere. He left Orlando before they drafted Dwight Howard. And the Rockets had become contenders the same year that his body ultimately broke down on him. But winning isn’t everything. He made the NBA Hall of Fame and inspired millions to watch and play basketball.
- Yao Ming played for the Houston Rockets before McGrady. But the Rockets weren’t contenders until McGrady arrived. The Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady era of the Rockets is the favorite of many Rockets fans around the world, especially in China.
- After retiring from the NBA, McGrady played a season in China because he had so many fans there. His team didn’t come close to contending, but McGrady played very well and put up as many as 34 points in some games.
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