It’s always unfortunate when a player, especially one of star caliber, can’t go out on their own terms. I’m sure that, despite the amount of grace which with he is taking it, finishing his career with a mediocre team in the Chinese Basketball Association wasn’t Tracy McGrady’s ideal ending. The two-time scoring champion and seven-time all-star was at one time one of the League’s most exciting and explosive talents. His career however, was hampered by injuries, and his lack of postseason success will likely haunt his legacy. The League doesn’t usually look back fondly on players who were unable to make a mark come playoff time, which is unfortunate for Tracy because in his prime he was a hell of a player. McGrady could straight out score, and score fast. He was one of those players who could finish the first half with 6 points, and then explode for 24 in the third before you could blink an eye, or score 13 points in 35 seconds (check below).
Do yourself a favor and check out his career stats:
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mcgratr01.html#per_game::none
Tracy had EIGHT seasons where he averaged over 20 points per game, illustrating a very high level of consistency, and he finishes his storied NBA career with almost 20,000 total points (18,381 to be exact).
No he’s not a lock for the hall of fame, nor is he in the conversation as one of the best ever. But for a brief period of time Tracy was amongst the League’s best, and an entire generation of players, myself included, grew up enjoying, imitating, and idolizing his game.
McGrady should have no problem finding fanfare in China, as he is already a superstar over there due to his days in Houston with the sensationally popular Yao Ming.
It’s true that Tracy hasn’t been a real factor in the League for a few seasons now as injuries have severely slowed him, but it is always odd to see a player of such caliber finish out a career overseas. In his prime, McGrady was one of the most exciting and explosive players I have ever seen, and despite his lack of postseason success, he should be remembered as such. Plus, he was responsible for one of the coolest signature basketball shoes in a long time, so that has to count for something.
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