TRACY MCGRADY BIO | OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF BBALLONE.COM Tracy Lamar McGrady, Jr. (born May 24, 1979, in Bartow, Florida), commonly nicknamed T-Mac, is an American professional basketball player currently positioned at starting shooting guard for the Houston Rockets in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He can also play as a small forward. Entering the league straight from high school (Mount Zion Christian Academy), McGrady eventually became a seven-time All-Star. He is also a two time NBA Scoring Champion, winning the scoring titles 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 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 playoffs in his entire ten year-career despite his six trips to the playoffs: one with the Toronto Raptors, three with the Orlando Magic and two with the Houston Rockets. McGrady's style has been compared to that of George Gervin. ----------   Early Career   --------- McGrady (6 ft 8 in - 2.04 m), who plays either shooting guard or small forward, is one of the first players that went from high school (Mt. Zion Christian Academy) straight to the NBA without attending college. He created national buzz after his performance in Adidas ABCD Camp, which is for the best high school players in the nation. He was drafted ninth in the first round of the 1997 draft by the Toronto Raptors. Chicago Bulls GM Jerry Krause had arranged a draft-day trade to send Scottie Pippen to Vancouver for the 4th overall pick, which he would have used to take McGrady. But, Krause was forced to call off the deal when Michael Jordan threatened to retire if it was made. McGrady had a decent start with the Raptors, getting better numbers in all categories every year. The cousin and teammate of Vince Carter, McGrady often found himself in the shadow of his cousin, whose dunks made him an instant star. McGrady even assisted Carter in the 2000 NBA Dunk Contest, an event in which McGrady also was competing in. While Carter was responsible for scoring, it was McGrady's job to be the team's defensive stopper and ball distributer. GM's recognized that McGrady was very versatile, and that he would demand great attention during the offseason. The young duo of Carter and McGrady led the Raptors to their first playoff berth in the 2000 Playoffs, where they were swept by the New York Knicks in 4 games. ----------   NBA Career - Orlando Magic   --------- McGrady's career took off when he forced a sign-and-trade to the Orlando Magic in exchange for a first round draft pick in 2000. In the 2000-2001 season, he won the Most Improved Player Award and was selected a starter in the All Star game. He and Grant Hill both were supposed to be valuable players for Orlando, but because of a long series of injuries to Hill, McGrady became the top player for the Magic. In the 2002-2003 season, McGrady captured the NBA scoring title, averaging 32.1 points per game. In the 2003-2004 season, he once again captured the NBA scoring title, averaging 28 points per game. and set an NBA season high when he dropped 62 against the Washington Wizards on March 10, 2004. With this performance, he became only the 4th player in the past 12 years to score over 60 points in a game. However, fortunes turned for the worse in Orlando after a league-worst 21 win season. Amid allegations of slacking off during games (he later admitted to not giving 100% every game that season), the relationship between McGrady and Magic General Manager John Weisbrod worsened. Soon, Weisbrod decided to trade the unhappy McGrady instead of keeping him for another year and risk him leaving the Magic without compensation. ----------   NBA Career - Houston Rockets   --------- On June 29, 2004, McGrady, 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 in Houston, McGrady teamed with 7'6" center Yao Ming, to end the season ranked 5th in the Western Conference. The season started slowly for the Rockets, but by mid-season, coach Jeff Van Gundy altered McGrady's role and made him the primary offensive option over center Yao Ming[citation needed]. On December 9, 2004, he scored 13 points in the last 35 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. This helped the Rockets win 81–80. Despite McGrady's play in the 1st 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 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. In the 2006–07 NBA 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. Since Yao Ming was having another breakout season, he was deferring to Yao as the number one option. 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. Despite his recent shooting slump, he continues to find his teammates for the assist. He averaged a career high in assists per game. 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 99-103 to the Utah Jazz in the 2007 Playoffs. 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." 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 U.S. dollars per year. * Courtesy of Wikipedia