NBA Rewind: '03 Tracy McGrady
NBA History is written by the victors. The ebbs and flows of the Association meander from team to team, traveling with talent as it sees fit.
The NBA is a players league, with only 15 roster spots per team. The overall impact of an elite player, rivals any other in sports.
Tracy McGrady had one of the best statistical seasons of an NBA player in history, we’ll discuss why, and what the future held for the Magic...if the cards fell their way.
The Early 2000s
The NBA in the early 2000s was a league rejuvenated by the Lakers after seeing Michael Jordan and the Bulls Dynasty dissolve into thin air.
A new dynasty had arrived, and seemed to have no intention of slowing down.
How would teams combat this?
The Orlando Magic happened to have a plan of their own.
In 2000, Orlando pulled off a sign-and-trade with Toronto. They acquired Tracy McGrady, giving up a 2005 1st round pick [later Fran Vazquez] to the Raptors. At the time of this trade, T-Mac just averaged the most PPG he’s had in a season, with 15.6
Joining Tracy, was the forward who was poised to take the mantle from Michael Jordan. Grant Hill entered the league in 1994. He earned Co-Rookie of the Year honors, while also, being selected to the All-Star team.
Photo From: Sneaker History
1994-1995 Co-Rookies of The Year
Grant Hill and Jason Kidd
In His 6 seasons with the Detroit Pistons, Hill averaged:
21.6 Points, 6.3 Ast, and 7.9 Reb
In his last season in Detroit, Hill averaged a career best 25.8 points, he was ready to take the next leap. However, he did not know at the time that Tracy McGrady would ascend so quickly, ultimately becoming the Scoring Champion of the NBA.
Here’s Grant talking about his first thoughts when hearing about a possible T-Mac pair up
“[Tracy] could do everything...He was forced into becoming a scorer, due to lack of help...it could have been something really special”
Speaking of special, Grant Hill was one of a kind. Here are some of his NBA contemporaries describing his talent and potential
Isaiah Thomas (NBA Open Court)
“When Jordan was retiring and Grant Hill was coming into the league, we were talking about passing the mantle to you…”
Paul Pierce (ESPN The Jump)
“I patterned my game after Grant Hill, you know I used to watch him when he was at Duke...every night. One of the first guys...who could do everything like a guard”
“I remember as a rookie matching up against him...the one time I felt helpless on the court...I remember telling myself, this guy is pretty much unstoppable”
“He was on his way to being the best player in the league in his prime, he was right there with Michael Jordan”
Steve Smith (NBA Open Court)
“Competing against you, watching you play...I have never seen anything like that”
The Orlando Magic looked poised to be a perennial contender within the Eastern Conference, they had their two cornerstone players.
But they were not done making moves.
Orlando shot for the stars. They began having talks with Tim Duncan (1999 Finals MVP) about creating a trio for the ages.
Photo From: ESPN
Spurs win 1st NBA Championship in franchise history
Tim Duncan earns Finals MVP
To truly understand the sheer potential/fire power of this team, we must remember how good Tim Duncan was. Duncan entered the league as the consensus #1 overall pick. “The Twin Towers” nickname was soon dubbed to the pair of David Robinson and Tim Duncan.
San Antonio captured its first NBA Championship in franchise history in Tim’s second season. This was not even Tim’s prime and he had already solidified himself as a Top 3 Power Forward in the league.
In the coming years, Tim Duncan’s postseason stat lines resembled video game numbers
Here are his postseason stats for the ‘02 and ‘03 season
(2001-2002): 27.6 PPG, 14.4 REB, 5.0 AST, 4.3 BLKs
(2002-2003): 24.7 PPG, 15.4 REB, 5.3 AST, 3.3 BLKs
It’s fair to say that Orlando might have gotten the best out of Duncan. Having two star wings would have made opposing defenses suffer, if they chose to double The Big Fundamental.
All seemed to be running according to plan, until complications arose regarding player luxuries.
Rachel Nichols covered this story on The Jump, hosted by ESPN
According to Bruce Bowen
“[The] Orlando Magic were very close to signing Duncan in the summer of 2000. Magic Head Coach Doc Rivers denied Tim’s request that his family could join the team plane on some flights to games...and that is when Rivers lost Tim Duncan”
There has to be more information to this story. Small market franchises cannot afford to lose out on perennial All-NBA player(s) due to remedial requests.
Tracy McGrady jokingly shared his frustration and disbelief with Doc, upon hearing this news:
“Doc, what are you doing….give him ownership of the damn team. We got to talk about this Doc Rivers...are you serious?”
“Me and Tim Duncan in the East at that time...it would have been over”
Healthy Grant Hill, All-Star Tracy McGrady, Finals MVP Tim Duncan?
How far could the Orlando Magic have gone?
The NBA Multiverse
The “What If” game allows for great discussion
What if David Stern allowed the CP3 trade to the Lakers?
What if Jerry West was able to draft Tracy McGrady?
What if the OKC Thunder closed out the Warriors in Game 6?
Luckily, we recorded a podcast discussing these exact scenarios, and how they would have shaped the league. Keep in mind, this was our 2nd episode ever so bare with us.
Listen Here
The most intriguing What If of All-Time, has to be the Big 3 of Tracy, Grant Hill, and Tim Duncan.
Let’s dive into the hypotheticals…
The Los Angeles Lakers, spearheaded by a formidable duo (Shaq - Kobe Bryant) went on to three-peat from 2000-2003. It seems almost certain that NBA fans would have been blessed with a Lakers v Magic NBA Finals. To think that the Magic would not have stolen at least one of those trophies from the Lakers, is ludicrous.
To bolster their offense even further, Orlando drafted Mike Miller with the No. 5 overall pick in 2000. Mike went on to win Rookie of the Year, building his reputation as a sharpshooter for years to come. Mike Miller would have been a match made in heaven for The Big 3 Orlando Magic. A non-dominant guard, who could space the floor with the best of them.
What did the Eastern Conference look like in the early 2000s?
The Eastern Conference finalists between the years 2000-2003 were arguably the weakest teams to have made the Finals in years past (Iverson Sixers, Kidd Nets, Miller Pacers).
As we saw with the 03-04 Lakers, winning makes attracting Hall of Fame veterans (The Glove, Karl Malone) exponentially easier.
Another comparison would be the current 2021 Brooklyn Nets. With their plethora of talent, they were able to attract buyout and free agent players such as Blake Griffin and Lamarcus Aldridge. The same would have been said for the 2000s Orlando Magic. With a Big 3 that rivaled any other in the league, The Magic would have been able to pick up low cost, high value NBA vets to help cement their team identity.
It is very reasonable to believe that the Lakers and Magic would have been battling over NBA supremacy for years to come.
With the acceleration of the Superteam Era, many questions come into play.
Would Kobe and Shaq have mended their differences, once seeing/playing an Orlando Magic juggernaut?
Would the Boston Big 3 have been accelerated?
Would Tim Duncan have been ridiculed to the likes of LeBron James?
As fun as this is, the “NBA What If” game has its limitations. Reaching for air on possibilities that did not occur will leave your brain scrambled.
Unfortunately, Grant Hill suffered a series of lower leg injuries which sidelined him from every Orlando postseason game. Tim Duncan chose to stay in San Antonio, forming a Big 3 of his own with Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. This trio would go on to hoist 4 NBA Championships, allowing Duncan to retire a career long Spur.
And then there was one. Tracy.
He was beginning to realize his offensive potential, the sky was the limit.
Kobe said it best:
“He could do everything I could do...he was just taller”
In the early 2000s, there were divisive conversations regarding who was the better player between the two.
Casual 1: “Kobe Has Rings, he has proved it in the playoffs!!”
Casual 2: “Tracy doesn’t have Shaq! Kobe isn’t even the best player on his team…”
One thing was for certain, Tracy McGrady had individual seasons that rivaled Prime Kobe.
The most memorable being 2002-2003.
Photo From: Charity Stars
Tracy’s Unforgettable Season
With Grant Hill sidelined due to injury, it was the Mac show. In 2002-2003, Tracy McGrady entered the season like Rambo. Guns A Blazin’, 47 points here, 51 points there, Tracy was serving the best players in the NBA 40 balls on the regular.
The Athleticism of Tracy McGrady could stack up with the best of them. When Tracy was able to get to his launching pad, the league was in for a show. Few players had the footwork, shot making ability, athleticism and fluid jumper as a 24 year old T-Mac.
Kobe Bryant on T-Mac’s Ability
“Here’s a guy that's 6’9” that moved as if he was 6’3”. He could literally do everything. Left shoulder-right shoulder, score from the post, score from the perimeter. He could facilitate, he could defend.”
“Toughest guy I ever played against...the guy that gave me the most problems was Tracy McGrady”
Gilbert Arenas
“Mac was an excellent shooter and very athletic...Mac was great at creating his shot and elevating. He got to his point, and just rose and shot”
All The Smoke (Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson)
Stephen Jackson: “The king of the hang-dribble”
Tracy McGrady: “That’s the hesi pull-up”
Matt Barnes: “Along with the hesi pull-up the [expletive] jumps as high as you possibly can and there’s no way to block it...on your hesi you would take off into space and shoot a jumper”
There is no higher compliment than validation from your peers, for the work and effort that you put in. Tracy was seen as one of the top NBA players in the league.
Let’s take a look at the numbers, in order to truly see his impact on a depleted Orlando Magic squad.
On Court Off Court
Magic eFG%: 49.7 Magic eFG: 41.9%
League Rank: T-4th. League Rank: 30th
Magic OF: 109.3 Magic OF: 91.8
League Rank: 2nd League Rank: 30th
*(OR)= Offensive Rating
In the early 2000s, it was uncommon and almost unheard of for a team to have an Offensive Rating above 115. With this being said, having a 91.8 OR is atrocious.
Here’s a look at how the Orlando Magic without Tracy McGrady, stack up against the worst offenses in NBA history.
Rank Team Offensive Rating
N/A. 02-03 Magic without T-Mac 91.8
T-1 02-03 Nuggets 92.2
T-1 76-77 Knicks 92.2
3 98-99 Bulls 92.4
Wrap your head around this. When Tracy was on the floor in 2002-2003, the Magic were the 2nd best offense in the league. When he either sat, or went to rest on the bench, Orlando had the worst offensive rating of All-Time.
To put this into perspective:
(2016-2017) Russell Westbrook: League Rankings (OR)
On Court: 11th
Off Court: 30th
(2006-2007) LeBron James: League Rankings (OR)
On Court: 13th
Off Court: 30th
Why is this season not highlighted more often?
It’s all about what you do in the playoffs. Tracy was able to lead his team to the No.8 seed in the Eastern Conference. Miraculously, he started out the series scoring 43, 46, 29 and 27 points in the first four games to lead the Detroit Pistons 3-1.
Then disaster struck.
The Magic could not keep hold of their commanding 3-1 lead, ultimately losing in 7 to the Pistons. Just like that...one of the greatest individual seasons had come to an end.
If Tracy played alongside another player before his injuries (KG, Tim Duncan, Kobe)…he surely would have some cheese to sport on his finger. The shadow of uncertainty surrounding Tracy’s place among the greats cascades over NBA fans of the 2000s era.
The 2000s era of NBA Basketball was the reason I fell in love with the game. Seeing stars carry their teams, igniting passionate rivalries that could be felt through the TV screen, this was the Golden Era.
As I reminisce on the past, I’m just happy to have been there. To witness in real time, the true greatness of these players.
Photo From: USA Today
