Tribute to T-Mac

I was fortunate enough to have interviewed retiring NBA All-Star Tracy McGrady on four separate occasions, observing his evolution as a player, person and leader. It was a privilege to also have a courtside seat and firsthand experience of his excellence on the basketball court. Although inevitably his situations did not allow for him to have any post-season success, his value as a player cannot be denied. Considering he was drafted out of high school in 1997, you never heard anything bad about him on or off the court, as testament to his maturity.

So recently removed from high school, McGrady made his first visit to the Philippines with Tim Thomas. Back then, he was (figuratively) a wide-eyed kid enjoying life, without the benefit of PR training or schooling in how a professional athlete should dress. He was open, approachable, friendly and accommodating. He faced the press wearing sleeveless shirts and his trademark sleepy-eyed smile. There wasn’t as much pressure on him with the Toronto Raptors, as he was the sidekick of his more famous cousin Vince Carter, and even played a prop for Vinsanity at the NBA All-Star Weekend slam dunk contest.

My next encounter with McGrady was on a trip to Orlando in the early 2000’s. The 2002-2003 season was one for the ages for T-Mac. Though the Magic tried to load up on talent, Grant Hill was injured, and Mike Miller was doing his best but not yet ripe for a starring role. McGrady was a monster on offense, finishing the season with over 32 points per game. Think about that for a moment. You could count on two hands the number of modern-day NBA players who’ve done that.

That season, he took a ragtag team with no more than Darrell Armstrong and Pat Garrity to the playoffs, where they were matched up against the top-seeded Detroit Pistons. Amazingly, they led that series 3-1 before their inexperience did them in. But that isn’t McGrady’s fault.

At an exclusive press conference for Asian media arranged by his sponsor adidas, McGrady signed autographs and even played one-on-one with other endorsers, including then-national team guard BJ Manalo. I asked McGrady if he regretted not going to college.

“You go to college to get a job,” he replied. “I already have the best job in the world.” I couldn’t disagree with him.

Statistically, T-Mac’s offensive excellence can’t be denied. As my Hardball co-host Boom Gonzalez so aptly pointed out, there was a long span in the early 2000’s when he was an even greater offensive threat than Kobe Bryant, and that’s saying a lot. Boom added that, for seven seasons, McGrady averaged 25 points, five rebounds and five assists. That puts him in very rare company. There are several Hall of Famers who cannot claim that achievement. And more importantly, the fans loved him.

The third time I spoke with McGrady was before the first NBA China Games in Shanghai. Now with the Houston Rockets, he was relegated to being the second-most popular player on the team behind young Yao Ming, despite his stellar credentials. I vividly recall how tired he looked at the launch of his new shoe then, just having gotten off a 25-hour flight from the East Coast. The press launch took twice as long because the emcee had to translate everything into Mandarin. When he was asked to dunk for the crowd, McGrady answered, “You want T-Mac. He’s back at the hotel. I’m just Tracy.”

I found that very telling of the demands on an NBA superstar’s time and energy.

For the short-sighted, the knock has been McGrady’s inability to get his team out of the first round of the playoffs. But consider that Michael Jordan’s first seven seasons were also relatively fruitless despite the fact that the Chicago Bulls were building up the team and added Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant along the way. McGrady also operated in teams that were built with high hopes and he was the only one who delivered. Consistently.

There are only eight players who have averaged 30 points or more in the playoffs in at least four different seasons. That list includes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant and McGrady. The last three names on that list are the only ones not yet in the Hall of Fame, because they’ve still been playing. If not for a dismal showing in his final 12 postseason games for Atlanta and San Antonio, McGrady would be fifth all-time in postseason scoring.

But what I remember most about McGrady are moments which flash through my memory, like how he obliterated defenses for so many seasons. There were so many trademarks, like how he threw the ball off the backboard, caught it and dunked it. A one-man alley oop. He owned that move. And how about the time he scored 13 points in 35 seconds to save a game against the San Antonio Spurs? Talk about clutch performances. That was an indelible moment. 

McGrady visited the country again before his final decline in the last few years. I found him more statesmanlike, more sober, more calm. He walked with a slight limp, revealing the wear and tear he had been through before his body finally betrayed him. I handed him a DVD of our past interviews, and he smiled. He was still open and honest and patient. Little had changed.

Tracy McGrady was a seven-time All-NBA selection, and two-time league scoring leader. Max Zaslofsky, who led the league in scoring in 1948, is the only scoring champion not in the Hall of Fame. McGrady led the Rockets to a 22-game winning streak in 2007-2008. He kept Houston afloat when Yao Ming was injured, and never asked for credit for anything. He wanted to win, but like many greats, found little support, a tough league, and eventual injuries in his way. At least last season, he made the Finals with the San Antonio Spurs.

For this writer, having followed his career for years, his nickname in retirement now means something else: Treasured Memories Across Continents.