Tracy McGrady biography
Tracy Lamar McGrady was born on May 24,1979 in Bartow, Florida. He was the product of an area called the Hill in Auburndale, a quaint town of about 9,000 surrounded by lakes, halfway between Orlando and Tampa. His family has been a major influence in his life. His mom, Melanise Williford, and his grandmother, Roberta, raised him. He eventually grew to know both women as "mom". His mother worked as a chambermaid at a Disney World hotel. She made a daily 90-minute commute, from her home near Tampa, in order to get to work each day to support the family. His dad, Tracy McGrady Sr. has had his separate life, but that does not mean he hasn¢t been there for Tracy. He¢s been around, and he has done whatever he can for Tracy. Tracy has been a good athlete during his highschools days. Aside from being good in basketball, he was also a good baseball pitcher. When Tracy grew and reach the hight of 6-4, he focus on one game and that was basketball. During the summer of his junior year, he joined the Adidas ABCD basketball camp. A lot of people were shocked including coaches and scouts because of his skills. Coach Joel Hopkins of Mt. Zion Christian academy took a special interest in Tracy. He invited Tracy to attend North Carolina school. Hopkins believed that Tracy was talented- he just lacked structure.
During his highschol days, Tracy was studying at Mt. Zion. In that school players are not allowed to curse, listen to rap, wear jewelry, have girlfriends, or miss Church service. Tracy and his family think that Mt. Zion is a best option for Tracy, and I think it was. He finished his senior year by recieving the HighSchool player of the year by USA today. Kentucky was Tracy¢s choice for his college education.
McGrady played one year at Mount Zion Christian Academy in North Carolina after originally attending Auburndale High School in Florida. As a senior, he averaged 27.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 2.8 steals per game, shooting .564 from field, .389 from three-point range and .791 from free throw line. He was named the USA Today Player of the Year and the Player of the Year in the state of North Carolina by The Associated Press and also was named to the McDonald¢s All-America Team.
In Magic¢s Roundball Classic, he shot 6-for-7 from the field, sinking his only three-point attempt, and scored 13 points. McGrady appeared in 64 games as a rookie, making 17 starts including the final 11 games of the season. He averaged 7.0 points and 4.2 rebounds in 18.4 minutes per game. He played in 49 of 50 games in 1998-99, all but two off the bench, and increased his averaged to 9.3 points and 5.7 rebounds in just 22.6 minutes per game. He also was among the team leaders in steals and blocks.
Scouts said that Tracy was the best player in the ¢97 draft, maybe best player in all North Carolina, ( including universities and the Charlotte Hornets ). Tracy McGrady went directly to pro and he was drafted 9th overall to Toronto Raptors. His coaching staff there said he wouldn last 3 years.
Tracy had to adjust to all the criticism, the cold weather, and the coaching staff that didn't allow him much playing time. In 1999, Vince Carter ( Tmac 2nd cousin ) was drafted by the Raptors. Both of them were good players, they reached the playoff in 1999-2000, but they were sweep in the 1st round. During the summer, Tracy pack up his things and went to play for the Magics.
Orlando Magic (2000-2004)
The Toronto Raptors made a sign-and-trade deal which sent McGrady to the Orlando Magic in exchange for a first round draft pick in 2000. In the 2000–01 season, he won the NBA Most Improved Player Award and was selected as a starter in the All-Star Game. In the 2002–03 season, McGrady averaged 32.1 points per game and captured the NBA scoring title, becoming the youngest player to do so since the NBA/ABA merger. In the 2003–04 season, he once again captured the NBA scoring title, averaging 28 points per game, and set a career high with 62 points against the Washington Wizards on March 10, 2004. With this performance, he became the fourth player in the past 12 years to score over 60 points in a game.
Despite McGrady's personal accolades, the Magic failed to reach the second round of the playoffs. In a rather infamous moment, during the 2003 NBA playoffs, the Magic (who were an #8 seed) surprisingly took a 3-1 series lead against the heavily favored #1 seed Detroit Pistons. Prior to the fifth game in Detroit, McGrady was quoted as saying that how wonderful it was to "finally be in the second round (of the playoffs)". Orlando, however, lost Games 5, 6, and 7 by an average of 18 points, and Detroit advanced to the Second Round.
In his fourth season with the Magic, problems with team chemistry, coaching, and management forced Orlando into a downward spiral. The season ended with Orlando failing to reach the playoffs and an impatient McGrady seeking a trade.
Houston Rockets (2004-current)
On June 29, 2004, McGrady, Juwan Howard, 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. 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 a recent 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 2009-2010 NBA season, and the contract is worth an estimated 21.1 million U.S. dollars per year
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