Tag: Tracy McGrady

Vince Carter reveals NBA’s dunk contest plans that featured top stars

Vince Carter reveals the NBA’s dunk contest plans that featured top stars, including Lebron James and Kobe Bryant.

[autotag]Vince Carter[/autotag] reveals NBA’s dunk contest plans that featured the biggest stars but failed due to lack of participation.

According to Carter, the NBA schemed up every hoop fan’s dream of a slam dunk contest that would’ve featured Lebron James, Tracy McGrady, Kobe Bryant, and Carter himself. The story was revealed on Fanduel’s flagship NBA show, Run it Back, and caught the attention of the masses as speculation took over on why the dream dunk contest did not happen.

The story becomes even more bizarre when it is revealed that each star would’ve walked away with 1 million dollars each, giving a hefty incentive to put on a show for the crowd. Fans pinpointed James as why, seeing the other three testing their luck in the competition.

Undoubtedly there is no way to confirm or deny why this lineup didn’t take place, but it’s fun to think about what could’ve been arguably the greatest dunk contest of all time.

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Where Rockets rank in updated list of 77 greatest NBA players of all-time

With 77 NBA seasons in the books, @HoopsHype issued an updated list of the greatest 77 players of all-time. Here’s where players with #Rockets ties were ranked.

The 2023-24 regular season is the NBA’s 78th overall, which means 77 seasons are in the books.

With that in mind, our friends at HoopsHype recently compiled an updated list of the NBA’s best 77 players of all time, complete with statistics and information through the 2022-23 campaign.

As one might expect, the Rockets are well represented. Along with many All-Stars over the years, they had three Most Valuable Player (MVP) award winners: Hakeem Olajuwon, Moses Malone and James Harden. Historically, Houston is among the league’s top franchises.

Granted, the Rockets haven’t won a championship since Olajuwon led them to their only two in the 1994 and 1995 NBA Finals. But the hope is that could change in the years ahead. If it does, perhaps a rising star such Jalen Green, Amen Thompson or Jabari Smith Jr. might crack an updated version of this list in a decade or so.

For now, with the start of 2023-24 training camp only days away, here’s a look back at where legacy Rockets stand on HoopsHype’s updated list of the 77 greatest players in NBA history.

Tracy McGrady reveals he blew his draft workouts with the Boston Celtics to avoid playing for Rick Pitino

“I wouldn’t mind playing for Boston but I didn’t want to play for Rick Pitino at that time because he was too tough, man,” said McGrady.

It seems as time passes, we learn ever more about how the Rick Pitino years did the Boston Celtics franchise few favors.

NBA legend Tracy McGrady added to that narrative on a recent episode of the “Ryen Russillo” podcast (h/t MassLive’s Brian Robb). McGrady admitted he did his best to avoid being drafted by the Pitino-led club in the 1997 NBA draft.

Russillo, noting McGrady reportedly did not talk much in his workout for Boston (who passed on the future phenom twice before he was drafted ninth overall), asked “Was it something specific about Boston or was it because you were 18 and didn’t have a lot to say?”

“I just remember in college, I was being recruited by Kentucky and I knew how hard and how tough Rick Pitino was,” explained McGrady. “Rick Pitino had left and become Boston coach and I was like, ‘I don’t know if I want to play for Rick Pitino.’”

“The reason being because (Boston) was probably my hardest predraft workout ever,” he added. “I wouldn’t mind playing for Boston, but I didn’t want to play for Rick Pitino at that time because he was too tough, man.”

“It was just finding a way … to hurt myself and get them not to draft me by not talking. I did fine with my interviews with everyone else but Boston, not so much. … I had some instructions coming down. I was influenced.”

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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McGrady: Best NBA player conversation ‘was me and Kobe (Bryant)’

Tracy McGrady recalled how he was in the conversation with Kobe Bryant for being the best NBA player for a brief time in the early 2000s.

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In the early 2000s, while Shaquille O’Neal was unquestionably the best big man and most dominant player in the NBA, his teammate Kobe Bryant became the best all-around player or non-big man around.

However, for a little while, the late Los Angeles Lakers legend had a big competitor for that honor, at least in the minds of some fans and analysts.

Tracy McGrady, a player who was similar to Bryant when it came to his physique and skills, was also an outstanding player in those years. While most gave the nod to Bryant, McGrady was considered right on his heels.

McGrady recalled that debate with Patrick Beverley while saying he lacked one thing that may have made him the best (h/t Lakers Daily).

“That was a conversation of who was the best players in the league,” McGrady said to Beverley. “It was me and Kobe — of barbershop talk and around the league. Real hoopers, real basketball people know.”

Unfortunately for McGrady, he never won an NBA championship, and he was also criticized for not playing his best in crunch-time situations. In fact, he never won a single playoff series until his final season, when he was a bit player for the San Antonio Spurs.

Unlike Bryant, who was totally dedicated to his craft, McGrady didn’t take great care of his body. Perhaps as a result, his production started to decline in his mid-20s as he dealt with chronic back problems and other ailments.

While Bryant averaged at least 25 points a game in 12 seasons, McGrady only did so five times, and by age 30 he was down to averaging single digits in scoring.

Tracy McGrady on the Victor Wembanyama hype: ‘It’s too much, bro’

One Hall of Famer believes the hype surrounding Victor Wembanyama is a bit too much.

Victor Wembanyama is in the midst of a well-documented transition to the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs. The No. 1 pick has had plenty of hype surrounding his arrival in the United States.

Wembanyama is fresh off a dominating campaign with Metropolitans 92 in France, in which he was named MVP and Defensive Player of the Year. Because of that run, along with his size and overall ability, he is viewed as the most-hyped rookie since perhaps LeBron James.

James once referred to Wembanyama as an alien instead of a unicorn given his unique skills. Hall of Famer Magic Johnson also gushed over his potential and called him a league-changing type of prospect.

But it is a bit too much for one Hall of Famer.

In an interview with Howard Beck of GQ, Tracy McGrady pushed back on the notion the league hasn’t seen a player like Wembanyama prior to this season.

I’m just saying the hype is crazy to me. It’s too much, bro. I’ve seen this before. Y’all act like you haven’t seen it. That (expletive) that Bol Bol can do? He’s just not given the real opportunity, like I think he should. That kid is skilled. (Kristaps) Porzingis was highly skilled when he first came out, just like that. And hell, he’s 7-3, too. So I’ve seen it.

The hype is just crazy. But I get it. It’s the media, they’re looking for a face for the NBA, and you got to have a new star that you got to build around. Bron is about to be on his way out, Steph (Curry) and those guys, I get it.

Wembanyama debuted with the Spurs on July 7 in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. He had an uneven first game but responded with a 27-point, 12-rebound effort two nights later and showed what made him so highly touted entering the NBA draft.

McGrady believes Wembanyama landed with the perfect organization to help with the move to the NBA. Having Gregg Popovich, Tim Duncan, David Robinson and others available to talk to, McGrady said, will put him in a position to succeed.

“He’s in a perfect situation because he’s around greatness,” McGrady said. “One of the greatest coaches ever, greatest power forward ever, one of the greatest centers ever. Sit down and have those conversations with those guys, and just soak up all the advice you possibly could.”

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Tracy McGrady: LeBron James will be the owner of NBA expansion team in Las Vegas

One of LeBron James’ big goals is to own an NBA expansion team in Las Vegas, and according to Tracy McGrady, it just may happen.

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Recently, there has been substantial chatter about the NBA adding at least one expansion team within the next few years. The two cities that have been mentioned as the most likely to land a new team are Seattle and Las Vegas.

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is as much of a businessman as he is an athlete, and he has talked about his desire to own an NBA team in Las Vegas.

Former star guard Tracy McGrady said he has heard through “league channels” that James will indeed be the owner of an expansion team there (h/t Lakers Daily).

Via GQ:

“I’ve heard that for the last three years, that it was gonna be an expansion team out here in Las Vegas,” McGrady said. “I heard that LeBron James is going to be the owner of that. It’s his team. I heard it through league channels.”

Commissioner Adam Silver hasn’t confirmed the league will add an expansion franchise. But he said recently that once its current media contract ends in 2025, it will consider doing so.

Via The Athletic:

“We will turn to expansion once those new media deals are done,” Silver said Monday, July 10, at the annual APSE conference. “It’s not a sure thing but, as I’ve said before, I think it’s natural that organizations grow over time.”

James’ contract with the Lakers also will end at the conclusion of the 2024-25 season, unless he opts out of the final year next summer.

Tracy McGrady questions why James Harden would head back to Rockets

Tracy McGrady is confused as to why Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden would return to the Houston Rockets.

The 2023 free agency promises to be an interesting time for the Philadelphia 76ers. While they don’t have much money to go out and bring in other free agents to bolster the roster, they can re-sign James Harden if they work something out with him.

The Sixers acquired Harden from the Brooklyn Nets at the 2022 deadline and re-signed him to a 1-and-1 deal in the offseason. As he heads into the 2023 offseason, rumors regarding a reunion with the Houston Rockets have been at the forefront of his summer.

The Rockets offer familiarity for Harden. Houston is where he took big steps forward as a star in this league and where he really made his impact. His family is still there as well as his business ventures, so it makes sense he would want to go back to the Rockets.

On the other hand, the Sixers offer him his best chance to win, so he is a bit torn on his decision at the moment.

Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady, another Rockets great, is confused why The Beard would want to go back to Houston:

Do you want to go back to Houston and jack up 30 3s and just average 30 and, and lose? It doesn’t make sense.

It will be interesting to see what happens with Harden. He is still one of the top players in the game despite being on the back end of his career, but do the Sixers want to give him $210 million over four years? Probably not. They’ll have to work something out between the two sides.

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Tracy McGrady is all the way out on splitting up Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum

“You don’t dismantle that, I’m sorry,” he explained.

Former NBA star wing Tracy McGrady knows quite a bit about playing the sport that made him a household name, and the ex-NBAer recently weighed in on the sentiment among some Celtics fans and analysts to break up star wings Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.

“You don’t dismantle that, I’m sorry,” he said on an episode of the Showtime Basketball “What’s Burnin'” podcast. “Hell yeah, you keep that! This is, what, 25 and 26 year olds? Why would you get rid of that? I don’t understand why would you get rid of two guys that have played for NBA championship, (and) went to four Eastern Conference finals.”

“At some point, these guys are going to raise a banner,” he added confidently.

If the Celtics’ front office doesn’t believe the same, the debate may be moot. But McGrady has a point, and one that — at least for now — seems to be echoed by the club’s front office.

Boston team president Brad Stevens went to bat for his players and coach at a postseason press conference. Based on his comments, running much of this team back with better support appears to be the plan inasmuch as league rules allow such discussion.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady picks Nikola Jokic over Joel Embiid for MVP

Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady picks Nikola Jokic over Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid for the MVP award.

The 2022-23 NBA regular season is winding down, which means the MVP race is taking center stage. The award is expected to once again comes down to either Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid or Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic.

Each brings something unique to the table. Embiid is an elite scorer who is also one of the best defensive bigs in the game. Jokic is terrific in how he can run the offense and make his teammates better while lifting them to wins.

Everybody has an opinion in the MVP race, and Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady stated his on TNT:

I think they’re equally having an advantage to win it. I’m leaning toward Jokic because he’s not playing with an All-Star. His team is No. 1 in the West, 29 triple doubles, and to me, he gets everybody involved. Like he has an impact. He’s not as a defensive player like Embiid, but I think his impact that he does so much so many other things. That really equals out to what Embiid brings his team. I just, the man is incredible.

Embiid is battling calf tightness and has seven games left to build his case to win the MVP award. He has finished as the runner-up to Jokic in each of the previous two seasons.

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76 greatest NBA players ever: Where Rockets rank in HoopsHype’s updated list

For the NBA’s 76th season in 2022-23, @HoopsHype has a fresh update of the top 76 players of all-time. Here’s where former Rockets came in, starting with Hakeem Olajuwon.

Edition one of the HoopsHype 75 went well enough that many people liked it better than the official NBA one, so our sister publication is doing another round. The catch is that they’re adding another player to make it a 76-deep list, since this is the league’s 76th season.

The main difference between this list and the official NBA75 one is that HoopsHype is giving modern-era players their flowers, to a larger extent. Egregious omissions from the official list, such as Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol, easily made it onto this ranking.

As was the case last year, HoopsHype held a team vote with the opinions of eight staff members, removed the highest and lowest rank for each, and awarded points from 76-1 for the rest.

Scroll on to see where former Houston Rockets were ranked, along with voting details, player accolades, and analysis from HoopsHype. You should check out the full HoopsHype list for all 76 updates.