Tracy McGrady was one of the most talented offensive players in the NBA during his prime.
He had skills and athleticism and was a big shooting guard. He was constantly breaking his defenders down with his footwork and when the help defence came, he just shot over them.
But he wasn’t always good.
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In his first three seasons with the Toronto Raptors, McGrady didn’t put up great numbers. He averaged 11 points on 44 percent shooting.
He also didn’t get much playing time because he was young, inexperienced, and still figuring out his skill set.
But when he moved to Orlando to play for the Magic, he took a huge leap.
Not only was he talented enough to start, but he was also the team's star player. He was barely 21 years old and was their number one option.
So, how did he go from averaging 15 points per game to scoring 27 a night in the span of a couple of off-seasons?
Well, it’s because he worked on and mastered the fundamentals of the game.
On the KG Certified podcast, McGrady told Kevin Garnett that to be able to become an All-Star, he had to swap pick-up games for on-court skill work.
“When I was in my prime, I never played pick-up basketball. When I worked out in the off-season, everything was skill work.”
T-Mac also added that he learned this training technique from Kobe Bryant when they were on a trip together.
“Me and [Kobe] took a trip to Paris. When we were over there, we took our trainers with us on that trip and all we worked on was our individual skills.
“And he told me, ‘Bro, I’ve never played pick-up because how many reps are you going to get in playing pick-up basketball? I just do a lot of skill training and I picked up a lot of things.’
“And from that trip, that’s what I had added to my training in the off-season -just all skill work, footwork stuff.”
He also said that by working on his skills so much, he was able to learn and perfect a bunch of counters that he frequently used to get defenders off of his tail.
In Orlando, McGrady became one of the best offensive guards in the NBA.
He was averaging 28 points on 45 percent shooting and dishing out 5 assists a game. And that was just on the offensive end.
Because he was so big and athletic, he was also a pest defensively.
He averaged 7 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 1 block per game.
He played in Orlando for four seasons before departing for the Houston Rockets, where he continued to offer his offensive masterclasses on a nightly basis.
Final Thoughts
McGrady was one of my favourite players to watch because he was so skilled and explosive. It was always a treat to watch him.
You didn’t know what he was going to do next. Was he going to attack the rim? Was he going to stop on a dime and pop a pull-up? Or was he going to dish it off to a cutting teammate?
He had so many moves that his next move was unpredictable. And who would’ve thought that he learned his entire repertoire from skill training and that skill training was something he learned from Kobe? Teenage me did not.
Anyway, what was your favourite memory of T-Mac?
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