Tracy McGrady was one of the most lethal scorers back in the early 2000s. The 6’8 shooting guard played 15 seasons in the league before injuries eventually robbed him of his game and athleticism. Recently, T-Mac appeared on a podcast to share one of the deadliest moves he learned from some of the best shooting guards to ever play the game.
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Tracy McGrady made an appearance on the OBL Hoops podcast not too long ago. Here, the Hall of Famer revealed one move he mastered by watching Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant over the years.
“I perfected the one dribble pull-up. That became my move. I get that from MJ, you go and look at Kobe’s game. One dribble pull-up is a deadly move if you know how to create space. I also had a move where I take that dribble, whether it’s going right, plant, spin-back into a fadeaway. If I needed a bucket, that’s what I’m going to. There’s nothing you could do about that one.”
Tracy McGrady was a 6’8 shooting guard who had the versatility and athleticism that jumped out of the gym. He was one of the most complete scorers back in the league and his one dribble pull-up gave defenders nightmares.
McGrady would start his dribble which would automatically shift the defender’s momentum. And the sudden pull-up from a single dribble always caught defenses off guard and it became one of T-Mac’s go-to moves. He even improved on that move by adding a spin-back fadeaway that became unstoppable. McGrady was too tall for smaller guards and too fat for taller forwards and that always worked in his favor. It is no wonder McGrady decided to take this particular move after being inspired by Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
Back in 2000, Tracy McGrady landed himself on the Orlando Magic squad and was handed the keys to the franchise. T-Mac became an absolute menace and even finished one season as the league’s scoring champion with 32.1 points per game in the 2002-03 NBA campaign.
Eventually, McGrady made his way to the Houston Rockets where he started to deal with nagging injuries that would eventually rob him of his career. However, before T-Mac’s decline, he may have given fans the highlight of his career.
Yes, we’re talking about the 13 points in 33 seconds, something that is still talked about to this day.
What did T-Mac pick up from Kobe Bryant and MJ?
Tracy McGrady was special, hands down. He had it all. Mac could shoot the ball with ease, had no problems running the offense, was tall enough to handle himself in the post, and was a posterizer that nobody wanted to challenge back in the league. Even Kobe Bryant had once admitted that Tracy McGrady was the hardest player he ever had to play against.
“The guy that always gave me the most problems was Tracy McGrady. He had all the skills and all the athleticism but he was 6’9. And he was really tough to figure out.”
Having played against both Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady was once asked who would win in a one-on-one setup between the two. And the seven-time All-Star chose The Black Mamba over Air Jordan.
“I’m going with Kob. Yeah, I’m going with Kob. I think Kobe was the most skilled basketball player I’ve ever seen. I think he took what MJ was and enhanced that skill set.”
Tracy McGrady’s name will always pop up in the ‘What Could’ve Been’ stories of the NBA. McGrady was born with all the skill and talent that he possessed in the league as opposed to putting in the work to achieve greatness. Had he not gotten injured, McGrady would’ve had a much more lucrative NBA career than he currently does.
