Many superstars don’t ride off into the sunset at the peak of their powers. Time has an undefeated record. Tracy McGrady felt like he was losing the battle to the clock. Amid his struggles, he received an unexpected call from San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, which changed the outcome of his career.
Advertisement
McGrady was one of the best players in the NBA during his prime. He led the league in scoring multiple seasons with the Orlando Magic and had his moments with the Houston Rockets. Unfortunately, as was also the case with his co-star Yao Ming, injuries began to slow him down.
Following the 2008-09 season, McGrady couldn’t stay on the court. Within his last three seasons, he had only played more than 60 games once. His productivity decreased immensely. As a result, McGrady was out of the NBA at the young age of 32.
In the 2012-13 season, the seven-time All-Star took his talents to China to play in the CBL. He returned to America for two months on break. On one random Sunday, McGrady received a very important phone call.
“I get out of church and I get a voicemail for [Greg Popovich],” McGrady said on Robert Marawa on 947. “I said, ‘Pop, I’ve been sitting on this couch for two months, I haven’t worked out. He said, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll get you in shape, I need your body.'”
Popovich’s phone call came near the end of the 2012-13 season. The next steps came easily to McGrady. He happened to already be in Texas at the time and made the short trip to San Antonio. McGrady joined the Spurs entering the postseason. McGrady only suited up in six of the Spurs 21 playoff games. He didn’t score a single point and averaged 1.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists.
This was far from the same player that many basketball fans grew to love during the early 2000s. McGrady himself doesn’t like to think too much of his later years for that very reason. “I don’t even like to talk about those other teams that I played for after my prime,” McGrady joked.
Regardless of how he feels about his last years in the NBA, his opinion on the Spurs franchise hasn’t changed. The seven-time All-NBA member holds the Spurs in a tier above many other NBA teams.
“I saw vividly why they were a championship organization. Pop as the head coach and how he was putting that team together. I saw it with my own eyes and I’m glad I got a chance to experience that because that was the only time in my career I ever went on a run like that,” he said.
The Spurs reached the 2013 NBA Finals during McGrady’s sole season with them. Unfortunately, the Miami Heat won in seven games, preventing the eventual Hall-of-Fame forward from receiving an NBA championship. Nonetheless, McGrady looks back in awe of what he was able to accomplish.
