Tracy McGrady Outlines Why His Prime Self Would Be Ideal Next to LeBron James on the Lakers

Tracy McGrady is regarded as one of the greatest scorers and shooting guards to ever grace the NBA hardwood. At the prime of his career, T-Mac won two NBA scoring titles and was a seven-time All-Star during the tenure of his NBA career. In a recent post on his Instagram page, T-Mac revealed which current team he would be the best fit to further their chances for the championship.

McGrady has always greatly appreciated LeBron James and chose to be part of the Los Angeles Lakers at its current stage. Being alongside LeBron James, T-Mac believes he could bring the best out of the Lakers by adding to their scoring prowess.

He would move James to the point guard position to accommodate himself in the team, owing to his superior basketball IQ. This way, LeBron could act as a facilitator for the team while T-Mac handled the scoring department. The former Toronto Raptors player would leave Anthony Davis to play in his position, given that the forward remained healthy and consistent in performing for the team.

For Austin Reaves, T-Mac suggested being a playmaker rather than taking the brunt of scoring. “Just come here and be a playmaker, be a facilitator, I got this, the scoring shit,” McGrady added, suggesting the changes he would implement if he were on the current Lakers team.

 

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Relaying his excitement for this hypothetical prospect of playing with LeBron James, T-Mac said, “Scoring the ball on the Lakers with Bron being my teammate? I got this.” Indeed, the Lakers could use the scoring prowess of T-Mac at this stage, given they have just nine games left in the regular season. Perhaps, with T-Mac and LeBron James’ team-up, the Lakers could better contend for the upcoming playoffs this season.

Tracy McGrady is confident of averaging around 35 or 40 points in today’s NBA

The modern era of the NBA is all about scoring in volumes, and the teams have quickly adapted to this new pace. Players are now quicker than ever, focusing mainly on offense and scoring. The big dogs in the league have explored great potential in shooting from the three-point line, which adds significantly to their scoring prowess.

Tracy McGrady belonged to an era of the NBA, which wasn’t known for its high-scoring games. McGrady was a 2x scoring champion in the league, averaging 32.1 points per game in the 2002-03 season. Though T-Mac was one of the most versatile scorers of the early 2000s, injuries slowed him down later in his career.

In an appearance on ESPN‘s ‘The Jump’, in 2018, McGrady remarked,

“I look at some of these high-scoring guys that are shooting a lot more threes than myself, or Kobe shot back in the days—averaging probably 10 threes a game…. I’ll average, easily, 35, 40 points a game. Easily. I mean, I averaged 32 without even shooting that many threes… and you can’t impede my progress when I’m running?”

Looking at his incredible scoring resume, T-Mac’s statement would be complex to argue. It would be interesting to see how the McGrady would fit in today’s league, considering how players have evolved to be quicker and more athletic than in the erstwhile era of the league.