Tracy McGrady has been recently active on Instagram talking extensively about his illustrious career and recounting some of the best untold stories from the past. Posting an interesting clip to his Instagram recently, the 7-time All-Star spilled the beans on his famous ‘left-hand’ free throw incident from 2007. He also recalled how Kobe Bryant reacted after he pulled off the insane move.
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Talking about the incident, McGrady said, “On this play, I ran into Luke Walton and my elbow was hyper-extended. So I had to shoot left-handed. I made my first shot, all net. Kobe[ Kobe Bryant] was like, ‘That’s some bullsh*t.’ Bricked the second one, and that was that.”
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The incident that McGrady is talking about in the video took place back in 2007, during a regular season matchup between the Lakers and Rockets. In the second quarter of the game, McGrady sustained an injury after a collision with Luke Walton. He was awarded two free throws after the collision, but his right arm was hurt by the impact. Therefore, T-Mac would shoot with his off-hand, making the first and bricking the second. Immediately after taking his shots, McGrady would leave the arena, as the Lakers would defeat the Rockets 93-90.
After addressing the free-throw incident, McGrady was asked to compare his left-handed shot to that of Michael Jordan’s “no-look” free throw from 1991. After pondering on the question a bit, McGrady ranked his own shot over MJ’s, “Left-handed. MJ’s eyes closed, that’s easy….you know where the basket is.. it’s all feels.”
McGrady and Jordan both possessed great showmanship. Even though many would think that Jordan’s version of the shot is more impressive, shooting with your off-hand is a great feat as well. But unlike McGrady, Jordan had drained both his free throws and even won the game.
Michael Jordan’s circus shot
Jordan did his “no-look” free throw back in 1991. During a regular season match-up between the Chicago Bulls and Denver Nuggets, Jordan decided to troll rookie Center Dikembe Mutombo. He would find his moment during the fourth quarter, when he would be sent to the free throw line.
After making his first free throw, Jordan would turn to Mutombo, taunting him, “Hey, Mutombo. This one’s for you baby.” After that, he would proceed to make the second free throw with his eyes closed. Mutombo and Jordan would form an interesting rivalry from that point onward, as the former would become known for his defensive prowess throughout the 90’s.
