If you’re an NBA expert, you’ve probably watched the highlights from the legendary Christmas Day game between Tracy McGrady and a rookie LeBron James in 2003. If you haven’t, go and do yourself a favor and watch them right now. It’s perhaps the best Christmas Day game in league history, showcasing a player at the top of his game, and another who was ascending to the top of the NBA pyramid.
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It’s not just NBA superfans who look back on the game fondly. McGrady even remembers the game quite well. When he mentioned it on a recent podcast, he talked about how he was in peak form that year.
However, coming out of the game, T-Mac knew one thing was for sure. And that’s the fact that LeBron James was the real deal.
“It was a classic game. But to see a young cat like that with the poise, going up against me at that time when I was leading the league in scoring. To see how he handled that, that type of pressure coming in there. I knew he was born for it. For stardom,” McGrady said on 7PM in Brooklyn.
T-Mac couldn’t have been more right. Not only did LeBron become a star, but he’s become one of the best to ever play the game. And he seemingly knew this before everyone else by the way that he didn’t back down from McGrady’s challenge.
“He didn’t get discouraged. I was like, okay, dude is gonna be a problem,” he added.
Sometimes you can tell a lot from how certain athletes approach a challenge. Some run or hide from it, while others welcome the challenges. When McGrady noticed Bron wasn’t flinching at his scoring ability, he knew the rookie was destined to be great.
It’s not the first time T-Mac has shown love for LeBron, though. A couple of months ago, he said this about the GOAT.
“I think LeBron has been amazing for 22 freaking years. And he’s been the best basketball player for God knows how long,” McGrady said.
It’s high praise coming from T-Mac. He’s one of the best scorers the league has ever seen when he was at his peak. In 2003, during the Christmas game, McGrady was arguably at the top of his game. He led the league in scoring and had career-high shooting percentages from two and three.
That’s why T-Mac was confident going into the matchup against a rookie LeBron. He knew he could protect his home court against the younger, inexperienced player. Yet, it didn’t stop one of his friends from getting under his skin.
“One of my boys, he was my barber from back home. We had a bet. [He said] ‘Bron going to come in here and tear your a** up!’ He was just always a joker like that. I said alright. I said motherf*cker, make sure you tune into this game, and don’t miss nothing.”
In the end, it was McGrady who tore it up. He dropped 41 points, 11 assists, and 8 rebounds, to go along with 3 steals and a block. The effort helped the Magic top the Cavs in overtime, 113-101.
On the other hand, LeBron finished with a respectable 34 points on four made threes and 6 assists on his debut Christmas Day Game. However, he had 8 costly turnovers that highlighted his rookie stripes. But while McGrady won the day, 22 years later, LeBron undoubtedly won the career.
