Tracy McGrady was one of the best offensive talents the league had ever seen in his prime. Although injuries took a massive toll on T-Mac’s career, he was simply unstoppable when he was younger, scoring in every way possible. And McGrady was a feisty character that liked to take his opponents head-on, very much a prolific dunker even though he lost to Vince Carter in the dunk contest.
McGrady was a creative player, especially in his younger days. He had several ideas of how to split defenses and leave defenders looking foolish, and he didn’t hesitate to try any new tricks at his disposal. Throwing it off the backboard and dunking it is one of the coolest moves in basketball, and McGrady had a fun history with it, as he spoke to Slam Magazine about earlier in the year.
“I always wanted to be creative,” Mac says. “You know, I’m a creative thinker, and I want to be the first to do something. I want to do something that nobody’s done, especially on the NBA level. And when I was in high school, a team was playing a 2-3 zone, and I just got tired of the two guys [at the top] stopping me from penetrating to the basket. So I got pissed and I said, ‘I’m gonna split these two dudes, I’m gonna throw it off the glass and I’m gonna catch this off the glass and dunk it.’”
That is a sign of just how great McGrady was and what his ambitions were, but it got even better after he eventually got to the NBA.
Tracy McGrady Revealed How He Threw To It Off The Backboard To Dunk On Dirk Nowitzki And Gary Payton
Once McGrady broke out in the NBA, he was in the company of the most elite players in the world. And he hadn’t lost that streak to dominate players either, with him explaining how he split Gary Payton and Dirk Nowitzki en route to a dunk in an All-Star game.
“So to do this, right, you got to have supreme confidence within your ability. At this point in 2003, I feel like nobody can touch me. In 2002 to 2003, feel like nobody can touch me at this time. I’m highly skilled, I’m confident. I feel great. I’m quick, fast, like, I am at my best.
“We’re at All-Star Weekend. Jermaine O’Neal gives me the ball coming down on the left side. I see Dirk [Nowitzki] standing right there, I see GP [Gary Payton]. Got the ball in the left hand. Left hand coming around. Everybody do this. Just come out of nowhere. Boom. Boom. Go crazy, everybody go crazy, it was legendary. And I’m like, That’s the moment I’ve been waiting on. Because that, what I just did, I know that’s going to be around for years, for decades.”
Tracy McGrady was insanely good during the 2002-03 season, averaging a whopping 32 points per game for the Orlando Magic. Those are mind-boggling numbers, it’s easy to understand when he is still so revered. And when you can say you’ve done something like this against the caliber of Nowitzki and Payton, that’s truly impressive.
