Tracy McGrady is often considered one of the best players in NBA history to never win the NBA championship. McGrady did have some great teammates throughout his career, including Vince Carter and Yao Ming. But a run for the championship was never on the cards for McGrady. Things could have been very different if Grant Hill and Tim Duncan had joined him in Orlando, which was a real possibility at the time.
Tracy McGrady spoke about the possibility of teaming up with Tim Duncan and Grant Hill in Orlando. McGrady revealed that the Magic were recruiting both Duncan and Hill before he ever joined them. But a falling out during negotiations meant Duncan didn’t join. And Hill’s injury problems made it difficult for him to make a run with McGrady for the title (start from slide 3).
“They were recruiting both of them before they were recruiting me. Im only in my third year. I was a bench player… Once I found out what happened with the Tim Duncan situation… I still haven’t had that conversation with Doc. Its speculation. He wouldn’t allow Tim Duncan, I guess he wanted his spouse to travel on the plane, to come to games on the road. Doc wouldn’t allow that, so that was a dealbreaker for him. That’s what I heard, that was the dealbreaker. That could have change my life… That could have been a game changer in a lot of people’s lives.
Tim Duncan was on the verge of joining the Orlando Magic, but as revealed by then-Magic head coach Doc Rivers, Duncan agreed to stay but was convinced at the 11th hour by Gregg Popovich and David Robinson to re-sign with the San Antonio Spurs, thus continuing his legacy with the franchise.
One can only imagine how great the trio of Hill, McGrady, and Duncan could have been. The trio would have dominated the frontcourt and the backcourt and could have steamrolled the rest of the Eastern Conference en route to multiple NBA championships.
