Tracy McGrady was one of the most gifted scorers that basketball has ever seen. During his prime, he had two scoring titles and was a 7-time All-Star. He could create his own shot against any defender, and he is widely respected by a lot of current and former players.
McGrady’s era was one of intense physicality as compared to the more offensive-slanted era of today. When speaking to Ashley Nicole Moss of Sports Illustrated, Tracy McGrady stated that he wishes he could play today. McGrady pointed out that he averaged 32 PPG in a “tough, physical, tight” era, and rhetorically asked about what he would do in today’s game.
Tracy McGrady tells @AshNicoleMoss he wishes he could have played in the modern NBA: “I averaged 32 (points) in a tough, physical, tight, paint-era. So imagine what I would do in today’s game.”
How many points is T-Mac averaging today? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/JVf3l0HMoi
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) November 16, 2021
I would love to be in today’s game. The lack of physicality, the amount of 3s these guys get to shoot, The space that they play with. It’s just a positionless basketball game right now, where a guy like myself and Kevin Durant could play the 5 position. You couldn’t do that in my era, you would get crushed.
I definetely would have loved to play in this era because of the rule changes. I’m an offensive player, I’m a 1 on 1 player. I averaged 32 (points) in a tough, physical, tight, paint-era. So imagine what I would do in today’s game.
A scorer like McGrady would have definitely thrived in this golden era of offensive basketball. This isn’t the first time McGrady has spoken on this topic, as he previously claimed that he could average “35, 40 points a game” today.
Even though Tracy McGrady won’t ever be able to play in this era, we’ve seen someone who is fairly similar to him in Kevin Durant, who has been one of the best scorers in the league. McGrady would have been well suited to the version of basketball that is played today, and he was clearly far ahead of his time.
