Tracy McGrady
McGrady, who plays either shooting guard or small forward, is one of the first players that went from high school straight to the NBA without attending college. He was drafted ninth in the first round of the 1997 draft by the Toronto Raptors. Chicago Bulls GM Jerry Krause had arranged a draft-day trade to send Scottie Pippen to Vancouver for the 4th overall pick, which he would have used to take McGrady. But, Krause was forced to call off the deal when Michael Jordan threatened to retire if it was made.
McGrady had a decent start with the Raptors, getting better numbers in all categories every year. However, his career took off when he forced a sign-and-trade to the Orlando Magic in exchange for a first round draft pick in 2000. In the 2000–2001 season, he won the Most Improved Player Award and was selected a starter in the All Star game. He and Grant Hill both were supposed to be valuable players for Orlando, but because of a long series of injuries to Hill, McGrady became the best player for the Magic. In the 2002–2003 season, McGrady captured the NBA scoring title, averaging 32.1 points per game. In the 2003–2004 season, he once again captured the NBA scoring title, averaging 28 points per game.
The cousin and former teammate of Vince Carter, McGrady set an NBA season high when he dropped 62 against the Washington Wizards on March 10, 2004. With this performance, he became the 4th player in the past 12 years to score over 60 points in a game.
However, things in Orlando turned sour in Orlando after a league-worst 21 win season. Amid allegations of slacking off during games (he later admitted to not giving 100% every game that season), his relationship between him and Magic General Manager John Weisbrod worsened. Soon, Weisbrod decided to trade the unhappy McGrady instead of keeping him for another year and risk him leaving the Magic without compensation.
On June 29, 2004, McGrady and Juwan Howard were traded to the Houston Rockets in a seven-player deal that sent Steve Francis to the Magic.
In his first season in Houston, McGrady teamed with Yao Ming, a 7-foot Chinese center, to end the season ranked 5th in the Western Conference. However, T-Mac yet again fell short as the Rockets fell to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 7 by a blowout 40-point margin. McGrady has never advanced past the first round in his NBA career.
On December 9th 2004 he scored 13 points in the last 35 seconds of a game against the San Antonio Spurs, putting on one of the great clutch performances in NBA history. The Rockets won 81–80.
He and his girlfriend Clarenda Harris have a daughter, Layla Clarice.