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Best player in the NBA? Tracy McGrady -- just ask him
October 30, 2001
By Chris Bernucca
SportsTicker Pro Basketball Editor
ORLANDO, FLORIDA (TICKER) -- Forget Shaquille O'Neal and Allen Iverson. And who does this Jordan guy think he is? The best player in the NBA is Tracy McGrady.
If you don't think so, just ask him.
"Me," McGrady said when asked that question at training camp for the Orlando Magic. "I'm not going to say somebody's better than me. I'd be stupid to say that."
Watching McGrady in last season's playoffs, it would be hard to argue. In just his second postseason, he averaged a stunning 33.8 points per game, scoring seemingly at will.
The smooth 6-8 swingman turned Orlando's first-round series with Milwaukee into a woofing contest with Glenn Robinson, and before it was over, the "Big Dog" was very little bark and no bite.
Unfortunately, basketball is a team game, and McGrady's Magic lost in four games to the deeper and more talented Bucks.
McGrady's postseason explosion capped a first season in Orlando that exceeded everyone's expectations. He was supposed to play in the shadow of perennial All-Star forward Grant Hill, just as he did with cousin Vince Carter in Toronto.
But Hill was limited to just four games by an ankle injury and the 21-year-old McGrady was forced to become "The Man." He averaged 26.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. By the end of the season, it became apparent that whenever Hill returned, he would be deferring to McGrady.
Hill doesn't seem to mind. In fact, he claims to be the founder of the Tracy McGrady Fan Club.
"I told y'all that last year," Hill said.
When a reporter asked if that included Shaq, Hill bristled.
"You guys sound like my wife," he said. "I'm talking about the best player in the league. I was able to sit and watch last year and be there in person and he's the best player in the league. He showed me that last year. For him to finally get that due, we have to win and we've got to help him to do that. But he's the best player in the league and that's that."
McGrady is oozing confidence, and with good reason. Hill is back and appears fully recovered from his ankle woes. Aging big men Patrick Ewing and Horace Grant were signed as free agents to help on the boards, where the Magic were pounded on a regular basis last season. And swingman Mike Miller is coming off a Rookie of the Year campaign.
Those factors have McGrady predicting 60 wins for the Magic -- a total they have reached just once in their history, with Shaq manning the middle -- and an MVP for himself.
"This is my year and the team's year," McGrady said. "I've improved in every aspect, but the main thing is having another All-Star like Grant Hill playing alongside me. When I was in Toronto and had a guy like Vince Carter, I was able to help my team on the defensive end. Whatever the case, I could do a lot of other things. With Grant being back, I can do those things.
"MVP is definitely a personal goal I'd like to accomplish, but this is a time in my career when I see a guy like Kobe Bryant with two rings. It's time for a guy like me to step up from the East side and win a ring. We've got the team to do that."
McGrady's bravado doesn't excite Magic coach Doc Rivers, but it doesn't scare him, either.
"I don't care honestly," Rivers said. "If I think it gets in the way of our team, I'd say something. Other than that, I don't care. You've got to back it up. If that's what he wants to say, that's what he wants to say. I'm here to warn them that that's not the best approach. You can say nothing and you still have to win or, you can say a lot and you still have to win."
As long as they are healthy, the Magic are going to win. The 60 victories McGrady is predicting are not out of the question. In the weaker Eastern Conference, a trip to the NBA Finals also is a possibility.
But before they get there, McGrady is targeting a regular-season game on December 1 at the MCI Center in Washington, where the best player in the NBA will face the best player in the NBA.
"I just think about MJ," McGrady said. "Man, am I looking forward to that."
So my question is ... Is he really the best going around right now?
October 30, 2001
By Chris Bernucca
SportsTicker Pro Basketball Editor
ORLANDO, FLORIDA (TICKER) -- Forget Shaquille O'Neal and Allen Iverson. And who does this Jordan guy think he is? The best player in the NBA is Tracy McGrady.
If you don't think so, just ask him.
"Me," McGrady said when asked that question at training camp for the Orlando Magic. "I'm not going to say somebody's better than me. I'd be stupid to say that."
Watching McGrady in last season's playoffs, it would be hard to argue. In just his second postseason, he averaged a stunning 33.8 points per game, scoring seemingly at will.
The smooth 6-8 swingman turned Orlando's first-round series with Milwaukee into a woofing contest with Glenn Robinson, and before it was over, the "Big Dog" was very little bark and no bite.
Unfortunately, basketball is a team game, and McGrady's Magic lost in four games to the deeper and more talented Bucks.
McGrady's postseason explosion capped a first season in Orlando that exceeded everyone's expectations. He was supposed to play in the shadow of perennial All-Star forward Grant Hill, just as he did with cousin Vince Carter in Toronto.
But Hill was limited to just four games by an ankle injury and the 21-year-old McGrady was forced to become "The Man." He averaged 26.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. By the end of the season, it became apparent that whenever Hill returned, he would be deferring to McGrady.
Hill doesn't seem to mind. In fact, he claims to be the founder of the Tracy McGrady Fan Club.
"I told y'all that last year," Hill said.
When a reporter asked if that included Shaq, Hill bristled.
"You guys sound like my wife," he said. "I'm talking about the best player in the league. I was able to sit and watch last year and be there in person and he's the best player in the league. He showed me that last year. For him to finally get that due, we have to win and we've got to help him to do that. But he's the best player in the league and that's that."
McGrady is oozing confidence, and with good reason. Hill is back and appears fully recovered from his ankle woes. Aging big men Patrick Ewing and Horace Grant were signed as free agents to help on the boards, where the Magic were pounded on a regular basis last season. And swingman Mike Miller is coming off a Rookie of the Year campaign.
Those factors have McGrady predicting 60 wins for the Magic -- a total they have reached just once in their history, with Shaq manning the middle -- and an MVP for himself.
"This is my year and the team's year," McGrady said. "I've improved in every aspect, but the main thing is having another All-Star like Grant Hill playing alongside me. When I was in Toronto and had a guy like Vince Carter, I was able to help my team on the defensive end. Whatever the case, I could do a lot of other things. With Grant being back, I can do those things.
"MVP is definitely a personal goal I'd like to accomplish, but this is a time in my career when I see a guy like Kobe Bryant with two rings. It's time for a guy like me to step up from the East side and win a ring. We've got the team to do that."
McGrady's bravado doesn't excite Magic coach Doc Rivers, but it doesn't scare him, either.
"I don't care honestly," Rivers said. "If I think it gets in the way of our team, I'd say something. Other than that, I don't care. You've got to back it up. If that's what he wants to say, that's what he wants to say. I'm here to warn them that that's not the best approach. You can say nothing and you still have to win or, you can say a lot and you still have to win."
As long as they are healthy, the Magic are going to win. The 60 victories McGrady is predicting are not out of the question. In the weaker Eastern Conference, a trip to the NBA Finals also is a possibility.
But before they get there, McGrady is targeting a regular-season game on December 1 at the MCI Center in Washington, where the best player in the NBA will face the best player in the NBA.
"I just think about MJ," McGrady said. "Man, am I looking forward to that."
So my question is ... Is he really the best going around right now?
