Tracy McGrady makes Hall of Fame on April Fool's Day (Rudy snubbed again)

All these Tracy fans are also Dwight apologists. Amusing.

Star riders, not real basketball junkies...

 

tmac 15 on all greatest list by a really good site.. I say the best site that knows its ****..

http://www.complex.com/sports/2013/06/the-greatest-shooting-guards-in-nba-history/tracy-mcgrady

That really means something my homies.. peace...

 

"T-Mac was the original YouTube basketball superstar" | "The games that made Tracy McGrady a Hall of Famer" | "Will Tracy McGrady's jersey ever be retired?"

 

This is a good summary. He was the Anti-Kobe because Kobe was not universally loved like Jordan.
The league needed a rival. Talent yes, accomplishments..hell no.

It was during this era that McGrady was a beacon. He kept people's interest in the game. He appealed to millions of new fans in China who tuned in to watch Yao but were captivated by his high-flying teammate.

He was a player who was ahead of his time, a wing built with the ability to be a great scorer and a great playmaker. A guy who could dunk and shoot 3-pointers. His ability to draw young people to the game was vital for the league in those years. His signature shoes were huge sellers. There was a time when TMacs sold better than the shoes of any other active player. That was really important.

 

Congrats again to Tmac!

 

Those plays are sick! Hof just from how many people he turned people onto bball alone.

 

Bad speech. All about himself. Money.

Never cared for T Mac.

 

His speech sounds like a bunch of excuses. I like Yao's better.


“I think as long as the players that play the game understand how tough it is, it doesn’t bother me that they say ‘Why is he in the Hall of Hame without winning? He doesn’t have a ring,'” McGrady said. “That’s the thing now. If you don’t have a ring, you wasn’t nothing.



“From top to bottom goes into winning a championship. If you’re playing for an organization that’s just happy, an owner that’s just happy owning a franchise and not really putting those pieces and trying to win a championship, then you’re gonna have unsuccessful seasons. Yeah, you’ll make the playoffs, but you’re not a championship contending team. Only a handful of those are gunning each year, year in and year out, to put those types of teams to win a championship. You’re just as good as your ownership and your general manager.”


Read more at http://www.slamonline.com/nba/tracy-mcgrady-this-is-my-championship/#I4FL1bpO8QemMdip.99

 

McGrady into Hall: 'Yes, I deserve to be here'

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Once reluctant to accept that he deserved a spot in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Tracy McGrady stood on stage at Springfield's Symphony Hall on Friday night and firmly declared that he belongs alongside the game's greatest players.​

"Yes, I deserve to be here," said McGrady, the headliner of this year's 11-person class, near the end of a powerful nine-minute induction speech that balanced a sense of vindication with an appreciation for all those that delivered him to this point.

Upon arriving at the podium after an introduction video that offered an emphatic reminder of McGrady's on-court excellence, he exulted by repeatedly screaming, "Yes!"

McGrady, a seven-time All-Star and two-time scoring champ, told the story of being out with his wife, CleRenda, in February when this year's Finalists were announced. She implored him to look into a mirror and say he deserved to be a Hall of Famer but McGrady was reluctant.

"My wife knew something about me in that elevator that I had yet to admit and say out loud," McGrady said. "There was a reason she wanted me to look myself in that mirror and say I deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. And there was also a reason why I couldn't do it.

"I had a zillion thoughts in my mind why I didn't deserve to be here. I started thinking of all these NBA greats, who had accomplished so many great things. Then I began to compare myself to them. It was way too easy to focus on what you don't have and what you didn't accomplish. But I'm grateful for those people that saw in me and believed in me, maybe when I always didn't believe in myself."

McGrady became emotional while recalling the story of attending an adidas basketball camp in 1996 as an unknown high schooler. He was given jersey No. 175, reflecting his recruiting status then dominated a camp headlined by Lamar Odom.

"The last guy to enter this camp and you give me that jersey: 175," said McGrady, who then turned away from the crowd while quickly collecting himself. "Nobody had a clue who Tracy McGrady was. [Adidas executive Sonny Vaccaro] gave me that platform and I played against the best players in the world at that time. I left that camp the No. 1 player in the nation, 175 to No. 1."​

 

who thought he forgot about Gundy the first time he thanked his coaches? Haha.

 

In spite of injuries he had a longer career than Zeke, not a more successful one.

I agree, JVG was supposed to be a mentor but was gone too fast.

Not a bad speech at all. He always had a chip on his shoulder 'It's my fault' 'It's on me' 'I deserved to be in the HOF'.

Talk to your coaches but I hoped you never talked to the media.

 

Edit: @Rox11 already posted it.

 

So Tmac turned out better than Lamar Odom.

Congrats Tmac

 

"Anyone can win a ring but not everyone can make it to the Hall Of Fame"

I agree Tmac

 

But will Robert Horry make the Hall of Fame?

 

Thought it was a fine speech. Good for him.

 

Nice personal touch. Happy for the guy