Very hard to say, Tracy used his athleticism to become of the best 6'8+ scorers since Gervin, LBJ and Durant. That is how high he was up there. You can all call Amen a better and faster leaper but dude is probably never to going to average 32 points per game. Amen's game probably will fare better as 2nd Option and in the Playoffs though.
Part of Tmac's athletic package was how coordinated, smooth and in control he was....declined just way too rapidly. What a waste of talent though, could have been Top 12 of All Time if he put it together but he didn't.
This made me go look up Toronto Tmac. I had memories of Orlando but yeah you're actually totally right I think. Toronto Tmac looks like Jalen Green with Amen's size and athleticism. I'm not sure I could see Amen pulling off some of these crazy dunk highlights, and I've definitely never seen Amen jump over/through people Ja/Westbrook style but Toronto Tmac seemingly did that a LOT, and at that size too. Amen may be faster I guess? (Though honestly in foot speed I actually thought Jalen was quicker end to end, Amen's just a lot more agile, explosive and quicker laterally/off his feet.) I think more people should look at Toronto Tmac, I actually do think he's more athletic than Amen.
I wouldn't say T-Mac is more coordinated. Amen is extremely coordinated. But I agree that T-Mac is more fluid.
Tmac before injuries: more explosive, agile. Amen in stronger with higher motor Regardless: Early Tmac >>>> early Amen (same age) Let's hope future Amen surpasses him, but tmac is one of the biggest "what if" names w/o injuries.
Yeah I always felt like T-Mac was more fluid than explosive. He didn't have elite-elite quickness like Amen does. That said, Amen is also very fluid and coordinated. He is able to do some crazy bendy sh*t that I haven't seen often on an NBA court. I don't know if he will ever be as smooth as T-Mac, but his body control and coordination are among the reasons he's considered an all-quadrants elite athlete.
McGrady's vertical gets reported between 40 and 43 inches https://bleacherreport.com/articles...the-vertical-jump-wherersquos-carter-and-kobe https://fadeawayworld.net/top-10-nba-players-with-the-highest-vertical-leap-of-all-time Amen has a 44 inch vertical, as shown in this image: While McGrady was an exceptional athlete, and this is a very close race, it appears Amen pips him at the post and is the more athletic (in terms of vertical leap). Amen certainly also 'appears' to be one of the quickest players up and down the court I've ever seen (like a young LeBron speed-wise), and while it is no disrespect to McGrady, Amen has him covered there too. Worth noting that the Rockets version of McGrady was not the athlete he had been in previous years. The injuries certainly took a toll on his athleticism. Hoping that doesn't happen for Amen.
Of course if we're talking, then it should be Toronto and Orlando Mac. Houston Mac was just an exceptional passer and allround player but chucked too much and due to injuries didn't even play much.
Tmac had longer limbs and was longer and that made his dunks look more explosive... Amen probably jumps higher, guys with less hair look more aerodynamic.
I actually would've agreed with this post until I went back and looked at Toronto Tmac, he's SUPER explosive. I've never seen Amen come close to these high-flying highlights tbh, it's like watching Jalen on steroids, more grace, 10 x the power. My memories are definitely all Orlando/Houston because I do not remember him being as insane as he looks in Toronto.
Not sure what those who voted for TMac were even watching the same games. Amen Thompson is in a different stratosphere, both pure and functional athleticism wise.
There's no evidence of that though at all. I've never seen Amen come close to the crazier highlights I found earlier of Tmac in Toronto. I'm not sure how you can claim "more functional athleticism" when there's reels and reels of Tmac using his to put defenders in bodybags, and nowhere near the same amount from Amen. Like it's not even close, Amen has less than a tenth of the big crazy athletic highlights Tmac has at the same point in their careers, and Amen played more minutes in his 1st 2 years.
Orlando T-Mac is 1 of my most favorite players ever…I loved watching him play I gotta go with him he was legit jaw dropping for about 3 years then he came here and well…
Amen's vertical was measured at the OTE combine at 40". What stood out about Amen is all his other numbers at the combine that looked like somebody compiled a "best of" of test results. But again... OTE numbers. TMac's greatness was he was one of the few people who combined explosive athleticism with savant-like basketball ability. The dude just understood the game. There was a recent podcast where he was talking to Carmelo on Melo's podcast and saying how he thought NBA players were all so great before he got to the league. Then he saw guys that couldn't drive in one direction and it blew his mind because he thought "how the hell did he make it to the NBA?" He thought any guy that could only drive in one direction couldn't be an NBA player. I think he said that's when he knew he'd be ok in the NBA. I think TMac, in terms of ballhandling, "running point", dribbling, etc. in his prime or even younger was way ahead of Amen, but Amen is still learning, and he looks like he's addicted to learning and improving, so hopefully he'll improve.
That's what I'm trying to tell everyone. I feel like those voting for Amen have NOT actually gone back and watched McGrady when he was in peak mode. I think they may even just be voting Amen due to being a little jaded from the way McGrady burned out here. Can you post the video you were watching?
I am not being fair My thoughts of TMac are of him being broken down and using incredibly unique homespun remedies as he aged out of the league. VS A kid that plays at a level that makes other professional athletes look like they are 2 sometimes 3 full steps behind his normal play.
