McGrady did not attended college instead opting to go from high school to the NBA. He was drafted purely on potential by the Toronto Raptors with the 9th pick in the 1997 NBA draft. He had a solid but not spectacular rookie season for the Raptors appearing in 64 games with 17 starts and averaging 7 points a game.

He appeared in 49 of the 50 games in 1998 which is the closest he has ever come to appearing in every game in a season. He improved slightly his second year averaging 9 points a game. The Raptors added T-Mac’s cousin Vince Carter via the draft in 1998 and the pair combined for just one season but it was to date the Raptors best season. McGrady became a starter late in the year, averaging 15 points a game and helped the Raptors make their first playoff appearance in franchise history.

After three years with the Raptors McGrady signed with the Orlando Magic. He finally became a star with the Magic averaging 27 points a game, making his first all-star appearance and winning most improved player honors.

2002-03 was McGrady’s best season as he averaged a league leading 32 points a game and nearly helped the 8th seeded Magic pull a playoff upset of the top seeded Pistons. The Magic lead 3-1 before losing the series. McGrady lead the NBA in scoring the following season with 28 points a game but the Magic had an atrocious season and would opt for wholesale changes the next year.

McGrady was traded to the Houston Rockets for Steve Francis. McGrady and new teammate Yao Ming would make the Rockets a force in the west when they where both healthy. The Rockets would hit a nice stride between 2006-2008 but would fizzle out both seasons with playoff loses to Utah.

Injuries have plagued McGrady’s career. He has never played a full season in the NBA and has missed 20 or more games in 5 times in his career. His last two seasons with the Rockets he fell out of favor and spent most of the season on the injured list with a verity of ailments. He was traded to the Knicks on the trade deadline in 2010 where he looked good at times but struggled the majority of the season. Currently McGrady is under contract with the Pistons hoping to revitalize his career.

McGrady has appeared in 814 career games and averages 21 points and 6 rebounds. He has been selected to the all-star game 7 times. He is a likely hall of famer as well. The biggest knock on McGrady’s career however has been his inability to get past the first round of the playoffs. He has three times been on a team that was up 3 games to 2 games and lost the series all three times. The afore mentioned series with Detroit and two with the Rockets; including losing a game 7 at home to Utah in 2007.

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