Michael Jordan Had Rookie Tracy McGrady ‘Quaking In His Boots’, According to The Latter

Tracy McGrady had an amazing Michael Jordan anecdote a few years ago after The Last Dance was released.

Michael Jordan Had Rookie Tracy McGrady ‘Quaking In His Boots’, According to The Latter

Michael Jordan and Tracy McGrady (FS Image)

Calling Michael Jordan the greatest player of all time is like remarking that water is wet. These are true statements that barely anyone can question, even though ESPN has tried its best to make it a debate. Matching his on-court production is one thing, but having the amount of influence that he had, changing the way people played the game and approached training and preparation, Jordan scaled uncharted territory.

The man’s aura was apparent to everyone who crossed him, after one point. The myth of a man who returned to NBA action after taking a baseball break wasn’t lost on those who came after him. Allen Iverson has remarked on the presence of this same aura, even though he famously crossed him up. Tracy McGrady is another player who modeled his game after MJ and found great success in the NBA.

According to Tracy McGrady, Jordan had him ‘shaking in his boots’ when he faced him as a rookie:

I was shaking in my boots, shaking when I first had to guard him. I’m standing there, and Pip comes out, all these players start coming out. Mike comes around that corner, and I ain’t going to lie to you, the man had a glow. That s**t is real

The man, the myth and the legend that MJ was, he also inspired those who grew up idolizing him to scale greater heights, even when matched up against his own self:

I’m on the court with him my rookie year, and it took me about a quarter to get over the fact that this is Mike. That mystique wears off if you are around someone for a longer time. I had my best game as a rookie playing against him, almost had a triple-double. In front of 30 thousand, we played at the SkyDome. Mike had about 35, and he probably had 12 on me easy.

Much like Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, and others got their revenge on an aged Michael Jordan, McGrady also took pleasure in repaying some of the pain he endured as a rookie.

I had to get his a** back when he was with the Wizards, though. Your a** is 38 years old, and you put 50 and still have the game, but you have to get this work.

Tracy McGrady has recently started another hot debate

LeBron James recently spoke about one of the ‘follies’ prevalent in NBA discourse, and that is ring culture. According to James, the likes of Charles Barkley, Steve Nash and Allen Iverson will always be legends irrespective of rings won. Tracy McGrady had a take in a similar vein. After all, McGrady toiled away on a gutted roster during the best years of his prime with the Orlando Magic.

Tracy McGrady
Tracy McGrady (Imagn)

McGrady claims, as was a popular sentiment back in the day, that he could undoubtedly have won championships had he been a teammate of Shaquille O’Neal in Los Angeles. This sounds all the more gut wrenching for a McGrady fan when combined with the fact that Doc Rivers fumbled a chance to trade for Tim Duncan. However, McGrady claimed he would have more championships, and that is certainly a tall claim.

The likes of Nick Young, Gilbert Arenas, and Dwyane Wade, among others, all had more takes that bounced off of the same sentiments as expressed by McGrady. All of ESPN media members were also abuzz with the debate around whether McGrady could have gotten the job done if playing alongside O’Neal. But all of this seems to be in bad taste given that Bryant himself isn’t around to push back at these notions.

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