Basketball

NBA 75: At No. 55, Tracy McGrady was a skinny, versatile wing who blossomed into a scoring machine


Welcome to the NBA 75, The Athletic’s countdown of the 75 best players in NBA history, in honor of the league’s diamond anniversary. From Nov. 1 through Feb. 18, we’ll unveil a new player on the list every weekday except for Dec. 27-31, culminating with the man picked by a panel of The Athletic NBA staff members as the greatest of all time.

The Raptors’ first-ever draft pick came in 1995. Their expansion agreement meant the Vancouver Grizzlies and Raptors would pick sixth and seventh, respectively, and Raptors boss Isiah Thomas had his eyes on one man. Or rather, one “Kid” — Kevin Garnett.

Minnesota snatched him up with the fifth pick, leaving the Raptors to pick Damon Stoudamire, which worked out well enough. Still, not only was Thomas not scared off by the prospect of helping a player straight out of high school adapt to the NBA, he was intrigued by it. Two years later, he had another chance with the ninth overall pick. A skinny, gangly, versatile wing named Tracy McGrady was Thomas’s target.

“Isiah fell in love with him,” said Glen Grunwald, who was Thomas’s top assistant with the Raptors when they drafted McGrady ninth in 1997, and he was the general manager for the Raptors when McGrady left for Orlando in 2000.





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