Article by John Manenti
In various sports, both individual and team, to fascinate the relative chronicles are the clamorous comebacks compared to races that now seem decided and, just to mention some of the most famous in football, how can we forget the 1999 Champions League final in which Manchester United were able to win the trophy by beating Bayern Munich 2-1 thanks to two goals scored in added time, in the 91st and 93rd minutes, like the incredible Liverpool’s recovery in 2005 against Milan, 0-3 down at half-time, result impacted on 3-3 and then impose themselves on penalties …
But, although it is not such an important appointment, since it is a simple competition of “regular season”, what happens on the evening of December 9, 2004 in the NBA Basketball match scheduled between the Houston Rockets and the San Antonio Spurs at the “Toyota Arena” in Houston has something incredible and not so much for a result overturned in a few seconds by the siren, but for the fact that the protagonist is one and only one of the Rockets players on the parquet, in a sort of competitive trance that has no equal in the US professional panorama.
And it is not, as you might think, a question of a Michael Jordan (also because he had already retired at the time …) nor of an Allen Iverson, rather than Kevin Garnett or Kobe Bryant, but of an athlete on whom high hopes had been placed upon his entry into the NBA, which took place from High School and without going through College, which were then only partially maintained …
Tracy Lamar McGrady was born on May 24, 1979 in Bartow, a city of just over 15,000 souls in Florida. attends for the first three years the “Auburndale High School” in Florida, and then moved to North Carolina for the last cycle of studies at the “Mount Zion Christian Academy” of Durham, so as to record in his senior year averages of 23.1 points, 12.2 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 4.9 rebounds per gamethe “score” of a complete player, capable of covering both the roles of small and/or power forward and therefore attractive to the major NBA franchises.
Initially, McGrady – elected”Mr. Basketball Usa” in 1997, prize awarded to the best player in High School – he is inclined to continue his studies at the “University of Kentucky”, unless you decide to take part in the Draft that takes place at the end of June 1997 at the “Charlotte Coliseum” in Charlotte, North Carolina, given that he was one of the probable first picksand so he is, being called ninth by the Toronto Raptors in an edition that sees none other than Tim Duncan as the first pick …
Truth be told, T-Mac (as he is later dubbed…) is in danger of never wearing a Raptors shirt as Jerry Krause, General Manager of the reigning champions Chicago Bulls, had organized an exchange with Vancouver (which had the fourth choice …) by giving them Scottie Pippen precisely to bet on the 18-year-old from Floridawhich did not go through due to Jordan’s clear stance that threatens to retire in the event of the transfer of his faithful teammate.
And so, McGrady finds himself in Canada, where, however, the beginnings are far from simple, with two first seasons in which his playing time is less than half the time of a single game, with things improving in his third year in toronto, the draft pick of his cousin Vince Carter, so as to go for the first time in “double digit” with an average of 15.8 points and help the Raptors qualify for the playoffs, despite being eliminated 0-3 by the New York Knicks in the first round …
This positive season, combined with having acquired the necessary experience to be able to compete among the Professionals, means that McGrady – in the meantime become “free agent”, or released – take an interest in the Orlando Magic, which put him under contract for seven seasons against a salary of approx. 93 million dollarsalthough this choice is not dictated by the economic aspect alone but by the desire to return to Florida, as well as not being satisfied with the secondary role that his cousin Vince had forced him into in Toronto.
This choice, also the result of the possibility of playing together with Grant Hill, also released by the Detroit Pistons, is partially diminished by an injury which keeps Hill practically out of the team for the entire season, however allowing McGrady to assume the role of franchise leader, a task that leads him to increase his averages to 26.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists per gameso as to be elected as “NBA Most Improved Player” (NBA Most Improved Player…), as well as selected for the first of his 7 (2001-’07) “All Star Game” consecutive …
A growth that continues steadily also in the following three years in Florida, which sees McGrady win the title of “Top Scorer” in 2003 and 2004, with 32.1 and 28.0 points per game – while on March 10, 2004, in the 108-99 home win over Washington, he established his own “Career High” con 62 points, the result of 20 of 37 shooting, including 5 of 14 from distance, and 17 of 26 from the line – while never managing to go beyond the first round of the Playoffs (defeated 4-3 by the Detroit Pistons in 2003 …), only to be part of a sensational trade in late June 2004 …
In an agreement, in fact, which involves 7 players, McGrady, along with teammates Juwan Howard, Tyronn Lue and Reece Gaines, move to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato, an exchange that T-Mac himself says he approves of for the prospect of playing alongside Chinese center Yao Mingas well as signing a three-year, $63 million contract extension.
However, McGrady’s new adventure isn’t starting off on the right foot, as Houston goes on a 5-game losing streak. a 6-11 record in early December 2004, before a trio of home games that saw the Rockets beat Philadelphia 77-76 (20 points by Yao and 17 McGrady) on December 4 and 89-81 by New Orleans three days laterwith Yao and McGrady again (21 and 18 points respectively …) protagonists, before arriving at the “fateful” appointment of December 9, 2004, destined to enter the history of the NBA …
San Antonio, vice versa, appears on the parquet of the “Toyota Arena” con a record of 16 wins and only 4 losses and, led by a great Tim Duncan, overturns the 12-18 run of the first quarter taking the lead 58-54 at the beginning of the last period, lead progressively increased up to +10 (74-64) at 1’02” from the siren and which maintains a +8 (76-68) when the clock marks 44” at the end thanks to two free throws scored by Devin Brown, and this is where T-Mac’s personal show begins.
Oh God, it’s not that until then, despite having already scored 20 points on the scoresheet, the now 25-year-old from Florida had particularly shone, as certify his averages of 7 out of 17 shooting and even 1 out of 8 from long rangebut evidently something lights up in McGrady’s mind that leads to it to reduce the distance to -3 with a 3-point shot 35” from the sirento then, after another winning pass in the line by Brown for the 78-71 Spurs, to carry out the decisive action, or send the ball into the net from distance while simultaneously being fouled by Duncan for a “4-point game” that brings the Rockets to -3 (78-75) when there are just over 24” left to go…
With the support of their fans and after Greg Popovich calls for time out, the Spurs see Duncan sent to the line, with the center of the Virgin Islands to maintain the right coolness bringing his team back to +5 (80-75) with only 16” left to playbut in the meantime the ball is in the hands of the hosts and only 5” pass before an inspired McGrady centers his third”bomba” consecutive that sends Houston to -2 (80-78) and Popovich asking for the last time out at his disposal to orchestrate the throw-in …
Ball entrusted to Brown who, in an attempt to force the Rockets’ defense on the right side, slips and loses the ball which is recovered by McGrady dribbling, crosses the goal line and then, this time moving to the left side of the opponent’s basket, lets go of his fourth consecutive shot from distance for +1 (81-80) with the stopwatch to mark that 1 “7 are missing to the siren with the conclusion of the desperation entrusted to Parker who does not even catch the iron for a victory to remain in the annals of the Texan franchise.
With the first of the four consecutive 3-point shots (plus a bonus free throw …) fired at 35″2 to go and the last shot at 1″7, here is Tracy McGrady’s 13 overall points are scored in the space of 33”5 and, as Federico Buffa points out in his Italian commentary on Sky Sport together with Flavio Tranquillo, “Do you believe in Miracles ??” …
Because, in fact, we believe it was really a real miracle …