It was the summer of 2003.
Everything was hunky-dory in Hollywood between Lakers teammates Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, LeBron James was merely a high school wunderkind with an unknown future, and Seattle still had a successful NBA franchise with a booming fan base.
Lang Whitaker, columnist for Slam Magazine — a publication that placed T-Mac on its list of 75 Greatest NBA Players of All-Time in 2003 — explains, "I guess the only thing he's failed at is in reaching the potential we all assigned to him. We saw his athleticism, his shooting, his skill, and I think NBA fans just assumed that he was going to get more rings than J-Lo. But consider this: Even with all he's accomplished, he's still not even 30 years old. Assuming he recovers from this knee surgery, we might see much, much more from him."
Whitaker's hope is one that isn't without precedent. As recent as two years ago, Kevin Garnett was in a similar "Out Of Sight, Out of Mind" world of fog that McGrady currently lingers in today. A trade to Boston, an NBA ring, and a few triumphant screams into the video camera later — Garnett's now viewed as one of the NBA's most complete players, if not its fiercest competitor.
Prior to last season's championship run, Garnett had only exited the first round of the NBA playoffs once in his 14-year career. KG lost seven straight first-round series before reaching the second round. Perhaps McGrady emerges from his knee surgery stronger and wiser than ever. Perhaps he stays with Houston and wins with Yao. Or perhaps he leaves Texas for greener pastures when his contract expires in 2010 and wins elsewhere.
Maybe we shouldn't start stenciling out the epitaph on Tracy McGrady's NBA career just yet.
But as the league forges forward with marketing around Kobe, LeBron, Paul, and Howard — you can't help but think of T-Mac as a man in the rearview mirror; an afterthought in a decade where youth was king.
If there was a book on the NBA in the 2000s, McGrady's chapter would be one filled with confusion and unmet expectations.
Or he might not even get a chapter at all.
Here's to hoping that won't end up being the case. Here's to seeing T-Mac return and put all of his demons to rest. Small steps first — successful surgery, full recovery, a first-round victory — and who knows, maybe even an NBA championship.
After all, he's still only 29.
