Tracy McGrady Biography

Basketball Player

Name at birth: Tracy Lamar McGrady, Jr.

Tracy McGrady, a deceptively sleepy-eyed, 6-foot, 8-inch guard, is one of a handful of players to skip college and go straight to millionaire stardom in the National Basketball Association. Emerging from relative obscurity in his Florida hometown, he caught scouts' attention in a summer program and transferred to a prep basketball powerhouse in North Carolina for his senior year. Drafted by Toronto in the first round in 1997, "T-Mac" has also played for Orlando (2000-2004) and Houston (to present) and led the league in scoring in back-to-back seasons (2003-04 and 2004-05), averaging 28 and 32 points per game. On 9 December 2004 he led Houston to victory by scoring 13 points in the final 33 seconds of a game against San Antonio. Injuries have slowed him intermittently since 2005.

Extra credit: McGrady also excelled in school baseball and considered a career in that sport... He and his wife, CleRenda, have two daughters, Layla and Laycee, and a son, Laymen... His charitable Tracy McGrady Foundation emphasizes educational and youth-oriented projects, and, since 2007, aid to refugees from violence in the Darfur region of Sudan.

Other NBA stars who played no college ball include Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and McGrady's Houston teammate, Yao Ming.