Tracy McGrady, when healthy, was known as one of the most entertaining players in the NBA over the last two decades.
He was a highly-touted prospect and was taken with the No. 9 pick in the 1997 NBA Draft.
McGrady is best known for his time with the Orlando Magic and the Toronto Raptors, as the Raptors drafted him.
However, as he has recently revealed in a conversation with Ryan Russillo of The Ringer, he could have quickly been taken by another team.
McGrady revealed that he tanked his pre-draft interview with the Boston Celtics, saying, “I just knew how hard and how tough Rick Pitino was,” McGrady said.
Did @Tmac_213 tank his predraft interview with the Celtics so that they wouldn’t draft him???
He explained the story to @ryenarussillo: pic.twitter.com/iQqe6FTb8Q
— The Ringer (@ringer) July 28, 2023
Pitino was Boston’s coach at the time.
McGrady recalled that the University of Kentucky was recruiting him, but Pitino’s coaching style prevented him from wanting to go there.
This was also the case for his NBA career, as Russillo indicated that McGrady didn’t do much talking in his interview with the Celtics.
Whatever his tactics were, despite his on-court brilliance in college, the Celtics didn’t end up drafting him.
Instead, they took Chauncey Billups and Ron Mercer, leaving McGrady wide-open for another team.
Had the Celtics taken McGrady, knowing what they know now, they could have been an even more dominant force in the league.
While McGrady had a few great years, injuries kept him off the floor, so he didn’t have many complete seasons.
After McGrady revealed these comments about not wanting to play for the Celtics, fans wondered what could have been for this organization.
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