Greatest Bust in NBA History - Tracy McGrady

When NBA analysts and fans talk about "busts" the usual names are bounced around during discussions. Anthony Bennett. Greg Oden. Kwame Brown. Player's that were dominant during their high school and college days but for one reason or another, couldn't make the leap to the NBA. Now, although these names are definitely on that list of "busted" NBA defects, I don't think they truly define what an NBA bust is. In my mind, an NBA bust is defined by a combination of true greatness and a whole heap of disappointment, and only one player fits that description: Tracy McGrady. 

Now before you go straight down to the comment section and type, "WhAt AbOuT ChArLeS BaRkLeY" or "WhAt AbOuT kArL MaLoNe?", the lack of a championship ring isn't the only reason I label T-Mac as the NBA's Greatest Bust. 

I'll start with the good. Without injuries and misfortune, Tracy McGrady may have been one of the greatest players in NBA history and possessed every quality necessary to 'make it' in the NBA. He played in 15 NBA seasons with 6 different teams and was named an All-Star on seven consecutive occasions from 2000-2007. During this time he obtained 2 scoring titles in 2003 and 2004 in which he averaged 32.1 and 28.0 points per game respectively. I would go as far to say that in terms of scoring ability, McGrady was right up there with the best to ever do it and in his prime, I would have backed him against the best defence any NBA era had to offer. 

Sound's impressive right? Unfortunately, that's where Tracy McGrady's resume starts to fall off and is hopefully where you will start to see where I'm coming from. 

Let's start with the most notable reason, injuries. In a career that spanned over 1230 games, McGrady only played in 908 of them (73.82%). Now, for the average NBA player, this would be considered a fairly decent and profitable career, but for a Hall of Famer, this is disappointing, to say the least. But in the interest of staying as objective as possible, injury is a factor that was mostly out of McGrady's control, so I won't hold it against him too much. 

However, one factor that can't be ignored is his post-season record. In a world where winning is everything, McGrady didn't do a whole lot of it. From 2000-2012, his team never made it past the 1st round and possessed an abysmal career record of 19 wins and 31 losses in the playoffs. Although he averaged 21.7 points per game throughout this 12 year period and forced three 7-game series, T-Mac's style of relentless scoring was his main downfall and therefore always found himself sitting on his sofa in July watching Tim Duncan or Dwayne Wade add a Championship ring to their trophy case. 

The one and only chance McGrady ever had as a ring was at the 2013 NBA Finals, where he joined the San Antonio Spurs and acted as more of a dead weight than a valued team member. He appeared for a brief 32 minutes throughout the Spurs entire playoff run, attempting 7 field goals and scoring a total of 0 points. 

There is no question that injury ruined Tracy McGrady's NBA career. However, from what I've brought to light today, I think it's fair to say that T-Mac wasn't as great as some say he was. Sure, his injuries are a great card to play when defending this alleged Hall of Famer, but the combination of his inability to lead, an extremely poor playoff record, and lack of success outside the scoring column, firmly put Tracy McGrady in the list of NBA shortcomings.