When you become a sports fan, no matter what sport you choose, you always pick a favorite player. Usually the player is on the team that you support, but occasionally there are players on other teams that you end up liking for whatever reason. As you continue watching, you see these players get older and start to break down. It's one of the sadder events to watch in sports, a guy has been an all star or all pro for the last ten years, and now they are breaking down. This season in the NBA there are a lot of players like this, who used to be all stars and even MVP's , that are now either solid starters or even bench players. I have to look no further than my favorite team, the Boston Celtics, to see Jermaine O'Neal, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen, all at different stages of decline.
In addition to the Celtics foursome, you can also include Grant Hill, Tracy Mcgrady, Tim Duncan, Shawn Marion, Jason Kidd, Mike Bibby, Chauncey Billups, Elton Brand, Vince Carter, Ben Wallace, and Michael Redd. I left out Kobe and Dirk because they really haven't shown signs of slowing down yet, although Kobe looks like he might hit the wall first. The players that I did list though all have one thing in common. They were all stars in the league when I started to watch religiously. Back in 2001, these were the guys that ran the league, with the possible exception of Chauncey and Ben Wallace who hadn't hit their groove yet. What about today though? Wouldn't you be shocked to turn on sportscenter and see that Elton Brand had a 25 point 15 rebound game or Jason Kidd blew up for a 20 assist game? Back in the early 2000's these things happened regularly, which makes it all the more sad that these players are breaking down. The kids who are just getting into the sport now are going to see these guys as role players and guys that aren't that good. I think one of the reasons I like to write this blog is to educate younger fans on the history of the game.
Which brings me to the main topic today, Tracy Mcgrady. He's one of the players that seemed to be completely done and for the last few years has been a shell of a shadow of his former self. For those of you that don't remember Tracy's prime, check it out here....
How many of you knew that he was actually that good? Did you know that he averaged 32 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 5.5 assists a game during the '02-'03 season? He was THE MAN during those years. Unfortunately, because of an injury to Grant Hill (called by many "The New MJ"), those Magic teams never made it out of the first round of the playoffs. Instead of having a reputation as one of the best players of his generation, Mcgrady is remembered for playoff failures and injuries. So when he claimed that his knee was "100% healthy", people scoffed and said that he was just trying to get a new contract. Well maybe it was only for one night, but the Tracy Mcgrady that I remember was back. He poured in 13 4th quarter points against the Heat to beat Lebron, DWade, and Chris Bosh. It was almost as if Mcgrady just wanted to remind everyone, and let Lebron and Wade know that once upon a time this was his league. It was reminiscent of another Mcgrady performance.....
The ironic part? I was never a big fan of Mcgrady when he was dominating the league. There was never a big rivalry with the Celtics, but I never appreciated what I was watching until it was over. Now when I look back over his career I feel honored to have had the privilege of watching him get drafted out of high school, learn to play in the league, dominate the league, and eventually break down and become a bench player.
There are other examples of older, former great players, having big games. One of my favorites was when Gary Payton hit some big shots in the 2006 finals and everyone reacted with surprise. Should we really have been surprised though? Gary Payton is one of the 10 best point guards of all time. My absolute favorite "former star shines again" moment hasn't happened yet though. It will be this year, when Kevin Garnett shocks everyone by throwing up a 28 point 16 rebound game at some point in the playoffs.
Thanks for reading, remember to leave a comment, go back and read all my other entries, become a fan, and keep watching for the next old timer that turns back the clock.
-Josh
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