Hoops Habit
Fansided

NBA Injuries: 20 Stars Who Deserve A Career Do-Over

By Gerald Bourguet

AUBURN HILLS, UNITED STATES: Detroit Pistons player Grant Hill (L) drives around Indiana Pacers player Chris Mullin during the first half of their game 07 February at the Palace of Auburn Hills. The Pistons beat the Pacers 107-98. AFP PHOTO/JEFF KOWALSKY (Photo credit should read JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP/Getty Images)
AUBURN HILLS, UNITED STATES: Detroit Pistons player Grant Hill (L) drives around Indiana Pacers player Chris Mullin during the first half of their game 07 February at the Palace of Auburn Hills. The Pistons beat the Pacers 107-98. AFP PHOTO/JEFF KOWALSKY (Photo credit should read JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
12 of 21
Next
NBA Injuries
UNITED STATES – MARCH 22: Basketball: Houston Rockets Yao Ming (11) on court during game vs Detroit Pistons, View of Rockets Tracy McGrady (1) in foreground, Houston, TX 3/22/2007 (Photo by Greg Nelson/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images) (SetNumber: X77729 TK1 R3) /

10. Tracy McGrady

Aside from being an injured reserve for the Houston Rockets and an unused insurance policy with the San Antonio Spurs, Tracy McGrady never won a playoff series. He never won an NBA championship, earned an MVP Award or became renowned for his playoff heroics. And yet, he still had a Hall of Fame career that might have panned out differently if not for injuries.

T-Mac’s resume is staggeringly impressive otherwise: A seven-time All-NBA selection, seven-time All-Star, two-time scoring leader, and a mastermind of a season that belongs in the basketball pantheon, when he averaged 32.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game with a Player Efficiency Rating of  30.3 in 2002-03.

McGrady became one of only nine post-modern players to post a single-season PER that high (though it’ll be 10 if Steph Curry keeps his masterful 2015-16 campaign up), he had a 62-point game,he  led the Rockets to a 22-game win streak and he even had that unforgettable 13 points in 35 seconds game.

And yet, T-Mac is constantly remembered for his shortcomings in the postseason. Despite the fact that he averaged 29.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game during the playoffs in Orlando and Houston, and despite the fact that the best teammates of his prime were the oft-injured Grant Hill and Yao Ming, it’s no wonder he never found himself in a conference finals.

Never making the second round when healthy is a bad look, but throw McGrady’s own injury problems into the mix and it becomes a little more understandable, even as he racked up undeniable individual numbers.

Though McGrady was mostly healthy during his years with the Magic, he and Ming could never get healthy at the same time in Houston. T-Mac only played 47 games in 2005-06, while Ming only played 57. T-Mac missed 11 games the following season, but Yao could only suit up for 48 games and 55 games the next two seasons.

Meanwhile, McGrady was banged up for the 2008 NBA Playoffs with a shoulder and knee issue. Ming was healthy in 2008-09, but that was the season T-Mac missed 47 games because of knee surgery. He was limited to six games the following season before being traded to the New York Knicks.

In his prime, T-Mac was impossible to defend because of his speed, athleticism and passing ability. He was as well-rounded a player as we’ve seen in NBA history, but because of Hill’s injuries in Orlando and T-Mac and Ming’s inability to stay healthy at the same time in Houston, we never got to see him at the full height of his powers.

Next: No. 9