Ranking the 10 greatest NBA players drafted out of high school

4. Tracy McGrady is one of the greatest scoring threats in NBA history.

Everything about Tracy McGrady’s game screamed ‘superstar.’ The phrase ‘three-level scorer’ gets thrown around quite a bit these days — I’m guilty of it myself – but that’s exactly what McGrady was. His jump shot was money from just about everywhere on the court, but T-Mac was simultaneously the best athlete on the floor nine out of every 10 times he played in his prime.

Few players, if anyone, has ever had the juice like Tracy McGrady navigating defenses through a screen. Go under? That’s a jump shot. Switch? He’s crossing that defender up. Go over? T-Mac is dunking before you could even blink your eye. Throw a double at him? He’s going to split between the two of you and make you look foolish for even trying.

McGrady was an All-Star and All-NBA team honoree for seven consecutive years including two seasons as the NBA’s scoring champion. He averaged 30 points per game between the ’03 and ’04 seasons while going under the radar as a skilled playmaker and impactful defender all the while.

Injuries ended up playing a significant factor in what should’ve been McGrady’s prime years. He’d oftentimes end up hobbled or sidelined by the time the postseason came around, muddying his chances to contend for a title. In the grand scheme of things, that didn’t matter when solidifying his legacy as one of the all-timers. McGrady is a Hall of Famer, and deservedly so.