Back in 2004, if you were a Houston Rockets fan, you probably remember where you were on December 9th. That night, Tracy McGrady didn’t just put on a show—he gave us one of the wildest, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it endings in NBA history. With just 35 seconds left, the Spurs looked like they had the win in the bag. They were up 76-68 and already halfway to the locker room in their heads. But then, McGrady flipped the switch.

First, he drilled a three. Next trip down, he nailed another deep ball and got fouled—classic four-point play. The crowd, which was very thin as many had already left, was stunned. Suddenly, the Spurs’ lead had vanished, and McGrady wasn’t done. With the Rockets now trailing by just two, he charged down one last time, burying a final three to seal an 81-80 comeback. Just like that—13 points in 33 seconds.

Naturally, such a moment became legend. But interestingly, McGrady revisited that wild finish recently on The Old Man and the Three podcast and pulled back the curtain on how it really felt. “I was struggling shooting the ball that game for three quarters,” he admitted. “4th quarter come, 35 seconds left, bro. I don’t know what came over. I literally don’t know what came over.” And while the final box score shows 13 points, T-Mac still isn’t satisfied. “It should have been more points in there because Bruce Bowen was fouling me every time I put the ball on the floor.”

Of course, fans talk about “The Zone” like it’s some mythical place. But for McGrady, it was as real as it gets. “First shot, get the ball at the top of the key, raise up, shoot a three in his face,” he recalled. “Mind you, while this is all taking place, there’s thousands of people leaving.” Then came that infamous four-point play. “When I hit that 4-point play, all my superpowers came back. I ain’t missing.”

Finally, while we’ve seen plenty of buzzer-beaters and comebacks since, this one still lives rent-free in NBA highlight reels. Yet, there’s another mystery fans still obsess over—McGrady’s height. That 6’8” listing? Some swear it felt taller. Let’s explore that story.

What is Tracy McGrady’s real height?

Tracy McGrady was part of that rare class of oversized guards, just like Magic Johnson, Penny Hardaway, or even MJ himself. Officially, the NBA listed McGrady at 6’8″ during his rookie year. But recently, Kevin Garnett brought that measurement into question while chatting with T-Mac on his show—and let’s just say, things got interesting real quick.

Because then Garnett dropped this gem: “You know what’s even more crazy? I can remember you being 6’8″, and then the next time I think I played you in Toronto, bro, you was like 6’11”! I said m, an listen man, no, no, no, dude is not 6’9′!” They caught McGrady off guard, who laughed and added, “You don’t even understand this, bro. When I walk around, when I’m at these events with my kids, man. People can’t believe how tall I am.”

Naturally, Garnett didn’t hold back and cracked up as he went on, “I get it. We think you’re 6’7″ or 6’8″ bro, you’re really like 6’11” on some other sh–.” And McGrady? He didn’t deny it either: “When I stand up against, you know, Juwan Howard, who’s supposed to be 6’9′ or 6’10’… I’m eye-to-eye with these cats, man. So yeah, I was listed at 6’8″ my whole career, but I think I’m taller.”

Even with the height mystery, nothing about T-Mac’s game needed any adjusting. His 15-season career included 7 All-Star appearances and almost 20 points per game. And in 2017, he got a Hall of Fame induction. Taller or not, he always stood above the rest.