Tracy McGrady’s NBA story didn’t come wrapped with a championship ring—but that’s hardly the point for him. Instead of dwelling on what could’ve been, the Hall of Famer looks back at his career with a sense of pride and fulfillment. For someone who once ruled the court with scoring titles and jaw-dropping highlights, McGrady doesn’t let the absence of a ring cloud his legacy. What matters more, as he sees it, is the grind.

“It depends on what player I am,” McGrady said. “There’s a bunch of cats that has championship rings that ain’t really put in the work … I want to go through the journey. I want to go through the ups and downs. The flows of a season, 82-game season and the playoffs.” So while others may flash rings they barely fought for, McGrady stays content knowing he gave everything—no shortcuts, no handouts.

Tracy McGrady’s NBA journey

To begin with, Tracy McGrady didn’t exactly ease into the NBA spotlight—he exploded into it. Coming straight out of Mount Zion Christian Academy in 1997, the wiry 6-foot-8 forward looked like the next superstar. But the Toronto Raptors team he joined? Not quite ready for prime time. They were still a work in progress, trying to find their rhythm in the league.

Still, McGrady didn’t wait around for the perfect setup. While Vince Carter soaked up the early spotlight, T-Mac chipped away at his own path. The minutes weren’t always consistent, and the team structure felt messy, but he kept grinding. His breakout came in Orlando—and when it did, it was loud. He led the league in scoring in both 2003 and 2004, putting up 32.1 and 28.0 points per game. The only problem? “The playoffs” became a wall he couldn’t break through.

That was especially true in 2003. McGrady and the Magic held a 3-1 lead against the Detroit Pistons in the first round — only to watch it slip away. The narrative quickly turned, and critics came calling. But McGrady didn’t flinch. He stuck by the idea that it was never about just winning rings. After getting traded to Houston in 2004, that mindset stayed with him. Teaming up with Yao Ming felt like a fresh start and a legit shot at contention.

Unfortunately, the numbers in Houston—24.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists—told only part of the story. Despite flashes of brilliance, postseason heartbreak kept following him. In 2007, it was Utah in Game 7. In 2008, injuries clipped the team’s wings. And by 2009, the wear and tear started catching up.

Eventually, McGrady moved around the league—from the Knicks to the Pistons, Hawks, and finally the Spurs in 2013. He made it to the Finals, but even that didn’t mean much to him. “If I win a championship, I want to win it in my prime. I want to be the reason we won,” McGrady once said—and you get the sense he meant every word.

Did Tracy McGrady really never get his shot at a championship?

Well, that’s exactly what McGrady seems to believe—and honestly, he’s got a point. Back in the early 2000s, there weren’t many players more dominant. With the Magic and later the Rockets, T-Mac was a seven-time All-Star and made multiple All-NBA teams from 2001 to 2005. Still, despite his individual brilliance, the postseason never quite played out in his favor. As the lead guy, he never made it past the first round.

Recently, McGrady open up on it on First Take. Using Kobe Bryant’s early success with Shaq as a comparison, he asked, “You don’t think I could win a championship? You don’t think I could carry the Lakers to a championship?”

He didn’t stop there either. “If I’m just put in the position to win a championship, I damn sure would show up and do what I do in the playoffs to elevate my team to that level,” he said. “I just never had the chance. So do I get diminished because I never won a championship?”

So maybe it wasn’t about talent—just timing.