Hall of Famer admits self-sabotage to avoid Celtics in 1997 NBA Draft

A rookie Tracy McGrady famously joined the Toronto Raptors a year before his cousin Vince Carter. McGrady was selected ninth overall after making the jump straight out of high school. But T-Mac’s story could have potentially had a different beginning had he not hurt his draft stock with one specific team.

In a recent appearance on “The Ryen Russillo Show,” McGrady was asked about a peculiar interview he had with one team: the Boston Celtics. Russillo brought up how the Celtics were said to be fearful of selecting McGrady back in 1997 because he “wouldn’t talk” during the predraft interviews (15:23 mark). Boston, who owned the third and sixth picks, passed on T-Mac twice.

McGrady then made an admission about the interview more than 26 years after it happened. He purposely gave a poor interview to avoid playing for the Celtics coach at the time, Rick Pitino.

“I just remember, in college, I was being recruited by Kentucky. I just knew how hard and how tough Rick Pitino was. Rick Pitino had left and becomes Boston’s coach, and I was like, ‘ugh, I don’t know if I want to play for Rick Pitino’,” McGrady said with a chuckle.

T-Mac revealed that his predraft workout with the Celtics was the “hardest ever” among the teams he came in for, further reinforcing his bias. He did clarify that he had no qualms with Boston or its basketball franchise beyond the man calling the plays at the time.

“Wouldn’t mind playing for Boston. I just didn’t want to play for Rick Pitino. … It was just finding ways to, I guess, hurt myself and them not drafting me by not talking. I did fine with my interviews with everyone else. With Boston, not so much.”

The Celtics ended up with Chauncey Billups and Ron Mercer instead of McGrady. Billups was traded to the Raptors midway through his rookie season. Mercer was traded to the Denver Nuggets a year later.

It’s unclear whether McGrady’s Hall of Fame career would have developed differently had he ended up with the Celtics in 1997. While considered one of the most talented players in NBA history, T-Mac was never able to achieve immense postseason success throughout his 15-year career. McGrady’s teams made the playoffs nine times and never escaped the first round.