Rockets Legend Revealed Oprah Winfrey?s Role in Trying to Convince Him to Join Post-Michael Jordan Bulls but He Had His Heart Set Elsewhere: ?They Rolled Out the Red Carpet for Me?

Tracy McGrady was as dangerous as they come. He possessed a generational basketball talent that posed problems to rival defenders nightly. There’s a reason Kobe Bryant referred to him as the most formidable opponent he’d ever faced. Because McGrady’s skillset was that lethal.

However, injuries plagued his career, and the Florida native became a journeyman. He played for seven different NBA teams, with his finest years coming with the Orlando Magic and the Houston Rockets. However, before joining the Orlando Magic, McGrady could have donned the crimson red of the Chicago Bulls.

McGrady was a free agent in the offseason of 2000. After playing in the shadow of Vince Carter with the Toronto Raptors, he was poised to take a big leap in his career. A number of teams were behind his signature, with the Chicago Bulls being one of them.

The Chicago Bulls had entered the post-Michael Jordan era and were in the midst of a rebuild. In Tracy McGrady, the franchise would have acquired a young talent poised to take over the league. However, the star player had his sights set on the Orlando Magic.

Tracy McGrady revealed the Chicago Bulls’ pitch and how Oprah Winfrey tried to recruit him to replace Michael Jordan

Tracy McGrady recently appeared on Shannon Sharpe’s podcast ‘Club Shay Shay‘. Both luminaries discussed McGrady’s turbulent offseason. T-Mac then revealed how the Bulls showered him with the red carpet treatment. The former player also said that Oprah Winfrey tried to persuade him to join the Bulls, but his heart was elsewhere.

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“We go to Chicago. I step foot off the plane…walk through the terminal. When I first step through the terminal, I see Benny The Bull and I see the cheerleaders like they got a whole parade for me in the airport. I’m like ‘Oh Lord!’ I get to the hotel…get in my room, they pop in a tape. Oprah (Winfrey) sent me a personal message. I’m like ‘Oh boy, Oprah’s talking to me.'”?he recalled.

“I got to the (Chicago) Cubs game…they take me out to the ballgame. I’m in the dugout with Earnie Banks. I threw out the first pitch. Sitting in the stands, they got an airplane flying over with advertising talking about me…I’m like ‘Oh my lord’…like they rolled out the red carpet for me.”?he said.

McGrady added, “But, with all that, they were competing against Orlando which is home, and from a kid, that was my dream to put on that Magic uniform.”?

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The Chicago Bulls did not have Michael Jordan now, so acquiring McGrady would have set them up for the future. However, Tracy McGrady eventually joined the Orlando Magic, where he undoubtedly played his finest basketball. The NBA star grew up watching Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway star for the Magic, so he was determined to join the team.

He never won a chip, but his on-court mastery during his prime was enough to get him inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. what is your memory of Tracy McGrady? Please tell us in the comments below.