Tracy McGrady Works Out With Kobe Bryant For Possible NBA Return
This is for all the T-mac fans out there. Yes, he is on the comeback trail and he trained with no less than Mr. Fitness himself, Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant during the summer.
The seven-time all-star has been keeping things on the down low on his possible comeback attempt but Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports broke the news that he spent three days a week in August with Kobe Bryant at a Southern California Gymnasium.
"Yes, I was working out with K.B. to get in shape and see how my body feels," McGrady told Yahoo Sports in an email Tuesday night.
The former Orlando Magic and Houston Rockets star was already contacted by two NBA teams last summer over the possibility of signing the former scoring champion but no further negotiations came from the said initial discussions. Contractual obligations with a Chinese outfit on a basketball tour slated for October may complicate things as any team that will potentially sign him cannot have him present for the whole training camp.
The 35-year old officially announced his retirement in August 2013 and joined several special telecasts with NBA TV. He went unsigned in the NBA for the year 2012-2013 and took his talents to China, playing for the Qingdao Eagles of the Chinese Basketball League. He was signed in April 2013 by the San Antonio Spurs, possibly his last chance to get a championship ring, but the Spurs faltered to the eventual winners Miami Heat.
Now he wants another shot as is on the NBA comeback trail. He insists that "the comeback will not happen, unless I have the drive whenever I get back." The 35-year-old former highlight reel artist suffered an assortment of injuries in his back and knees that forced him to be sidelined and eventually leave the game. For his career, T-mac has five first or second-team all-NBA teams and led the league in scoring for two occasions. His most successful season was during the 2007-2008 season when the Houston Rockets won 22 straight games sans injured center Yao Ming.