"To leave him off, now that's disrespectful" - Tracy McGrady on whose snub from the NBA 75 Anniversary team stung him the most
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The NBA 75th Anniversary Team was designed to honor the most exceptional players in the league's history. Inevitably, some highly talented individuals were excluded due to the limited number of spots available.
Despite being one of the most prolific scorers of his era, Tracy McGrady was among those who did not make the final selection. Interestingly, his dismay at another player's snub overshadowed T-Mac's reaction to his own omission.
McGrady was shocked to see Dwight being left out
During his appearance on the Knuckleheads Podcast, the 7-time All-Star expressed a positive outlook regarding his exclusion from the NBA 75 Anniversary Team. Rather than dwelling on this omission, McGrady emphasized that his induction into the Hall of Fame in 2017 was the ultimate recognition of his career's achievements.
"To me, it didn't sway me because if you look at it, I got the ultimate achievement as a basketball player - making it to the Hall," T-Mac said. "I mean, there's going to be a Top 100 here in a few years... So that doesn't bother me at all."
With his seven All-NBA selections, Most Improved Player of the Year award, and two seasons as the league's scoring leader, T-Mac recognized that not winning a championship may have likely been the key reason for his exclusion.
However, the omission of Dwight Howard, an eight-time All-Star who led the league in rebounds five times, blocks for two seasons, won three DPOY awards, and earned a championship ring in 2020, seemed quite disrespectful to McGrady.
"I look at Dwight Howard, who for eight years was a monster. Impact on the game, extremely dominant. Five times First-Team All-NBA, helped lead his team to the Finals. I mean, for eight years, that man was pretty damn dominant. To leave him off, now that's disrespectful," McGrady added. "That's a travesty."
T-Mac believes Howard deserved a spot ahead of AD
This wasn't the first time McGrady advocated for Howard's inclusion in the NBA 75 Anniversary Team. He previously voiced his belief that D12 deserved a spot ahead of Anthony Davis.
That being said, the two-time scoring champ made a compelling argument, especially considering how 'The Brow' never even won a playoff series before joining forces with LeBron in L.A. On the contrary, Howard single-handedly led the Magic to the NBA Finals in 2009, having led the league in rebounds and blocks in the regular season as well as the playoffs.
Despite the controversies that clouded Dwight's later years and possibly influenced his narrative as a reliable player from a purely big-man standpoint, not many centers were better than him during his eight-season tenure in Orlando.