It’s no surprise Tracy McGrady made 2017’s list of Basketball Hall of Fame nominees, but the man himself was pretty shocked.
McGrady, a seven-time All-Star who played 15 seasons in the NBA, is a regular on Rachel Nichols’ “The Jump” on ESPN. So, a week before the nominees officially were announced Wednesday, Nichols got the list and was able to tell McGrady he was on it while they were filming.
And it was a pretty special moment.
“You shook me up right there with that one,” McGrady told Nichols. “We’ll see what happens. It’s great to be a nominee and to be on that ballot. We’ll see what happens. Fingers crossed. … A long career, and this is something that I didn’t see happening when I first started. … From high school to the NBA, and look where we are now.”
McGrady’s awe is endearing, but he’s still a shoo-in for the Hall. As Yahoo! Sports’ Dan Devine pointed out, T-Mac is one of just 23 players to rack up 18,000 points, 5,000 rebounds and 4,000 assists over their careers. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Karl Malone, Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson, Charles Barkley, Jerry West, Larry Bird, Gary Payton, Clyde Drexler, John Havlicek, Scottie Pippen, Hal Greer, Alex English and Rick Barry already are in the Hall of Fame, and Tim Duncan, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Vince Carter should be locks to make it once they’re eligible.
