Tracy McGrady was the sixth high school star to skip the college ranks and go directly to the NBA. McGrady was also the third prep star to be picked in the Top 10 of the NBA Draft.
Although T-Mac's career turned out pretty well, McGrady could have even been a better pro if he had played college ball. Considering that he was eyeing to commit to the University of Kentucky, his draft stock could have even gotten higher if he had played college ball.
But while McGrady wanted to play for the Wildcats , that plan fell apart once Adidas entered the picture.
During an appearance on the All the Smoke Podcast , T-Mac reveals how Adidas ended his dream of playing college ball at Kentucky.
"I'm sitting in my Coach's office, he's like, 'I know you want to go to Kentucky but after I tell you this, you are going to forget all about that," recalled T-Mac. "I'm like, 'After you tell me what?' He's like, 'I got a $12 million deal for you.' I said, 'From who?' He said, 'From Adidas.' I said, 'Oh, [expletive]. Let's sign!'… My college dream went out the window. I signed for that bag and that was it."
McGrady picked the bag over college
T-Mac's initial deal with Adidas was more than twice the value of his first NBA contract. Tracy's rookie deal after the Toronto Raptors picked him 9th overall in the 1997 NBA Draft was a mere $4.7 million for three years.
Also, the Adidas contract was good for six years, meaning he was set to make $2 million per year for wearing the brand with the three stripes. That was more than double the reported $500,000 per year that Adidas signed Kobe Bryant a year earlier. It wasn't just that.
Tracy's Adidas contract also had a provision that paid his HS coach, Joel Hopkins, $150,000 per year for the duration of the deal. It's not that Hopkins helped convince Mac to skip college, but McGrady said it was right for Hopkins to get a share of his deal because if it had not been for him, there would've been no T-Mac.
Becoming the Face of Adidas
Just as he went from an unknown player known only as No. 175 before to the No.1 player in the nation after the Adidas ABCD camp in 1996, McGrady's pro career started slowly as he played in the shadow of cousin Vince Carter in Toronto. However, once McGrady showed dramatic improvement during his rookie season, he knew he was going to become the next face of Adidas .
"I knew I was going to get it, it was just a matter of time," said McGrady. "And God bless, he did. My brother Kobe turned down Adidas. Kobe was about to sign a $200 million deal with Adidas. Who was next in line? I was like, 'Kob, thank you, brother, thank you, brother. I'm glad you turned down that $200 million because you left me a $100 million, bro!'"
Last year, McGrady admitted having a rough patch with Adidas. However, the shoe company announced in October 2023 that they will release a retro of Mac's T-Mac 3.5 to commemorate his 62-point game, so maybe the two parties have kissed and made up, although there is no confirmation. Still selling shoes together for 25 years is impressive.
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