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Houston Rockets red-hot shooting guard James Harden might be lighting up the league in his signature Three Stripes shoe in 2019, but about a decade and a half ago a similar pairing was taking place.
The man was Tracy McGrady and the shoe was the adidas T-MAC 1.
Returning home to Florida after starting his career as a teenager in The 6, McGrady literally and figuratively became #1 in Orlando by leading the Magic – and more often than not the entire league – in scoring.
Lacing up his first of many signatures in January of 2002, the T-MAC 1 carried Tracy to loads of buckets and a lifetime deal with adidas. While Kobe was the top dog at adidas when McGrady signed, Bryant would leave making room for Tracy to lead the brand’s basketball division.
And lead by example he would. McGrady averaged 25.6 PPG the season he debuted the T-MAC line, followed up by a career-high 32.1 PPG in the 2002-03 season.
Worn and released in a variety of colorways, the classic “Orlando” colorway is receiving the retro treatment to the delight of purists in both home and away fashion.
Look for pairs to pop up on March 1st at SNS.
Peep our conversation with Tracy from 2016 here and for the history of the adidas T-MAC 1 click here.
