Tracy McGrady Says Michael Jordan Never Faced A Player Like Himself While Forgetting Penny Hardaway

Shandel Richardson | Jun 13, 2024

RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports

Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady recently brought up another hypothetical matchup.

Who would win in a game of 1-on-1 to 11: him or Michael Jordan?

McGrady gave his answer during a video posted on his Instagram page.

"I don't think MJ has ever faced a guy like myself with the skillset that I have," McGrady said.

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But is this true?

Let's break it down. First, McGrady says he is three inches taller than Jordan at 6-foot-9. Most NBA websites list him at 6-8, putting him closer to a player Jordan faced several times during his career.

His name was Penny Hardaway, whose game was very similar to McGrady. So McGrady is wrong in that aspect.

What McGrady is correct about is he would have been a tough cover for Jordan because so was Hardaway. No year was more evident than the 1995-96 season when Jordan returned at full strength after missing 18 months due to his first retirement.

If you recall, Hardaway had his way with Jordan the first time they faced each other that season. Hardaway had 36 points, five rebounds, four steals and two blocks in a 94-88 victory. Many thought that was sort of a changing of the guard.

Turns out, it was way premature.

Jordan got his revenge in the playoffs when dominated the Magic in a 4-0 sweep in the Eastern Conference finals. Jordan averaged 29.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists in the series. Hardaway averaged 25.5 points, 4.3 assists and 3.8 rebounds but he shot under 43 percent in three games.

So who would win between Jordan and McGrady?

"It's all hypothetical, man," McGrady said. "Who [bleeping] knows. I just would have loved to play MJ 1-on-1."

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day NBA. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com