17. Tracy McGrady
photo by Fernando Medina/Getty Images/NBA via DVDprimeA swan story of sorts, Tracy McGrady went from relatively unknown to a straight-to-the-pros phenom after a breakout performance at adidas ABCD Camp. His adidas arrival birthed the start of a beautiful friendship, as the Three Stripes would sign the Raptors rookie and eventually outfit him over the course of his career.
Coming into his own in the likes of various adidas EQT sneakers, young Tracy went from being ‘Vince Carter’s little cousin’ to being ‘T-Mac’ in the adidas Mad Handle. The silky-smooth scorer then became a spotlight star and starred in commercials for adidas all while becoming an official brand spokesperson. Where would he be without Handles? T-Mac would become the focal point of the brand’s basketball efforts for years to come. With Kobe’s departure to Nike, the adidas T-Mac line would come into its own, eventually becoming the longest lasting signature shoe series in adidas Basketball history. Early models like the adidas T-Mac, adidas T-Mac 2 and adidas T-Mac 3 would be tied to scoring title seasons, All-Star Game memories and summer camp sightings. Tracy was Penny and MJ for kids that were too young to really root for the latter two, and for a short period of time his shoes carried similar weight.
Recently retired, retro T-Macs reside in the same purgatory period that early Air Jordan and Air Penny bring-backs saw. Slow sales may be the case now, but as time passes so does nostalgia build. Retro hardwood endorsement doesn’t hurt either; just ask MJ and Anfernee whose shoes are even more seen in today’s Kicks On Court landscape than during their playing heyday. As adidas continues to build its basketball roster with young talent like Andrew Wiggins and countless lottery lands, we could potentially see promising young talent push T-Macs in coming years. After all, for Tracy McGrady and adidas, it was about timing all along.
-Ian Stonebrook
