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"He had to grow up fast" – Tracy McGrady explains how he benefited from Vince Carter's early NBA stardom
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- "He had to grow up fast" – Tracy McGrady explains how he benefited from Vince Carter's early NBA stardom
Retired today, Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter remain popular names across the basketball community. Ironically, the two are also third cousins, a fact they discovered after T-Mac had already made his rookie debut, while VC was in his third year of college basketball at North Carolina. That said, their stars would align in the NBA.
Making their debuts a year apart, T-Mac and Carter were both drafted by the Toronto Raptors . Soon enough, the cousins would put the league on notice with their skill set and physical attributes. A prime example was the 2000 Dunk Contest, where the two upcoming stars put on a show for the ages, with Vinsanity eventually prevailing.
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Air Canada's arrival gave T-Mac a major boost
The ninth pick in the 1997 draft, McGrady had a rather slow start to his rookie season. Primarily coming off the bench, he didn't get much playing time under Coach Darrell Walker. At the same time, T-Mac struggled to adjust to life in Toronto, highlighting his loneliness.
Fortunately, things improved gradually, and Carter's addition in the following 1998-99 season gave McGrady the boost he needed. Together, they would help the Raptors clinch their first-ever playoff appearance in 2000. Unlike Tracy, Vince drew significant hype in his rookie season because of his elite athleticism and dunking prowess
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During a recent episode of the "Cousins" podcast with guest Amar'e Stoudemire , McGrady described what it was like to be teammates with Carter in Toronto and the lessons learned.
"Cuz taught me a lot because he hit superstardom so quick. And when you come in as a rookie, you take the league by storm, and you put on a show the way he did his rookie year. Now there's a different approach, and different set of eyeballs, and how you got to approach every single day. So he had to grow up fast," McGrady told Stoudemire.
A first-hand witness to Vinsanity
Though drafted a year before Carter, McGrady learned a lot from his cousin. At the time, Tracy was still learning the ropes and figuring his way around the league. So watching VC handle all the stardom and attention would help T-Mac become media savvy beforehand.
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"You got the spotlight on. Let me sit back and see how you handle certain things, how you do interviews, how you handle, you know, when you're having a bad game, or you're frustrated in the first half, how you come out second half and what you do," stated
McGrady described the experience of playing alongside his cousin Carter in Toronto as "fun as hell." Their two seasons together certainly helped the Raptors climb the popularity charts.
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What if they continued as teammates?
Unfortunately, their run as teammates didn't last as long as Raptors fans wanted, as McGrady signed with the Orlando Magic during his free agency in 2000. Even though the two cousins went on to carve out their respective niches and eventually make the Hall of Fame, many wondered what would have happened if they'd had the chance to play longer .
In a 2019 interview, Carter addressed the hypothetical scenario, replying:
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"What if I did make that shot (against the Sixers in Game 7)? What if I did? What happens next? I don't know. What if T-Mac and I had a chance to play together longer? I got another one. What if we don't lose to Boston in six back when I was in Orlando? Cause we had a chance. They ended up going to the Finals. That was my other opportunity, so I wonder what if. I always wondered that," said Carter.
Whether McGrady and Carter would have achieved several great feats if they'd remained teammates is something we'll never know, but regardless, both put up Hall of Fame careers.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Oct 22, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
