Tracy McGrady says his first game against rookie LeBron James proved the kid was built for stardom: "He didn't get discouraged"

Tracy McGrady says his first game against rookie LeBron James proved the kid was built for stardom: “He didn’t get discouraged” originally appeared on Basketball Network.

When LeBron James entered the NBA, Tracy McGrady was already a superstar. McGrady had made back-to-back All-Star and All-NBA First team selections and finished 4th in the MVP balloting during both years. T-Mac was also the reigning scoring champion and arguably the best forward in the league.

Anytime you put a rookie against a guy with that resume, the young one succumbs to the pressure. Not LeBron. During their first-ever head-to-head meeting, McGrady put on a clinic. But LeBron refused to be a mere prop in the show.

“My game against Bron on Christmas,” recalled T-Mac during his recent appearance on Carmelo Anthony’s “7PM in Brooklyn” podcast. “Man, I’m hearing all the hype of these cats coming in. I’m hearing it from my boys back home. Man, what? Y’all think I’m gonna let Bron come in here and steal the show as a rookie? What I’ve been doing the last couple of years in here? Hell no, bro.”

“And one of my boys, he was my barber from back home. We had a bet. ‘Bron gon’ come here and tear you a– up.’ He’s just always a joker like that. I said, ‘Aight.’ I said, ‘MF, make sure you tune in to this game and don’t miss nothing,’ he added.

The scoring champion versus the super rookie

Bron entered the NBA as the most-hyped prospect ever. That’s probably why the NBA scheduled his Cavaliers for a Christmas Day game in his first year in the league. Matching him up against McGrady was a stroke of genius. And they did not disappoint.

T-Mac lit up the Cavs with 41 points on 15-29 shooting, including 5-9 from 3-point distance, while also pulling down eight rebounds, issuing 11 assists, with three steals and one blocked shot. He scored or assisted on 12 of the Orlando Magic’s 14 points in overtime to emerge victorious at 113-101.

Meanwhile, James pulled his own with 34 points on 13-28 shooting, including 4-10 from 3-point range. LBJ also added six assists and two steals in 47:06 minutes of playing time. Although his team lost the game after getting outscored 16-4 in the extra period, the rookie earned the respect of McGrady.

“It was a classic game, but to see a young cat like that, with the poise, going up against me at that time when I was leading the league in scoring, to see how he handled that, that type of pressure coming in there, I knew he was born for it, for stardom. Like he was gon’ be that dude…When he’s making shots like that, meaning myself, you get a little discouraged. He didn’t get discouraged. And when I saw he didn’t get discouraged, I was like “Okay, dude’s gonna be a problem,” continued McGrady.

LBJ became a problem

The Magic and Cavs played two more games that season, with McGrady outscoring LeBron in both games. T-Mac would score at least 30 points against LBJ in their three head-to-head matchups across the next two seasons. However, as McGrady predicted, the Ohio native became a problem for everybody, including himself.

McGrady and James would face each other in 20 NBA games, with LeBron owning an 11-9 record against Tracy. Bron would average 23.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 6.2 assists, and 1.4 steals in those games while outscoring McGrady in 14 out of 20 head-to-head meetings.

McGrady retired after the 2011-12 NBA season, mainly due to injuries. On the other hand, LeBron continues to be a problem for opposing teams 22 years into his NBA career. At age 40 last season, he was still named to the All-NBA second team, averaging 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.2 assists, and 1.0 steals per game, still proving he is the “dude.”

This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 18, 2025, where it first appeared.

Tracy McGrady says his first game against rookie LeBron James proved the kid was built for stardom: “He didn’t get discouraged”

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