Nearly 25 years ago, the Miami Heat staged one of the most extravagant free-agent pitches in NBA history for a young Tracy McGrady.
It had everything — and then some. A private jet, Alonzo Mourning’s warm hospitality, a speedboat ride across Biscayne Bay and, of course, Pat Riley himself laying out a max contract.
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In an era when teams are often accused of bending — or even breaking — the rules to lure stars, some could still take notes from how the Heat did it back then.
A show-stopping pitch
Riley and the Heat have long been known for going all-in on marquee free agents — think LeBron James, Jimmy Butler, or Chris Bosh — and McGrady was no exception.
It went down in 2000, just after McGrady had parted ways with the Toronto Raptors — the team that drafted him ninth overall out of high school three years earlier.
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Around the league, front offices had their eyes on a 20-year-old phenom who’d shaken off his rookie struggles and evolved into one of basketball’s rising stars, finishing third in Sixth Man of the Year voting.
Miami, too, saw the opening, and they moved fast, pulling out all the stops with a day-long recruiting blitz designed to bring him aboard. The Florida-based franchise, for instance, flew McGrady in on a private jet and took him straight to Alonzo Mourning’s house for drinks. Mourning, the team’s star and one of the league’s coolest personalities, was the perfect host, according to Brian Windhorst — then with ESPN — who remembered the story vividly.
By midafternoon, the day transformed into something straight out of a Miami Vice scene when a speedboat pulled up to the dock, soon carrying McGrady and Mourning across Biscayne Bay at nearly 80 miles per hour, streaking past the arena and the glittering skyline of downtown Miami.
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You’d think that joyride alone might have sealed the deal for McGrady — but the story didn’t stop there. Windhorst recalled that the speedboat carrying two future Hall of Famers pulled into Riley’s house down the cove — not by accident. The Godfather knew exactly what was coming and was already waiting for them, particularly T-Mac.
“Riley’s standing there holding the max contract offer,” recalled Windy.
T-Mac turned down the Heat
How could anyone turn down a pitch like that, you might ask? It’s a fair question — but only McGrady can answer it, since he ultimately chose a different path.
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Just a few miles from the Heat’s home arena, the former scoring phenom signed a six-year, $67.5 million deal with his hometown Orlando Magic in early August 2000.
It had to sting for the Heat. They had reportedly mapped out multiple sign-and-trade scenarios and envisioned a lineup featuring McGrady alongside Tim Hardaway and Mourning — a trio that might have ruled the Eastern Conference. Windhorst later even called it Miami’s second-strongest recruiting effort ever, behind their future pursuit of Gordon Hayward in 2017.
After McGrady signed with the Heat, Miami had to pivot, ultimately landing Eddie Jones and Anthony Mason in free agency instead. Still, there was little more Riley and the Heat could have done — they had certainly played every card in the deck.
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In the end, it’s telling how powerful the pull of home can be — for McGrady, the chance to play in Orlando. At times, it seems to outweigh even the most persuasive pitch.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Oct 27, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.