When Tracy McGrady officially announced his retirement from the NBA yesterday, a debate over his Hall of Fame candidacy got underway almost immediately. Because McGrady left the door open to continue his playing career overseas, the clock on his eligibility won't start ticking yet, but his NBA resumé appears to be complete.
An ESPN.com 5-on-5 panel unanimously agreed that McGrady deserves to be elected to the Hall of Fame, but in an Insider piece for ESPN.com, Kevin Pelton points out the many pitfalls of the 34-year-old's candidacy: Back and knee injuries may have prevented him from reaching his full potential, and limited his career totals — he's only 57th all-time in NBA scoring, for instance, trailing several non-Hall-of-Famers. Additionally, despite a cup of coffee for the Spurs in 2012/13, McGrady never played regular minutes for a team that advanced beyond round one of the playoffs.
Nonetheless, as Pelton notes, no player that has earned All-NBA honors seven or more times has failed to be elected to the Hall. And when peak performance is considered, rather than career value, McGrady stacks up favorably against the best players of his generation.
What do you think? Does McGrady deserve to be elected to the Hall of Fame in a few years, or does his candidacy fall just short?