Tracy McGrady spent five seasons with the Rockets before returning to Houston briefly during the 2009-10 campaign.
With over 5,000 players in NBA history, at least one player was born on every day of the calendar year – including three leap day ballers. Our day-by-day breakdown of the players born on each day of the year continues.
Below are the most notable NBA players born on May 24.
Tracy McGrady (1979)
McGrady was one of the most exciting players throughout his career, and many ex-NBA players have said he was the toughest cover in his era. It all started when McGrady was the ninth overall pick in the 1997 NBA Draft directly out of high school, spending his first three years with the Toronto Raptors. He finished sixth in Sixth Man of the Year voting in his final season with the Raptors, joining the Orlando Magic the next season. That’s when it all came together for McGrady, making seven straight All-Star appearances starting in 2000.
He also took down Most Improved Player in that debut season with Orlando, finishing Top 8 in MVP voting six times. McGrady also led the league in scoring in back-to-back seasons in 2003 and 2004, his final two years with the Magic. McGrady spent the next six seasons with the Houston Rockets, making his final four All-Star appearances there. The seven-time All-Star closed his career with one-year stints in New York, Detroit and Atlanta before retiring in 2013. He averaged 19.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game, earning him a Hall of Fame induction in 2017.
Joe Dumars (1963)
It’s rare to see two Hall of Famers with the same birthday, but that’s what we have here between McGrady and Dumars. The Pistons selected Dumars 18th overall in the 1985 NBA Draft, and he spent his whole 14-year career with that organization. He broke out in 1989, finishing 17th in MVP voting and First-Team All-Defense. Dumars made six All-Star appearances over the next decade, finishing Top 6 in Defensive Player of the Year voting four times as well. This defensive stalwart officially retired in 1999, averaging 16.1 points, 2.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. All of that earned him a Hall of Fame induction in 2006, winning two titles with the Pistons in 1989 and 1990.
Want to see every NBA player born on May 24? Here is the rest of the list in chronological order:
- Howie Dallmar (May 24, 1922)
- Ron Horn (May 24, 1938)
- Cleo Hill (May 24, 1938)
- Lonnie Lynn (May 24, 1943)
- John Smith (May 24, 1944)
- Dewitt Menyard (May 24, 1944)
- Jim Eakins (May 24, 1946)
- Mitch Kupchak (May 24, 1954)
- Kenron Edelin (May 24, 1962)
- Rolando Ferreira (May 24, 1964)
- Kalin Lucas (May 24, 1989)
- Jarell Martin (May 24, 1994)
- Keyontae Johnson (May 24, 2000)
