4. T-Mac’s 62
March 10, 2004: Tracy McGrady sets team scoring record with 62 points
When the Orlando Magic made their play to get three major free agents in the summer of 2000, Tracy McGrady was the biggest unknown.
Yes, Grant Hill was on crutches when he came off the plane that July morning, but he was a proven All-Star player in the league. McGrady was the upstart and the risk.
With Grant Hill injured and Tim Duncan backing out at the last second, everything fell on Tracy McGrady. He proceeded to become the most prolific scorer in the Magic’s history. Very quickly, it was clear he was worth every penny the Magic spent.
He would win the scoring title twice, the only Magic player to win that honor. And he had several incredible individual scoring performances.
None was perhaps as masterful as his 62-point barrage on the Washington Wizards, the Magic’s single-game scoring record.
McGrady made 20 of 37 shots and claimed he would have hit 70 or 80 if he had made his free throws — he was just 17 for 26 from the foul line. The highlight of the game was not even a shot that counted as he casually hit a half-court shot after getting fouled in the backcourt.
It was that kind of night for McGrady.
Through a difficult season, McGrady was still largely worth the price of admission. He put on a scoring assault that season trying to lift a depleted roster as far as he could. He certainly wore his frustrations on his sleeve that season.
But for one game — one of his final games in a Magic uniform — he showed the world why he was such a dangerous scorer. It remains the best scoring game in Magic history and it does not seem like the Magic will see another scorer of McGrady’s caliber for a long, long time.