So, related to that, within the last few months we’ve heard both Patrick Beverley and DeMar DeRozan basically say that half of the players in the NBA don’t really love the game. Did you think the same in your time? Tracy McGrady: I agree to that. You have some guys that are talented, and they do it because the money is good. In my era, you used to have guys that make it to the league, and they’ll be shitty for two or three years, but on their contract year? Oh, they’re gonna have their career highs, right? And then they just fall back and they get their money, and then they relax. You don’t love the game if you approach it that way. It’s been going on since I entered the league, and it’s still going on. -via GQ.com / July 25, 2023

And that’s because? Tracy McGrady: It’s more exciting to me. I like college basketball because they play hard. And it’s competitive basketball. I’m not saying the NBA is not competitive, but it’s too much of everybody shooting threes. You’re jacking up and taking terrible basketball shots. I don’t see that on the college level. -via GQ.com / July 25, 2023

He’s demanded a trade away from the reigning MVP! Tracy McGrady: That makes zero sense to me. Not only that, but I look at all the teammates he’s played with. James has probably played with more Hall of Famers than anybody in the league, and he doesn’t have a ring to show for it. I don’t know what he’s looking for. And maybe there’s some internal bullshit that is going on that we don’t know about. Because it doesn’t make any sense to me to leave the MVP, and the Eastern Conference, where you have a shot to at least play for a championship. It’s got to be something deeper than what you know. Get over it, man. -via Howard Beck, Condé Nast @ GQ.com / July 25, 2023

You met Victor Wembanyama last year in Paris when the NBA had Detroit and Chicago play a game there. What are your thoughts on him being the first overall pick in the draft and going to the San Antonio Spurs? Magic Johnson: Man, I was like you got this type of skill and you are this tall [7-4]. It’s good for the league. Just think. Nobody would have watched the Spurs this season if it hadn’t been from them drafting him. Now, people are going to be watching their games. So, that’s good for the league. Plus, this kid has skills and he can play. -via Los Angeles Times / July 24, 2023

Former NBA player Olden Polynice was a guest on Fox Sports Radio’s “The Odd Couple.” He was asked about his thoughts on Victor Wembanyama when he dropped a scorching hot take about the rookie’s ceiling. “He hopes to be better than Shawn Bradley in my opinion. I’m serious,” Polynice said. “I’m not even putting him in the Yao Ming category right now.” -via Kens5.com / July 24, 2023

“Guy like that they’re over 7-5 and just shot blockers. He’s going to try to do all the stuff he was doing overseas. It’s going to be very difficult for him to do in the NBA,” he said. Polynice added that coach Gregg Popovich will inhibit Wembanyama from doing the things he wants to do on the court such as bringing the ball up the court and how he has yet to experience the NBA’s rigorous schedule. -via Kens5.com / July 24, 2023