"I kind of felt if I was going to leave Detroit, this was where I wanted to come"- Grant Hill sheds light on why he opted to leave Pistons for Magic in 2000

The Orlando Magic’s ambitious plan to form a "Big Three" in 2000—bringing together Tracy McGrady, Tim Duncan, and Grant Hill —left fans with plenty of “What Ifs.”

As most know, Orlando was only able to complete 2/3 of that plan. McGrady and Hill were the only ones who ended up with the Magic , with Duncan opting to stay with the San Antonio Spurs.

“Our wish was to bring the best basketball players in free agency to this team, and we got the two best basketball players in free agency," Magic general manager John Gabriel said at the time.

What swayed Hill to join Magic

After six seasons with the Detroit Pistons and being the franchise’s star player, it was a bit surprising to see the 3rd overall pick of the 1994 Draft jump ship. However, like most players, the Duke product wanted to up the stakes of possibly winning an NBA title.

Aside from being aware that McGrady and Duncan were the Magic's targets, Hill admitted that he was impressed with the team's evolution. He singled out the hard work and effort that the team was relying on and buying into.

"I couldn't play against them, they played so hard," Hill said via UPI . "I was a big fan. I kind of felt if I was going to leave Detroit, this was where I wanted to come. I look forward to training camp, if you can believe that."

When the offseason came to a close, the Magic were only able to seal deals with McGrady and Hill. When the 2000-01 season began, things didn’t go as planned. The 1995 NBA Co-Rookie of the Year played only four games in his first season with the franchise due to ankle injuries.

The following seasons were no better for the 6-foot-8 forward. He played 14 and 29 games for the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons, hardly giving T-Mac the needed help to go deep into the postseasons.

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Hill faced plenty of criticismMERCH

With Hill failing to see action, criticism on whether he deserved the 7-year $92.8 million deal surfaced. Grant admitted that it bothered him, aware he was not living up to what was expected from him. The two-time NCAA champion admitted that all of this humbled him .

“I got this contract, and it was like...you know, they kept telling me, 'Grant, we know what you can do.' But I wanted to show them. Not being able to do that humbled me,” Hill said .

With the outlook not turning out as he envisioned, Hill found himself in a similar predicament in 2007. He ended up leaving the Magic to move to the Phoenix Suns, although his performance dipped noticeably.

Although Hill was no longer the rising star he once was, he found ways to make a significant impact. Focusing on defense with the Suns, he became a key figure in the Defensive Player of the Year race in three of his five seasons with the team.

Without his injuries, Hill undoubtedly could have contended for a title or even an MVP award. Nevertheless, he remains respected as a leader and quietly mentors younger players who might otherwise go unnoticed.

Related: Grant Hill blamed himself for not succeeding in Detroit: “I didn’t enjoy those moments like I probably should have"