The ABCD Camp used to be one of the country's most prestigious high school basketball camps, attracting only the best players from all over America. It was a place where players could showcase their skills and potentially catch the eye of college recruiters, especially NBA scouts, when the preps-to-pros movement was at its peak.
But on one fateful day in 1996, it wasn't just about showcasing skills. It was about making a statement. And that's exactly what a young Tracy McGrady did.
From unknown to undisputed
It's hard to imagine, but according to former ABCD camp director Chris Luchey, T-Mac wasn't even supposed to be at the event , and they had to convince ABCD founder Sonny Vaccaro to give him a slot. In fact, Tracy's jersey number (175) reflected his supposed standing. However, all that changed when the 6-foot-8 wingman from Mt. Zion Christian Academy in Durham, North Carolina, got his chance to show off what he could do.
After more than holding his own against some of the best high school players in his class, including future NBA star Lamar Odom, Tracy earned a spot in the camp's All-Star Game, where he truly made a name for himself with a savage camp that is remembered vividly by those who witnessed it.
"This was one of the still, to this day, one of the most iconic dunks I ever seen," Stromile Swift, the camp's underclassman MVP, remembered on the "Knuckleheads" podcast.
Swift recalled how the players were explicitly instructed to let their fellow players do their thing in fastbreak situations. However, one player didn't get the memo and tried to chase T-Mac down on the break.
"The thing was, they would tell us, like, if you get on a fast break, just let them go, let them do their thing—like they don't want nobody to get hurt. And, man, I can't remember what happened, but they got a steal, and M was on the fast break. He came down on that left side, and this dude sprinted from the other end of the court, from half court, and M windmilled that thing," Stro narrated. "His head went back, windmilled on it. Man, the crowd went crazy. I was like, 'Man, I never seen nothing like that in my life.' That was crazy."
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The crowd lost it
Podcast co-host Quentin Richardson, also at that camp, remembered the crowd's reaction the most, perhaps even more than T-Mac's incredible dunk. This was because it was as if the scouts, camp counselors, and fellow players all lost their minds.
"On this side of the bleachers, it's all scouts and college coaches and that type, recruiters and stuff. Then, on this side, it's all of the campers that ain't in the game. It's like the underclassmen not in the game, and the up, it's all of the people that just left and still there before you leave," Q explained .
"When he said when this man did that windmill and got a foul, got an and-one, the recruiters were throwing their clipboards in the air, all the counselors jumping up and down, running around, people ran on the floor, on the court. It was—bro, it was pandemonium," Richardson added.
After that highlight-reel dunk, there was no denying who McGrady was, and he soon went to the NBA after the Toronto Raptors selected him ninth overall in the 1997 NBA Draft.
Related: "It like set the atmosphere…the whole arena just erupts" - Ex-ABCD Camp Director says T-Mac emerged at the '96 ABCD All-Star game with 'The Dunk'
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