McGrady Leng Knowledge: He is the player with the highest average score in the Christmas game, contributing 43.3 points per game

On July 21, in the NBA's brilliant history scroll, Tracy McGrady's name is always intertwined with talent, elegance and regret. The two-time scoring champion has never been involved in the championship, but it has left an indelible mark in the hearts of countless fans. What is little known is that McGrady also maintains an amazing record that can be called "cold knowledge" - he is the player with the highest average score in the history of the NBA Christmas Games, averaging 43.3 points per game, an astonishing 11.7 points higher than second-ranked Kevin Durant (31.6 points). What kind of story is hidden behind this data?

##1. McGrady's moment on Christmas Eve: Two Battles of the Gods

McGrady only participated in two Christmas battles in her career, but these two games seemed to condense all his offensive talents. On December 25, 2002, the Magic played against the Pistons at home. McGrady played for 44 minutes, made 14 of 26 shots, scored 46 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals, and scored 20 points in a single quarter in the third quarter. The Pistons at that time had the top defense system in the league led by Ben Wallace, but they could not stop McGrady's pull-up jump shot and lightning breakthrough. After the game, Pistons coach Carlisle admitted: "We tried all the defensive strategies, but he was as unstoppable as he was wearing a spring shoe."

A year later, on Christmas Eve 2003, the Rockets who moved to Houston challenged James's leading Cavaliers away. McGrady once again turned on the killing mode, making 15 of 29 shots and scoring a quasi-triple double-double with 41 points, 8 rebounds and 11 assists, and scored 8 points in the last 2 minutes to secure the victory. What became a classic of this game was his first Christmas showdown with Young Zhan. Although James, who was only 19 years old, scored 34 points and 6 assists, he was still suppressed by McGrady's full performance. The American media joked after the game: "McDie gave a Christmas basketball class to the 'Little Emperor'."

###2. The password behind the data

put McGrady's Christmas data in the historical coordinate system is even more shocking. Among the active players, Durant (7 Christmas games) ranked second with an average of 31.6 points per game, while James (17 games) ranked fifth with an average of 27.1 points per game. McGrady's 43.3 points are not only the first place in the gap, but also maintains the second (46 points) and fourth (41 points) in the single-game scoring list of the Christmas game. Interestingly, the "gold content" of this record is also reflected in the strength of the opponent - the Pistons finally won the championship in 2002, and although the Cavaliers did not make the playoffs in 2003, they had the auxiliary lineup of Ricky Davis and Boozer.

In-depth analysis of the causes of McGrady's outbreak can be seen, and the background of the three eras is: First, in the early 2000s, the NBA was still in the mindset of "those who win the inside win the world". The Pistons even used the 6-foot-9-inch Prince to defend McGrady, giving him a lot of room for mid-range shots; Second, the Christmas game was not fully commercialized at the time, and players regarded it as honor rather than performance. McGrady once revealed: "The coach only said before the game, 'This is a live broadcast across the United States'"; Third, McGrady was at the peak of his body during the Magic. In the 2002-03 season, he just won the scorer with averaging 32.1 points per game, and his offensive methods have reached a state of decline.

###3. The underrated "Christmas Killer"

Compared with other festival war kings, McGrady's record is more unique. Kobe (16 Christmas games) averaged only 16.9 points per game, Jordan (6 games) had 29.3 points, and Embiid (5 games) had 31.4 points per game. McGrady's old teammate Yao Ming once wrote in his autobiography: "T-Mac will be extremely quiet before important games, but his eyes are as sharp as a scope." This trait was magnified on Christmas Eve - his average real shooting percentage in both games was as high as 61.2%, even better than his regular season level.

Intriguingly, McGrady himself rarely mentions this record. In an interview with Sports Illustrated in 2017, he said: "I only wanted to win at the time, and then I found out these data. To be honest, I hope people remember the 13 points I used to face the Raptors." This indifference actually made the record more legendary. Basketball data analyst Hollinger pointed out: "Modern players generally play in Christmas games under less than 36 minutes, while McGrady has more than 40 minutes in both games. In today's prevalent load management, this record is almost impossible to be broken."

###4. From McGrady to Durant: The evolution of the Christmas game

With the advancement of the globalization of the NBA, the Christmas game has transformed from a competitive stage to a cultural symbol. In the past decade, the average playing time of players participating in the competition has dropped by 12%, but the number of single-game broadcast cameras has increased by 3 times. Durant averaged 31.6 points in Christmas between 2012 and 2018, relying more on efficient three-point shooting (42.7% shooting percentage) and misaligned singles. This is in sharp contrast to the McGrady era's style of relying on ball-holding and strong solutions.

This change makes McGrady's record more precious. In the 2018 Christmas game between the Rockets and the Thunder, after Harden scored 41 points, commentator Van Gundy sighed: "This reminds me of McGody. Now the player needs 15 free throws to score 40 points, and he only needs to pull out gracefully." Now the highest single score in the league's Christmas game is Embiid scored 44 points in 2022, which is still 2 points away from McGody's record, but it has used as many as 28 shots.

###5. The revelation beyond legends

McDy's "cold knowledge" is moving because it transcends the data itself. After the Christmas War in 2003, the Houston Chronicle wrote: "When McGrady jumped onto the technical stage at the Quick Loan Center to celebrate, we saw not a star, but a child who was purely enjoying basketball." This innocent heart may be the true meaning of holiday basketball.

Now, when fans watch Doncic and Tatum create new stories on Christmas Eve, Maddie's two brilliant performances have become the yardstick for measuring greatness. As basketball historian Simmons said: "Some records will not be broken because they belong to specific times and specific people. McGrady's Christmas myth is like this - as short as a meteor, but illuminating the entire basketball universe."