Tracy McGrady NBA 2K17: Ultimate Player Guide and Best Gameplay Strategies

I still remember that sweltering summer afternoon in 2016 when I first booted up NBA 2K17 on my PlayStation 4. The air conditioner was fighting a losing battle against the Manila heat, and I had a cold soda sweating on the coffee table beside me. Little did I know that I was about to discover what would become my gaming obsession for the next six months - mastering Tracy McGrady in what I consider to be his finest digital basketball representation. There's something magical about controlling T-Mac in this game that just feels right, from his smooth shooting form to those explosive drives to the basket that made him such a nightmare for defenders during his prime.

I recently attended a local gaming convention where they had this massive NBA 2K17 tournament, and it reminded me of something I'd read about another sporting event. The atmosphere felt similar to how I imagine that volleyball gathering must have been, you know, the one where "also present at the event were FIVB president Fabio Azevedo and Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Patrick 'Pato' Gregorio." That mix of official dignitaries and passionate fans creates this electric environment whether you're talking about real sports or esports. At our tournament, we didn't have international sports presidents, but we did have local gaming celebrities and some seriously competitive players all united by our love for virtual basketball.

When it comes to Tracy McGrady in NBA 2K17, I've probably logged over 300 hours specifically using him across various game modes. His player rating sits at 88 overall in the base game, which honestly feels a bit low considering how dominant he can be in the right hands. What makes him so special isn't just the numbers though - it's how perfectly 2K captured his playing style. That high release point on his jumper, the way he glides to the basket, even his defensive animations all feel authentic to the McGrady I grew up watching. I've found that he's particularly effective in MyTeam mode where you can badge him up properly, but even in Play Now he's an absolute offensive powerhouse.

My personal strategy with McGrady involves a lot of pick-and-roll actions, preferably with a solid screening big man. From the right wing, his step-back jumper is practically unguardable if you time it right. I've calculated that his effective field goal percentage from the corner three spots reaches about 64% when I'm controlling him, though that might be slightly inflated from my selective memory. What's undeniable is that he has this unique combination of size and shooting that makes him versatile against any type of defender. Against smaller guards, I'll post him up. Against slower forwards, I'll drive past them. It's this flexibility that makes mastering his gameplay so rewarding.

The real beauty of using McGrady comes in the fourth quarter of close games. There's this hidden clutch factor that seems to activate when the game is on the line. I've hit so many game-winning shots with him that I've lost count - probably around 12 that I can vividly remember, including one ridiculous 35-foot buzzer-beater against my friend Mark that he still complains about to this day. The key is understanding which animations to trigger in high-pressure situations. His hop-step jumper, for instance, creates so much separation that it feels almost unfair sometimes. And don't even get me started on his dunk packages - that two-handed windmill never gets old, especially when you posterize someone with it.

What separates good McGrady players from great ones, in my experience, is how they utilize his playmaking abilities. Too many people just jack up shots with him, but his passing attributes are seriously underrated. I average about 5.2 assists per game with him in MyCareer mode by drawing double teams and kicking out to open shooters. It's this dual-threat capability that makes him such a complete offensive weapon. The defense has to respect every aspect of his game, which creates opportunities everywhere on the court. I've found that mixing up his offensive approaches - sometimes being aggressive, sometimes playing facilitator - keeps opponents guessing and prevents them from keying in on any one tendency.

Now, I know some players prefer Kobe or LeBron in NBA 2K17, and I get it - they're fantastic digital representations too. But there's just something about McGrady that feels more... satisfying somehow. Maybe it's the underdog factor, or maybe it's that gorgeous jump shot animation. Whatever it is, I've built my entire 2K17 experience around mastering his gameplay. From my careful tracking, I'd estimate his true shooting percentage in my hands is around 58% across all game modes, though my friends swear I'm padding those numbers. The truth is, when you put in the time to really learn a player's nuances, you can make them perform beyond what their ratings suggest, and McGrady is the perfect example of this phenomenon.

Looking back, that summer of 2016 was when I truly fell in love with NBA 2K's gameplay depth. While other sports games often feel repetitive, discovering the intricacies of a single player like Tracy McGrady showed me how much detail the developers had packed into every animation, every tendency, every little movement. It's been years now, but I still occasionally fire up 2K17 just to run a few games with T-Mac, reminding myself why he remains my favorite virtual basketball player of all time. There are newer games with better graphics and updated rosters, but none have quite captured that specific magic of controlling McGrady at his peak quite like this one did.