Tracy McGrady Shares Houston Rockets Playoff Story About Yao Ming

During the mid-2000s, the Houston Rockets’ roster featured the likes of Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming, and Dikembe Mutombo. While Mutombo was in the later stages of his NBA career, the 8-time All-Star provided veteran leadership as a backup center.

In a recent episode of the Cousins podcast, McGrady shared how Mutombo helped him support Yao during a difficult moment in the playoffs.

“[Dikembe Mutombo] came to me during the playoffs one game. Yao [Ming] was frustrated and struggling. He said, ‘T-Mac. Let me talk to your brother. Yao needs you. He needs you. Go to him. Talk to him.’ It was against Dallas... I went to the bench and put my hands on his shoulders because D told me he was frustrated. Now, I’m seeing it. I said, ‘Yao. C’mon, big fella. I need you, big fella. Let’s go.’ I don’t know what it did to him, but it put a battery in his back.”

A Historic Series

Houston made four playoff appearances while McGrady was a member of the team. During this stretch, the Rockets and Mavericks faced each other in the first round of the 2005 NBA Playoffs.

The Rockets won the first two games of the series, with McGrady sinking a game-winning jumper in Game 2. The Mavericks then came back with three consecutive victories, all by less than a five-point margin.

Following the momentum swing, then-Rockets head coach Jeff Van Gundy raised concerns about referees closely scrutinizing Yao’s screens for fouls. In 2008, former NBA referee Tim Donaghy made a similar claim, alleging that an NBA executive instructed officials to strictly enforce screening rules.

The Rockets came away with an 18-point win in Game 6, though the heated playoff series ended with the rival Mavericks winning by a 40-point margin in Game 7. McGrady finished with 30.7 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game, while Yao contributed 21.4 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.

Although McGrady and Yao had exceptional performances throughout this series against the Mavericks, the Rockets continued with postseason struggles for the years to follow. As the two franchise stars struggled with injuries at various points, Houston did not make a Western Conference Finals appearance during their time teaming together.

Overall, McGrady’s playoff story showed an instance of on-court chemistry with Yao. Making numerous media appearances together since retirement, the two former players are known to have a friendship that extends beyond their time on the basketball court.

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