ORLANDO, Fla. _ Last year, Shaq was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
This year, it was announced earlier this week, T-Mac will be inducted.
Can Penny Hardaway and Dwight Howard be far behind?
All these years later, the ghosts of Magic past are still rattling their chains, squeaking their sneakers and eternally haunting Orlando fans on their way to immortality.
Unfortunately, the Road to the Hall of Fame usually starts on the exit ramp of I-4 headed toward the Turnpike.
New Magic marketing mantra: "Come to Orlando: The D-League for the Basketball Hall of Fame."
Admittedly, when I first heard the news that former Magic superstar Tracy McGrady had been elected into the Hall, my first thought was one of skepticism.
In my mind, T-Mac will always be one of the greatest talents of his era _ and one of the greatest disappointments. If T-Mac had worked on his craft like his contemporary _ Kobe Bryant _ he could have been 10 times the player Kobe was.
But the debate about whether T-Mac is a Hall-of-Famer is a silly one. Of course he is _ based on players who are already in the Hall of Fame.
Come on, now, are you telling me that T-Mac isn't as good as Mitch Richmond, Reggie Miller, Chris Mullin, Dennis Johnson, Joe Dumars and Yao Ming? Puh-leeze.
If those guys are in, then T-Mac belongs in. He is one of only 24 players in NBA history to score at least 60 points in a game and he averaged at least 24 points for seven consecutive seasons. He won two scoring titles and was in seven All-Star Games.
OK, so he never won a title and only advanced beyond the second round of the playoffs once _ and that was when he was a broken-down, end-of-the-bench reserve for the dynastic San Antonio Spurs.
But his team's playoff failures weren't the fault of T-Mac. He simply had the misfortune of being saddled with perennially injured sidekicks (see Grant Hill with the Magic and Ming with the Rockets). McGrady himself also battled back and knee injuries for much of his career.
When he was with the Magic, a common debate among NBA fans centered on who was better _ T-Mac or Kobe? In hindsight, this is an inane argument, but back then it was a relevant one. Let's not forget, T-Mac averaged 28.1 points per game during his Magic tenure and holds the franchise records for points in a game (62), points in a half (37) and points in a season (2,407).
Isn't it funny that we always talk about how the Magic have suffered throughout their history because of the superstars who left the franchise. But what about the superstars themselves?
Yes, Shaq went on to greatness with the Lakers, but Penny was never as good as he was in Orlando. Dwight Howard was never as good as he was in Orlando. And T-Mac certainly was never as dominant and dynamic as he was in Orlando.
In hindsight, maybe this persistent narrative that the Magic have a history of losing their superstars in their prime isn't quite accurate. Maybe these superstars simply used themselves up trying to keep the Magic relevant; maybe they expended so much energy futilely attempting to carry the Magic on their aching backs and slumping shoulders that they were never the same after limping off to other teams.
Certainly, McGrady had some good years in Houston after leaving Orlando following his much-publicized feud with tough-guy GM John Weisbrod _ a former hockey player who inexplicably was given the keys to the franchise by the DeVos family. Unfortunately, Weisbrod thought he had been given the keys to the Zamboni.
Even so, McGrady's body was already starting to break down. After the Magic finished with the worst record in the league during a miserable 2004 season, McGrady forced the trade to the Rockets. His reputation as being a malingerer took a hit when he admitted after his departure that he lost interest, didn't play hard and was "slacking off" during that final season in Orlando.
This was the first time in my professional career when it hit me that NBA teams aren't the only ones tanking games; NBA players do it, too.
Ah, but that was a long time ago and all has been forgiven and forgotten. My radio co-host Doc, a Magic season-ticket holder, might have put it best in a meme he created earlier this week:
"Congratulations on the Hall of Fame, T-Mac.
"Of all the stars to quit on the Orlando Magic, you are our favorite!"
