Furious fans hurl objects after McGrady sits
by Scott M Gleeson, USA TODAY Sports
In the twilight of his basketball playing days, seven-time NBA All-Star and two-time scoring champion Tracy McGrady chose to finish out his career in China where he is a global icon. (He has his own cool shoe with his picture on it.)
McGrady signed with the Qingdao Double Star Eagles in October and Tuesday’s exhibition game marked the end of preseason for the team.
Understandably, when fans pay to see an NBA superstar, they expect to see a that player on the court to witness a highlight reel dunk or two.
Not understandably, fans decided to make it known how angry they were when McGrady played just 98 seconds.
McGrady scored five points in the first two minutes, but sat the rest of the game.
Better believe those in attendance noticed. Towards the end of the game, fans started throwing objects on the court to show their disgust. According to NIUBball.com, the objects included water bottles and lighters before the game was called.
As it turns out, McGrady was sick. Or at least he told the crowd this to settle things down.
He took a microphone and told the fans:
“Sorry I wasn’t able to play tonight, due to certain circumstances and the conditions–me being under the weather.”
This had to make the fans feel terrible about their actions. This might have been the biggest overreaction since Stephon Marbury had his own statue built in China.
To be fair, it should be noted the game was played in Binzhou, Shandong province and the chances of seeing McGrady play outside of Tuesday’s game are slim to none. McGrady had 34 points and eight rebounds in Sunday’s exhibition game, further fueling expectations for a strong showing.
The CBA regular season begins this weekend, with 17 teams set to play 32 games each, before an eight-team championship playoff
After the game was called, McGrady was escorted out. On his way out, he was nice enough to toss souvenirs into the stands to please the crowd, as you can see in this picture below. Class guy for a hostile crowd.
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