After a three-year breakup, Tracy McGrady and the three stripes are getting back together again! The 46-year-old Hall of Famer first signed with Adidas back in 1997, when they gave him a six-year, $12 million deal right out of high school.
Then, in 2002, T-Mac signed a lifetime deal with the shoe brand, reportedly worth $100 million. He had his longtime friend, Kobe Bryant, to thank for that lucrative deal.
“If it wasn’t for Kobe leaving Adidas, I probably wouldn’t have gotten my big deal, “Said McGrady during an appearance on ALL THE SMOKE. “I would’ve got leftovers. Man, my dog, thank you. Hey man, when Kobe left, I was next on the totem pole. I moved up the charts, boy. And s**t, I got that big bag and still getting it. My dog, thank you.”
Like most marriages with “lifetime” vows, the partnership didn’t last, and they went their separate ways in 2022.
While separated, McGrady contacted Sonny Vaccaro, aka “The Dean of Shoes” aka “The Savior of Nike,” and asked him what he was doing with the ABCD (Academic Betterment and Career Development) property. He knew Adidas was interested in bringing back the legendary ABCD Camp that ran from 1984 to 2006.
“I asked him what he wanted to do with that property,” Said McGrady on Gil’s Arena. “Adidas wants it. Can I license it, or can I own it and take it to Adidas? He thought it was a great idea.”
Adidas did too.
On September 5, 2025, Adidas announced that T-Mac was back and would help the brand revive the ABCD Camp alongside Vaccaro.
In honor of the news, I wanted to look back at some of my favorite stories about the camp, starting with one about T-Mac.
WHO IS TRACY MCGRADY? (1996)
T-Mac was an unknown at the age of 17 and the 9th pick in the NBA Draft at age 18. The ABCD Camp played a significant role in helping the kid who wasn’t ranked in the top 500 become a lottery pick.
“I was the last dude invited to this camp,” Said T-Mac during an appearance on the Tidal League podcast. “They gave me the jersey number 175. They had to fight to get me to this camp. You got Lamar Odom, who was the number one dude out in New York City. He was a 6’10” point guard and a crazy-skilled basketball player. And I go to this camp, and the first game is against Lamar, and I hold my own. From that point on, people were like, ‘Who’s this guy on the floor?’ Tracy McGrady, right? Eyes roll on me, I wreck the camp. In that summer, I went from unknown to the No. 1 player in the country. And if I wasn’t ready for that opportunity, who knows where I would be.”
A special shout out goes to Florida talent scout Alvis Smith for pestering and convincing Vaccaro to give the unknown McGrady that final invite.
The most talked-about moment from McGrady’s coming-out party was a windmill dunk on James Felton. The funny thing is, I read about this dunk in a 1996 issue of SLAM magazine. And for over 20 years, I imagined one of the greatest dunks ever. Then out of nowhere, it appears online thanks to HOOPMIXTAPE. And, the dunk didn’t hold up.
The dunk that put Tracy McGrady on the map at the 1996 ABCD Camp. #tmac #HOF #jamesfelton #hoopmixtape pic.twitter.com/m9ay1aKKng
— Hoopmixtape.com (@Hoopmixtape) September 8, 2017
I’m sure it was as spectacular as Stromile Swift said it was in person in 1996, but in 2016 — the year the Basketball Hall of Fame announced T-Mac was heading to Springfield — it was a little disappointing. T-Mac himself even said the same thing to his cousin, Vince Carter, when he finally saw the footage.
Now, think about this. In a world where every mediocre play from every overhyped high school player is seen by millions of people minutes after it happened live, there was a time when future Hall of Famers went decades before seeing footage of themselves windmill dunking on a defender in a basketball camp full of future NBA stars.
LEBRON VS LENNY COOKE (2001)
“Another on the hit list. The kid with the nappy afro. That kid over there.”
That kid with the nappy afro was a 16-year-old LeBron James. And the person who called him that was a friend of 19-year-old man-child Lenny Cooke. The 2000 ABCD MVP was so confident that he was the best player in the building that he wasn’t concerned about Bron; he wanted to play the guest speaker 1v1. That guest speaker was Kobe Bryant, who just averaged 28.5 points in the NBA. Bryant’s response to Cooke was, “When you get to the league, I’ll give you 50.”
Cooke never made it to the league. And after LeBron gave him 24 points and the game-winning three at the camp, Cooke was no longer known as the best high school player in the country.
“The first time that we faced each other was at ABCD Camp,” said Cooke during an interview with Joy De’Angela. “I didn’t know who he was. He came into camp with a chip on his shoulder. A lot of people didn’t know who he was at that time. You know what I’m saying? And I ran out of gas in the second half, I did my thing in the first half, and his career took off from there.”
During a 2023 appearance on IT IS WHAT IT IS, Cooke said he’s upset that LeBron doesn’t acknowledge him and said he and Bron should get back together the way Mase and Cam’ron did.
Card collectors from the early 2000s may recall that the first LeBron card to appear on eBay was a Rookie Review National card, which featured LeBron wearing a shirt with the letters ABCD.
Speaking of eBay, you can also buy this media guide from the 2002 Camp for $250. I don’t know why LeBron is the only player on the page without a number or team listed.
KOBE’S APOLOGY (1994)
During Kobe Bryant’s first appearance at the Camp, he went up to Sonny Vaccaro, hugged and thanked him for the invitation, and then apologized, saying, “I hope I didn’t disappoint you.”
Vaccaro replies, “Kobe, you made the All-Star team. That’s a big thing.”
The 16-year-old then said, “Next year, I’m going to be the best player in the camp.”
He kept his word and won the camp’s senior MVP award the following year. Kobe’s teams dominated so easily that it led to this great story about his Dad coming out of the stands and punching him in the chest for being lazy.
“I said, ‘Bean, what’s going on, man? You hurt?’” Said former NBA player and his Camp coach, Keith Closs, on The Truth Podcast. “He says, ‘Man, I ain’t going to run no more. I don’t want to run. You know we just won, I’m not running.’ I said, ‘You’re making yourself look bad in front of all the people. Your teammates are all out here and you think you’re different. So I’m preparing you for college because these coaches, man, they throw different things at you, so you gotta be tough, you know.
His Dad comes down from the stands and says, ‘Coach, what’s the problem?’ I said ‘Bean doesn’t want to run. He says he doesn’t have to run because he won.’ ‘Oh, is that right? Hold on.’ He said, ‘Boy, come here.’ Kobe gets up and walks over to him, and his Dad punches him in the chest and slides him across the floor, in front of a gym packed full of people, about a thousand people in there. He knocks the wind out of Kobe. Kobe’s sitting there, gasping for air, tears coming down his cheek. ‘Boy, don’t you ever disrespect your coaches and don’t you ever embarrass your family like this. Get up and get out there and run with everybody else.”
Also worth mentioning, Joe “Jelly Bean” Bryant was MVP of the 1972 Dapper Dan Roundball Classic that Voccaro co-founded.
LeBron reflects on some of his favorite Kobe memories:
ABCD Camp where Kobe spoke to campers including a 15-year-old LeBron.
2001, when Kobe gave Bron a pair of (smaller sized) shoes that Bron ended up wearing in a HS game against Carmelo Anthony. pic.twitter.com/UnCvK5KEv9
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) January 26, 2020
14-YEAR-OLD LANCE STEPHENSON VS OJ MAYO (2005)
I just spent a summer with Lance Stephenson on the BIG3 tour and he lived up to his reputation. The guy loves to compete, put on a show, and doesn’t mind getting in the face of opponents. On his journey to winning the BIG3 Championship, he had as many scuffles as game winners.
This rep started back in the 8th grade, when the 6’4″ 14-year-old Born Ready went to the ABCD camp in front of his hometown crowd and challenged the best player in the nation, OJ Mayo.
OJ was amused at first, but as Lance kept trying to prove something to him, OJ got mad and had to let him know why some people were labeling OJ LeBron 2.0.
After outscoring Lance 21 to 16, OJ praised Lance’s effort:
“He’s real good, especially being in the 8th grade. I was always the one going after people. This was the first time I felt someone was coming after me.”
The most famous example of OJ challenging someone came during Jordan’s Summer Camp in 2006, when a junior OJ (the only high school player at the camp) actually challenged a 42-year-old Michael Jordan.
“I’m playing in my camp against O.J. Mayo, he was a top high school kid coming out,” Said Jordan during an interview with NBA2K. “And I had never met him. First time. In front of my camp, he starts this thing about ‘you can’t guard me, you can’t do this.’ I got my campers here, so obviously, I can’t really go where I want to go because I own my camp. So I stop the camp, send the kids to bed.
“We go back to playing, and he starts his whole thing, ‘You can’t guard me.’ Finally, I just said, ‘You may be the best high school player, but I’m the best player in the world.’ So from this point on, it’s a lesson. And from that point on, it was a lesson. He never won a game. I posted him up, I did everything.”
When asked about that day, this is what OJ said MJ said to him:
“You may be the best high school player in the world, but I’m the greatest ever, so don’t you ever disrespect the great like that.”
The most popular photo of OJ that appears on my social timelines every few months is one of him with Derrick Rose, Kevin Love, and Bill Walker at the ABCD Camp. It was also featured on the cover of HIGH SCHOOL HOOPS magazine with the headline: GOODFELLAS.
THE IT & LOVE CONNECTION (2005)
Another photo of Love that I often see is one of him with a very young-looking Isaiah Thomas at the 2005 ABCD Camp. The two were former middle-school AAU teammates and future NBA teammates on the 2018 Cleveland Cavs.
“Kevin and his dad Stan, they would come pick me up and I would stay the weekend at his house so I could play on that AAU team.” Said Thomas during an appearance on the Vertical Podcast with Woj. “It’s something that me and Kevin, we’ll talk about. It’s crazy that we’re both in the NBA and he is at the level he’s at, and I’m doing pretty well. To be able to say that I used to go to his house every other weekend and stay the night, and his parents used to cook dinner, and all that type of thing, it’s crazy to see that.”
Here are a few interesting camp notes about Thomas and Love from then Scout.com writer Jeff Goodman.
Isaiah Thomas, PG – Not normally known for playing under control, the Washington-bound point guard (and we use that term somewhat loosely) has shown the ability to run a team here rather than just trying to score – which he normally does. Give him a lot of credit because he’s playing with a purpose and it’s working.
Kevin Love, C – Three losses in a row for the big man, but it’s not his fault. He’s still doing his work in the post and on the glass, but there’s a chemistry problem on the team. The one area where Love isn’t quite as effective as usual is passing, but he’s scoring, dominating in every other facet.
The Love one is very interesting because he turned into a great passer in the NBA and is known for his long-distance outlet passes. As for Thomas, I still think it’s amazing that a 5’9″ shoot-first point guard lasted 12 years in the NBA and was an MVP candidate during the 2016-17 season, when he averaged 28.9 points.
JEFF TEAGUE GETS HUMBLED OVER AND OVER AGAIN (2005)
The Forrest Gump of the NBA has a hilarious story about any and everything. This includes Kevin Love, Isaiah Thomas, and the ABCD Camp.
On Kevin Love
“The only white dude where I was like, ‘Damn!’ was Kevin Love. He played for like Oswego or something. I’m like, ‘we about to punk this dude. He fat. Man, he probably had 70 points on us. Him and Kyle Singler killed us. Those two white dudes are good but the rest of them are sad.”
On Isaiah Thomas
“I’m in the back of the line waiting for my jersey and Brandon Jennings and IT come out the back with two boxes of shoes, jerseys, all type of s**t. I’m like, ‘Damn everybody get that s**t?’ I get up to the line and motherf****r hand me my shoes. They ain’t even in a box. They hand me my two like this (holding his hand out with two fingers). Here you go, bro. I was hurt. And my jersey was like 257.”
On ABCD Camp
“I met DeMar DeRozan at ABCD Camp. He probably doesn’t remember. I was just trying to make my way. I didn’t have no scholarship offer, so I’m trying to do anything I can do to get a scholarship. Me and him were on the same team at ABCD Camp. I’m a senior. I’m trying to get some offers. He’s a year younger. I’m having a moment. I’m playing good, shining, doing my thing. I get a couple offers after the first day. Like, yeah, well, I got like 40, but just a couple, whatever. The next day, Master P tapped me on the shoulder. I’m thinking he’s about to be like, ‘Yeah, you nice,’ so he’s like, ‘Hey my man, that kid right there can play. Give him a chance, play with him. He tells me, ‘drive to the middle, throw it up, he’s gonna go get it.’ I swear to God, I did that. I threw it up, he dunked it. I ain’t get the ball no more. Coach ran every play for bro. He was killing. I’m like, ‘Damn, who is this dude?’”
CARMELO WOULD ONLY WEAR JORDANS (2001)
In 2003, Michael Jordan personally handpicked Carmelo Anthony to be the Jordan brand’s first signature athlete. Not only was this a great pick because he turned out to be one of the greatest scorers in NBA history, but it was a great pick because Melo was so loyal to the brand that he was willing to turn down an invite to ABCD camp if he couldn’t wear his AJ16 shoes.
“I go to ABCD camp but I go to Oak Hill, which is a Jordan school.” Said Melo on the ALL THE SMOKE podcast. “ABCD is Adidas, right? Sonny is like, ‘I need you for one day. Just come for one day.’ I’m like, ‘Nah, I’m Jordan’d out. I can’t wear Adidas.’ No disrespect, but at that point, I can’t do it. The only way I’ll come is if you bring my man with me. My man got to play because I’m trying to get him off the block and get him in school, which turned out good. And I’m wearing my Jordans. I was the only person ever in the history of the ABCD Camp to wear Jordans. It was the AJ16. I’ll never forget that. But they tried to set me up. Lenny Cooke first. LeBron at night. Raymond Felton the next day. All these big time players, I’m like, ‘Let’s get it.’ This is my coming out party. I only got to play Lenny that one game and the rest is history.”
The Jordan Melo 1.5 made its debut in 2004, and Carmelo will be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend.
THE DOMINICAN JORDAN (1992)
Speaking of Jordan, attendees of the very first ABCD camp in 1992 were excited to see the “Latino Jordan” or “Dominican Jordan.” The high school player going into his junior year with the unfortunate nicknames was Felipe Lopez. And the attendees didn’t leave disappointed.
Lopez shined at the event that featured future NBA stars like Jason Kidd and Rasheed Wallace and won the Ben Wilson Memorial MVP award, which ended up between a bunch of other trophies and a large Michael Jordan standee in his bedroom.
I first heard of Felipe in 1993, when the No. 1 ranked player in the nation (over Allen Iverson) graced the cover of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED with this headline: The Big East Is Back: Super Freshman Felipe Lopez.
A year later, he’s averaging 18 points at St. John and being name dropped in rap songs like GET FUNKY by the underrated Beatnuts.
Dirty and low, yo f**k what the pope says
I’m tryin’ to get money like Felipe Lopez
I highly recommend the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary DOMINICAN DREAMS for the full story about how one of the most hyped high school players ever ended up only averaging six points over four years with three NBA teams.
BONUS: JR SMITH
Another interesting ABCD thing I found on eBay was JR Smith’s jerseys from the event. You can purchase his 2002 or 2003 game-used jersey for $3,500 each. The same seller is also selling Smith’s game-used NBA Finals jersey for $3,000 and his Zhejiang Golden Bulls one for $5,000! If you don’t know about the Golden Bulls one, click here to read about when he wore 23 and Jordans in China and put up stat lines like 60 points with 14 threes OFF THE BENCH!
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