Tracy McGrady is reportedly testing his body for a potential return to the NBA and he has been training with Kobe Bryant over the summer in preparation for a comeback - possibly with the Los Angeles Lakers.
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According to Yahoo Sports, the retired seven-time All-Star NBA shooting guard-turned-minor league baseball player has been working out with the Lakers star guard as he eyes a possible return to the NBA after retiring following the 2013 season he spent with the San Antonio Spurs.
"Yes, I was working out with K.B. to get in shape and see how my body feels," McGrady told Yahoo Sports in an email Tuesday night.
McGrady is a two-time NBA scoring champion, winning the honor in 2003 and 2004. McGrady has career averages of 9.6 points 5.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists throughout 15 years in the NBA with seven different teams.
At 35, it's uncertain if McGrady would be an efficient player if he makes a return, but his drive to re-join the NBA and possibly as a member of the Lakers looks to be there.
Bryant, 36, signed a two-year extension with Los Angeles and has said he wants to win a sixth NBA championship before he retires, so if he's working out with McGrady it likely means the thinks the addition of T-Mac could seriously help the team.
Bryant is trying to make a comeback of his own after injuries limited him to just six games with the Lakers last season. McGrady, however, is reportedly contractually obligated to a basketball tour of China until October, so he wouldn't be available when training camp opens.
McGrady was drafted with the ninth overall pick by the Toronto Raptors in the 1997 NBA Draft. McGrady's career also included stops with the Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets, New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks.
McGrady then played for the Qingdao Eagles in China from 2012-13 before returning to the NBA for his final stop with the Spurs, after which he opted to retire.
T-Mac then had a stint with the Sugar Land Skeeters baseball team of the Independent Atlantic League, but he recently retired from that as well.
The Lakers will enter the 2013-14 season with a new coach in Byron Scott and hope to bounce back from a season where they finished with a franchise-worst 27-55 record and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2005.
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